Win is achieved by checkmate or stalemate. The King (king), Boat (rook), and Horse (knight), move as in orthodox chess. The Fish (pawn) also moves as in orthodox chess, but has no initial double move. A Fish promotes to a Maiden when it reaches the sixth rank. The Maiden (equivalent: queen) moves one step diagonally in all directions. On the Maiden’s first move it may slide two steps forward to an empty square. The Guard (equivalent: bishop) moves one step diagonally in all directions, or one step forwards. On the King’s first move it may move like a Horse to an empty square, w-n-w or e-n-e, but only if not in check.
Don’t underestimate the curiously moving Guard. Although it is slow, it is very suitable for giving mate. Together with a King, or some other piece, it can often give mate or stalemate in the endgame. The Horse and the Maiden can seldom achieve this. The Guard has in the beginning the value of a Horse minus a Fish (estimate), but can in some situations be more valuable than a Horse.
The variety of chess played in Cambodia, called Ok or Ok Chatrang, is very similar to Makruk, or Thai Chess. The first Ok tournament was held in Cambodia 3–4 April 2008. Ok is depicted in several reliefs found on the Angkor temples, which date from the 12th century. It’s a challenging game. Since stalemate is also a win, it means that pieces needn’t be so powerful. Win can be achieved anyway.
In the variant known as Ka Ok or Kar Ok, the first player to put the other in check wins. The rules of Thai Chess (Makruk) are like Cambodian, except that Lord (king) and Seed (queen) aren’t allowed their first leap move. In the Thai variant known as Makpong, the Lord may not step away from check. Thus, either a piece must go between or the checking piece must be captured, or else it is checkmate. This variant is designed to reduce draws. It is played to decide a winner after a certain number of games have been drawn. These variants have also been implemented.
Cambodia Traditional Chess (Oukchak Trang) Competition 2017 (YouTube)
References
OK [Cambodian Chess] | Khmer Institute.
Makpong | Pychess.
☛ You can download my free Cambodian Chess program here (updated 2021-12-12), but you must own the software Zillions of Games to be able to run it (I recommend the download version).
☛ Don’t miss my other chess variants.
© M. Winther, 2021 December
