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Rules of Makruk (Thai chess)
This preset enforces all the Makruk rules, but for the Draw Counting Rules. The Draw Counting Rules must be enforced manually.Read the full set of rules Makruk (Thai Chess) here.
Objective of the game
- To checkmate the opponent's King, or
- In the end-game, for the defender (the disadvantaged side) to force a draw by mean of the counting rules.
Draws in Makruk
Many games of makruk end in draws. This is because draws are encouraged by concepts of pursuit and escape, which are very important in Makruk late in the end game.
There are special counting rules in the endgame which permit the disadvantaged side (the defender) to steal the "win" and earn a draw against the stronger side (the attacker).
The nomenclature defender and attacker is inspired by the Viking pursuit and escape game: Hnefatafl
A stalemate is a draw in Makruk.
Draws can also take place by agreement of both players, as in Orthodox Chess.
Draw Counting Rules:
Counting Rule #1: Pawnless Games - The Board's Honor Rule
When neither side has any unpromoted pawns left on the board, the stronger side (the attacker) must checkmate his opponent (the defender) within 64 moves, or the game is declared a draw.
The defender (the player in disadvantage) counts the moves up to 64 (the number of squares on the board), and is allowed to stop counting if he/she no longer feels at disadvantage.
If the attacker has not been able to force a checkmate prior to completing his/her 64th move, the game is a draw.
If the defender checkmates the attacker and did not stop counting, the game is declared a draw.
The count does not restart unless the defender had stopped counting and would like to start counting again.
The count is not restarted when the defender performs a capture.
Counting Rule #2: Bare King - The Pieces' Honor Rule
When the defender is left with a bare or lone king (right after his last piece is captured), the counting is restarted.
This time, the count required for the attacker to checkmate is calculated in a special way based on the material available to the attacking side, and the number of pieces left on the board.
First, find the number of total moves required to checkmate based on the material available to the attacker from the table below (select the first one that applies):
| Material (Pieces) Left: | Moves required to mate |
|---|---|
| at least two rooks (rua) | 8 |
| at least one rook (rua) | 16 |
| at least two bishops (khon) | 22 |
| at least two knights (ma) | 32 |
| at least one bishop (khon) | 44 |
| any other combination: | 64 |
| at least one knight (ma) | " |
| queens (met) and/or pawns (bia) | " |
Second, substract from the number of moves above the number of ALL pieces left on the board (both sides). This is the new number of moves required for the attacker to checkmate, before the game is declared a draw.
For example, if the attacker has king, two rooks and knight versus the defender's lone king, the attacker must deliver mate in 8 (two rooks) - 5 (five pieces) = 3 moves, or the game is declared draw. The count would start at 6 (5 pieces + 1) and goes to 8; or alternately from 1 to 3.
If the attacker has king, bishop, two queens and a pawn versus the defender's lone king, the attacker has 44 (at least one bishop) - 6 (six pieces) = 38 moves to deliver mate, before a draw is called. The count would start at 7 (6 pieces + 1) and goes to 44; or alternately from 1 to 38.
Unlike the 50-move rule in orthodox chess, in Makruk the count does not restart if the defender's bare King performs a capture.
Point of clarification: The count under the Bare King - The Pieces' Honor Rule is restarted regardless of any current running count under the Pawnless Games - The Board's Honor Rule. Therefore it is possible for the new count to reach under the Bare King rule to be higher or lower, than the previous running count under the Pawnless Games rule, which is totally scratched.
How to Move Pieces
Full Algebraic Notation
Algebraic notation identifies each space by a coordinate that begins with its file label and ends with its rank label. On the Chess board, files go up and down from one player to the other, and ranks go from left to right. In most games, files are represented by letters, and ranks are represented by numbers, but there is no fixed rule requiring this for all games, and some games, such as Shogi, reverse this convention. If you look at the diagram, you will usually see the file labels going from left to right and the file labels going up and down. And if you hover your mouse over a space, you will normally see the name of the coordinate appear in a tooltip.
It is not uncommon to see algebraic notation being used for Chess, but it is often in an abbreviated format that requires you to know both the rules of the game and the current position to know exactly which piece moves where. For example, the notation "Ne6" indicates that a Knight is moving to e6, but it doesn't indicate which Knight, and it doesn't specify where the Knight is coming from. To figure this out, you need to know how a Knight moves and which Knight on the board can make a legal move to e6.
Although rules may be programmed for individual games, Game Courier itself does not know the rules of any game, and it is unable to parse abbreviated algebraic notation. Therefore, it relies on full algebraic notation, which completely specifies the move without requiring any knowledge of the game's rules or the current position. The most usual type of full algebraic notation indicates the piece that is moving by its label, the space it is moving from, and the space it moving to. In Chess, a typical first move might be written as "P e2-e4". When you hover your mouse over a piece, you will normally see the piece label followed by the coordinate for the space, and when you hover it over an empty space, you will normally see the coordinate label. Including the piece label in your notation allows Game Courier to check that the piece you're moving is the right one, and it makes game notation easier to follow, but it is not mandatory.
You may promote a piece by including a promotion move after your regular move. A promotion move has a piece go directly to a coordinate. Here is an example: "p e7-e8; q-e8".
You may remove a piece from a space by adding an @ to the space or by omitting the destination coordinate. For example, both "@-e4" and "e4-" would remove the piece on "e4". This is useful for en passant when you are playing a game that does not handle this automatically. For example, "P d5-e6; e5-" removes the Pawn on e5 after a Pawn moves from d5 to e6.
You will not need to remove spaces for most games, but if you should need to, you can do this by omitting the first coordinate in a move. For example, "-e4" would remove e4 from the board. To add or return a space to the board, you may add an @ or any other piece to it.
Available Pieces
Pieces are represented by labels, usually using uppercase letters for White and lowercase letter for Black. When you enter a move or specify the starting position for a game, you should remember that piece labels are case-sensitive. Many piece sets are available for use with Game Courier, and this table shows you which pieces belong to the piece set you are currently using.
These pieces come from a set containing more pieces, but this preset has had the set of pieces reduced to those used in the game.
Credits
This preset uses the Alfaerie2r settings file for Makruk (Thai chess), which was made by Jose Carrillo.
Game Courier was created, programmed and written by Fergus Duniho.
Game Courier, Copyright © Fergus Duniho, 2001-2017
WWW Page Created: 15 August 2001
Kibbitzing Etiquette
Kibbitzing is the practice of commenting on a game you are not playing. In commenting on a game, please follow these rules of etiquette.
(1) If you notice that someone has made an illegal move, please mention it. Some Game Courier presets cannot enforce rules, but Game Courier does enable players to take back any previous move. Details on how to take back a move are provided in the User's Guide, linked to above the board.
(2) Unless otherwise specifically asked to, do not offer hints or suggestions to players on what moves they should make. In general, avoid coaching comments.
(3) Once a game is over, it should be alright to offer your analysis of the game and your specific comments on what moves players should have made. If some players don't want this, they may mention it in the Kibbitzing section, and you should honor this request by not commenting on the game.
(4) Be polite. At the appropriate time, offer any criticism you have in a constructive manner. Avoid heckling players for bad moves.
(5) Don't spam this space with irrelevant comments. If you have a comment about Game Courier, rather than about the specific game you're viewing, please post it on Game Courier's Index page to give it.