Ouk Chatrang
Ouk Chatrang (Ouk Khmer, Ouk, more rarely: Ok) is the name of the so-called Cambodian chess . The rules correspond to those of the Thai Makruk , but Ouk still allows additional initial moves for King and Queen, which were abolished in Makruk.
Name of the pieces in ouk, makruk and chess
| Ouk | Makruk | chess |
|---|---|---|
| King (Ang, Sdaach, Khon) | Leader (Kun ขุน) | king |
| Queen (Neang) | Vizier (Med เม็ด) | lady |
| Stake (koul) | Tree (Con โคน) | runner |
| Horse (ses) | Horse (Ma ม้า) | Jumper |
| Boat (touk) | Boat (Rua เรือ) | tower |
| Fish (Trey) | Farmer (Bia เบี้ย ๖) | Farmer |
Etymology and history
"Chatrang" probably comes from " Caturanga " from Sanskrit or from Satranj from Persian . "Ouk" describes chess itself and is also the word that is pronounced when threatening the opposing king.
The exact origin of the game is - as with other chess variants - not absolutely certain. Historical evidence for Ouk is:
- There are reliefs in Angkor Wat , Preah Khan and Bayon from the 12th – 13th centuries. Century with two people each sitting at a table with several figures. These scenes are very reminiscent of chess games. However, the game boards shown are only 5 or 7 fields long and horses are never shown as figures. This is either just the result of a stylization or indicates that the rules of the game or completely different games are involved.
- In some versions of Marco Polo's travelogue “ Il Milione ” from the 13th century it is mentioned that ebony is found in this area , from which black chess pieces are made.
- The first reliable description of chess games in Southeast Asia (more precisely: Siam ) comes from Simon de La Loubère in 1687. He mentions that the locals play both Chinese and "our" chess.
Old game variant
There is evidence of another Cambodian chess game in which the pieces are not placed on the playing fields, as in the Chinese Xiangqi , but on the corner points. This results in 9x9 positions on the board, i.e. H. there is one more fish and one queen. The movements of the figures should be largely the same in both variants. In contrast to the above, this variant is not present in everyday gaming practice.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bernd Ellinghoven: Cambodschach, Work in Progress on the history of the game of chess in Cambodia in: series of publications Cambodian culture , issue No. 8, p. 113
- ↑ Bernd Ellinghoven: Cambodschach, Work in Progress on the history of the game of chess in Cambodia in: Series of publications Cambodian Culture , Issue No. 8, pp. 92 ff
- ^ Peter Banaschak: Chess Games in East Asia Iudicium, Munich, 2001, p. 35
- ↑ Article of the British Chess Variants Society on the old variant ( Memento from February 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 84 kB) Retrieved on January 28, 2011.
literature
- Bernd Ellinghoven: Cambodia. Work in progress on the history of the game of chess in Cambodia . In: Cambodian Culture Series , Vol. 8 (2003). Studiengemeinschaft Kambodschanische Kultur eV, Berlin, 2003, ISSN 0179-2695 .
Web links
- Khmer Institute: Ok (Engl.)
- Ouk Chatrang and Makruk (Eng.)