Makruk rules and how to play

Makruk (Thai: หมากรุกไทย), also called Thai chess, is the traditional two-player strategy board game of Thailand, played on a board of 8 by 8 squares. Each side starts with a khun (king), a met, two khon, two ma, two rua and eight bia, and White moves first. You win by checkmating the opponent's khun; stalemate is a draw. Once no unpromoted bia is left, the counting rules make the game a draw if the stronger side cannot checkmate within a set number of moves.

The board and the starting position

Makruk is played on a board of 8 by 8 squares; on Ttakji the squares are all one colour, as on a traditional Thai board. Files are named a to h from White's left and ranks 1 to 8 from White's side. White sets up rua on a1 and h1, ma on b1 and g1, khon on c1 and f1, the khun on d1 and the met on e1, and eight bia on the third rank. Black mirrors this with the met on d8 and the khun on e8, so each khun faces the other side's met, and Black's bia stand on the sixth rank.

The pieces and how they move

Each side has 16 pieces. You capture by moving onto a square held by an enemy piece, as in chess. The table and the diagrams show every move; dots mark the squares a piece can move to.

How to play, step by step

1. White moves first. Players take turns moving one of their own pieces.
2. Each piece moves in its own way. Capture by moving onto a square held by an enemy piece; the captured piece leaves the board.
3. A bia that reaches its sixth rank is promoted at once and then moves like a met.
4. Never leave your own khun in check. If you are in check and have no legal move, it is checkmate and you lose.
5. If the player to move is not in check but has no legal move, the game is a draw (stalemate).
6. When no unpromoted bia is left, the counting rules apply: if the stronger side cannot checkmate within the count, the game is a draw.
7. The game is also drawn when the same position appears three times, when only the two khuns are left, or when both players agree.

Promotion of the bia

A bia that reaches its sixth rank (rank 6 for White, rank 3 for Black, where the enemy bia started) is promoted at once, by a normal move or by a capture. It is turned over and becomes a bia ngai, which moves like a met. Promotion is compulsory and there is no other choice. A side may have several promoted bia.

Check, checkmate and stalemate

A khun that is attacked is in check, and its owner must get it out of check at once; a move that leaves your own khun in check is not allowed. If a player in check has no legal move, it is checkmate and that player loses. If the player to move is not in check but has no legal move at all, it is stalemate and the game is a draw.

The counting rules

Makruk has no fifty-move rule. Instead, once no unpromoted bia is left on the board, the stronger side must checkmate within a counted number of moves, or the game is a draw. There are two counts, and Ttakji keeps both for you.

Board count (นับศักดิ์กระดาน)

When no unpromoted bia is left and neither side is down to a lone khun, a player who still has a piece besides the khun may start the board count on their own turn: press "Start count" and make a move. That move is count 1, and each of your following moves adds one; you are the counting side. If you have made your 64th counted move and your opponent's next move is not checkmate, the game is a draw. You may stop on any of your turns with "Stop count" (the move you stop with still counts); if anyone starts again, the count restarts from 1. While you are counting, checkmating your opponent is only a draw, even on the move you stop with, so stop first and mate on a later move.

Pieces count (นับศักดิ์หมาก)

When no unpromoted bia is left and one side has only its khun, the pieces count starts by itself, and the lone khun is the counting side. Its first count is the number of all pieces on the board, both khuns and promoted bia included, plus one. The limit depends on what the stronger side has at that moment (table below) and does not change later. After the lone khun's move that reaches the limit, the stronger side has one final move; if it is not checkmate, the game is a draw. If the first count is already above the limit, the stronger side gets exactly one move. The pieces count replaces a running board count and cannot be stopped.

On Ttakji the game keeps both counts, starts the pieces count by itself and shows the count and the moves left right under the board.

How a game ends

A game ends at once in any of these cases; the server decides every one of them.

• Checkmate: the player who checkmates wins, unless that player is the counting side (then it is a draw).
• Stalemate: draw.
• A count reaches its limit without checkmate: draw.
• The same position for the third time: draw.
• Only the two khuns left: draw.
• 400 moves in total (200 each) on Ttakji: draw.
• Resignation or running out of time: the other player wins.
• A draw agreed by both players.

Strategy basics

A good bia structure and keeping your rua matter more than grabbing pieces early.

Makruk vs chess

Makruk and chess share an ancestor, and the ma and rua move exactly like the knight and rook. The other pieces and the endings work differently.

Playing on Ttakji

• Against the AI there is no clock, you can take back moves, and you choose Easy, Normal or Hard.
• In every game the counts are kept for you: the pieces count starts by itself, and the "Start count" / "Stop count" button appears when you may start or stop the board count.
• Online and friend games use 5 minutes of main time plus 3 byo-yomi periods of 30 seconds. Once main time is up, you have 30 seconds per move, and each period you let run out is used up.
• If all your time runs out, you lose. Your clock keeps running while you are disconnected.
• White and Black are assigned at random and swap on every rematch.
• You can resign or offer a draw at any time. Undo is only available against the AI.
• Ranked makruk games use their own Elo rating, starting at 1,200, and require a Google sign-in.

Frequently asked questions