Thai chess, a captivating board game, unfolds on an 8x8 grid, mirroring the familiar layout of classical chess. While the initial setup largely resembles its Western counterpart, two key distinctions emerge: the white queen starts on e1 and the white king on d1 (each king positioned to the left of its queen from the player's perspective), and pawns occupy the third rank (white) and sixth rank (black).
King, rook, and pawn movements largely follow classical chess rules: the king moves one square in any direction, the rook moves any number of unoccupied squares horizontally or vertically, and the pawn advances one square forward and captures diagonally forward. The game offers diverse gameplay options: against artificial intelligence, with a partner on a single device, or online against a remote opponent.
Piece Movements:
- King: Moves as in European chess. Castling is not permitted.
- Queen: Moves only one square diagonally.
- Rook: Moves any number of unoccupied squares horizontally or vertically.
- Bishop: Moves one square diagonally in any direction or one square forward vertically.
- Knight: Moves in an "L" shape (two squares in one direction, then one square perpendicularly), as in European chess.
- Pawn: Moves one square forward vertically and captures one square diagonally forward, similar to European chess. Pawns promote to queens upon reaching the sixth rank.
Victory Conditions: Checkmating the opponent's king secures victory, while a stalemate results in a draw.
