Makruk: The Strategic Thai Chess Game

Makruk, also known as Thai chess, is a captivating strategy board game sharing similarities with chess but boasting unique rules and pieces. Played on an 8x8 board, it features pieces with distinct movements, including the king, queen, and various pawns. The objective remains the same: checkmate your opponent's king. However, Makruk demands a higher level of tactical prowess and strategic foresight, contributing to its enduring popularity in Thailand.

Key Features of Makruk:

• AI Opponents: Test your skills against AI opponents of varying difficulty levels, from beginner to expert.
• Daily Challenges: Sharpen your strategic thinking with a fresh challenge each day.
• Global Leaderboard: Compete with players worldwide and strive for top rankings.
• Game Sharing: Share your masterful moves with friends and family.
• Undo & Save/Load: Correct mistakes and save your progress for later gameplay.
• Timed Gameplay: Add an extra layer of excitement with timed matches.

Makruk (Thai: หมากรุก; rtgs: Mak Ruk), or Thai chess, traces its origins back to the 6th-century Indian game of chaturanga or a close variant, establishing its connection to modern chess. It's considered the closest surviving relative to the common ancestor of all chess variations. Around two million Thais play Makruk, compared to 5,000 who play international chess.

According to former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik, Makruk is even more strategically demanding than international chess, requiring meticulous planning due to its anticipated endgame complexity.

Piece Movement Rules:

• Pawn (เบี้ย bia): Moves and captures like a chess pawn but without the two-square initial move or en passant capture. Reaching the sixth rank results in automatic promotion to a queen.
• Queen (เม็ด met): The weakest piece, moving one square diagonally.
• Bishop (โคน khon): Moves one square diagonally or one square forward.
• Knight (ม้า ma): Moves like a chess knight: two squares in one direction, then one square perpendicularly.
• Rook (เรือ ruea): Moves like a chess rook: any number of squares horizontally or vertically.
• King (Ang): Moves like a chess king, one square in any direction. (Historically, a special first-move "Ses" (knight jump) existed but is no longer used in Thailand.) Checkmate of the king ends the game.

What's New:

Bug fixes implemented.