From History of Chess

Khmer chess for the masses

There are arguably a good deal of elements from the Khmer culture which were inspired by India. Buddhism, monumental architecture, and chess are some of them. Khmer chess, or Ouk is still the most popular game in the Kingdom, were it has been played for a long, long time: chess playing scenes are depicted by some Angkor reliefs, and one can already recognize the typical bulky shapes of the pieces.

Ouk is believed to be the variant of chess that is most similar to the original Indian game, Chaturanga. Offer yourself a set of pieces at any market, read the rules here, watch a few games in a café or in the streets and grab the first occasion to play yourself and demonstrate your skills at moving your horses, boats and fishes! Easy way to make new friends, but prepare yourself for some tough challenge as many mundane-looking parking guards and hairdressers are true champions of this sport.