Overview

Ouk Chatrang (also known as Ouk Chaktrang or Cambodian Chess) is a traditional chess variant from Cambodia, closely related to Thai chess (Makruk) and derived from Indian chess. It differs from international chess in piece movement, pawn setup, and endgame rules. The objective is to checkmate the opponent’s king.

Components

• 1 standard 8x8 chessboard
• 32 pieces (16 per player): 1 King, 1 Queen (Neang), 2 Bishops (Koul), 2 Knights (Ses), 2 Rooks (Touk), 8 Pawns (Trey)

Setup

Key differences from international chess:

• Pawns are placed on the 3rd rank (White) and 6th rank (Black), not the 2nd and 7th.
• The King is always positioned on the left side regardless of color.
• Each Queen sits to the right of its King.
• Back row pieces (Rooks, Knights, Bishops) are arranged on the 1st/8th ranks.

Turn Structure

Players alternate turns, with White moving first. Each turn consists of moving one piece according to its movement rules.

Actions

Piece Movements

Piece	Movement
King (Ang)	Same as chess (1 square any direction). Special first move: may jump like a knight to the 2nd row (no capture). Lost if an enemy rook enters same rank/file.
Queen (Neang)	Moves 1 square diagonally only (much weaker than chess queen). Special first move: may jump 2 squares forward (no capture).
Bishop (Koul)	Moves 1 square diagonally or 1 square forward (like shogi’s Silver General).
Knight (Ses)	Same as chess (L-shape jump).
Rook (Touk)	Same as chess (any number of squares horizontally/vertically).
Pawn (Trey)	Moves 1 square forward; captures 1 square diagonally forward. No double-step first move. Promotes on the 6th rank (not 8th) to move like a Queen (1 square diagonal).

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Win: Checkmate the opponent’s King (same as chess).

Draw conditions:

• Stalemate
• Endgame counting rules (see Special Rules)

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• No castling exists in Ouk Chatrang.
• No en passant (pawns have no double-step move).
• Pawn promotion: Pawns promote upon reaching the 6th rank (relative to their starting side) and gain Queen movement (1 square diagonal).
• King’s first-move jump: Lost permanently if an enemy rook is on the same rank or file.
• Queen’s first-move jump: 2 squares forward, cannot capture.
• Board’s Honor Counting: When one side is reduced to 3 or fewer pieces, counting begins at 1. Checkmate must be achieved within 64 moves.
• Piece’s Honor Counting: When no unpromoted pawns remain and one side has only a King, the piece count determines the move limit:
  • 2 Rooks: 8 moves
  • 1 Rook: 16 moves
  • 2 Bishops: 22 moves
  • 2 Knights: 32 moves
  • Other combinations: up to 64 moves

Player Reference

Key differences from chess:

• Pawns start on 3rd/6th rank, promote on 6th rank to Queen movement
• Queen moves 1 square diagonally only
• Bishop moves 1 square diagonally or 1 forward
• No castling, no en passant, no double pawn step
• King and Queen have special first-move jumps
• Endgame counting rules prevent indefinite play