Makruk (Thai chess) is a two-player strategy game on an 8×8 board of 64 squares, each side commanding 16 pieces: a khun (king), a met, two khon, two ma (horses), two ruea (boats) and eight bia (pawns). The first player opens, then players alternate. You win by checkmating the enemy khun. Compared with Western chess the pawns move and capture only straight ahead, there is no castling and no double pawn step, pawns are promoted on the sixth rank rather than the last, and the counting rules force the endgame to a decision.
Play now — it's freeThe board is an 8×8 grid of alternating-coloured squares, played one-on-one with 16 pieces per side.
The back rank holds, from wing to wing: ruea, ma, khon, khun, met, khon, ma, ruea — the met always sits to the right of the khun from the player's own view. The eight bia form a single line on the third rank of each side.
The first player opens the game; from then on the players alternate one move per turn.
Pieces move as in the table; a piece captures whatever enemy piece it lands on, taking its square.
| Piece | Count | Movement |
|---|---|---|
| Khun (king) | 1 | One square in any direction |
| Met (queen) | 1 | One square along any diagonal |
| Khon | 2 | One square straight forward, or one square along any diagonal |
| Ma (horse) | 2 | A knight jump — two forward and one sideways (in all directions), jumping over pieces |
| Ruea (boat) | 2 | Any number of squares in a straight orthogonal line, blocked by pieces |
| Bia (pawn) | 8 | One square straight forward; no double first step, no en passant, captures straight ahead only |
The ruea is the only sliding piece; every other piece steps a single square. There is no castling in Makruk.
A bia that reaches its sixth rank (counting from the player's own side) is always promoted — the move is forced.
The promoted pawn (bia-ngai, "overturned cowrie") moves one square diagonally in any direction, exactly like the met.
No other piece changes type: you can never promote to a khon or a khun.
Once no unpromoted pawns remain on the board, the game must end in checkmate within a limited number of moves or it is a draw.
Board counting: the number of allowed moves equals 64 minus the number of pieces left on the board (both khun included), counted in moves of the disadvantaged side.
Piece counting: when the disadvantaged side is left with a bare khun, the allowance shrinks according to the attacker's remaining pieces (first row that applies wins):
| Attacker's remaining pieces | Max moves |
|---|---|
| 2 boats (ruea) | 8 |
| 1 boat | 16 |
| 2 khon (no boats) | 22 |
| 2 horses (no boats, no khon) | 32 |
| 1 khon (no boats) | 44 |
| 1 horse (no boats, no khon) | 64 |
| only met / promoted pawns | 64 |
On this site the counting is automatic: when the allowance runs out without checkmate, the game is drawn immediately.
The goal is to checkmate the enemy khun: when the khun is attacked and no move escapes, the game ends immediately and the attacker wins. Moves that leave your own khun attacked are illegal and filtered by the engine.
Stalemate — having no legal move while the khun is not attacked — is a draw in Makruk, just like in Western chess.
Other draws: bare khun versus bare khun, threefold repetition of the same position, and the 300-move safety limit.
Each move has a 40-second allowance; if the time runs out or a player disconnects, an automated assistant plays that move.
Guard your boats — they are your strongest pieces.
The khon defends your king better than the met (it also steps forward); the met is best for leading attacks and harassing big pieces.
Push a bia to the sixth rank whenever it is safe; a promoted pawn covers key squares around the enemy king.
Remember the counting rules: once the pawns are gone the stronger side must finish before the allowance runs out, or the game is drawn.
Never leave your khun attacked — the next move by your opponent might be checkmate.
Makruk is Thai chess: a two-player strategy game on an 8×8 board with 16 pieces per side, known for pawn promotion on the sixth rank and the counting rules that decide pawnless endgames.
Sixteen per player (32 in total): a khun and a met, two khon, two ma (horses), two ruea (boats) and eight bia (pawns).
Pawns move and capture only straight ahead with no double step and no en passant, there is no castling, pawns promote on the sixth rank to a diagonal-moving promoted pawn, stalemate is a draw, and counting rules cap pawnless endgames.
By checkmating the enemy khun — when it is attacked and no legal move escapes, the game ends immediately. Moves exposing your own khun are illegal.
A bia reaching its sixth rank is always and immediately promoted to bia-ngai ("overturned cowrie"), which moves one square diagonally in any direction like the met.
With no unpromoted pawns on the board, the allowed moves equal 64 minus the pieces left on the board. If the disadvantaged side has a bare khun, the allowance comes from a table: 2 boats = 8, 1 boat = 16, 2 khon = 22, 2 horses = 32, 1 khon = 44, 1 horse = 64, otherwise 64. If the allowance runs out without checkmate, the game is a draw.
No — a player with no legal moves whose khun is not attacked is stalemated and the game is a draw, exactly like Western chess.
Yes — play Makruk online free at makruk.yeeqia.com, straight in your browser with no download or sign-up required.
Yes, the site is mobile-first and runs in any modern browser on Android or iPhone, with full Thai support.
The counting rules force a decision in pawnless endgames, and a 300-move safety limit ends any game as a draw. Each move allows 40 seconds, after which an automated assistant plays.