Makruk: Thai Chess

1. The board is 8×8; pawns start on the third rank and each king stands to the left of its queen.
2. The queen moves only one square diagonally, and there's no castling.
3. The bishop moves one square diagonally or one square straight forward.
4. Pawns promote on the sixth rank.
5. Checkmate the enemy king to win; stalemate is a draw.

Makruk: Thai Chess is the version of chess played in Thailand. The board is the familiar 8x8, and the setup looks close to Western chess with two changes: each king stands to the left of its queen, and the pawns begin on the third rank. The king, rook and knight move as usual, but other pieces are weaker. The queen steps just one square diagonally, the bishop moves one square diagonally or one square straight ahead, pawns promote on the sixth rank, and there is no castling. Checkmate wins, and stalemate is a draw. Because long-range pieces are few, games are slower and more positional, so bringing your pieces together toward the center pays off.