Xiang qi

Xiang qi (Chinese: 象棋 pinyin: xiàngqí; sometimes xiangqi or Chinese chess) is a two player strategy game similar to chess that developed in ancient China. It is a very popular game in modern China.^[1]

The general

The General (Chinese: 将/帅 pinyin: jiàng (general) and shuài (marshall), respectively)^[2] starts the game at the midpoint of the back edge, within the Palace. The general may move and capture one point orthogonally, with the following exception, but may not leave the Palace.^[1]

The two generals may not face each other along the same file with no intervening pieces. If that happens, the flying general (Chinese: 飛將 pinyin: fēi jiāng)^[2] move may be executed, in which the general to move may cross the board to capture the enemy general. In practice, this rule is only used to enforce checkmate. The general may not leave the Palace except when executing the flying general move.

The advisors

Advisors (Chinese: 士/仕 pinyin: shì (advisor) and shì (official/guardian), respectively)^[1][2] start on either side of the general. They move and capture one point diagonally and may not leave the Palace. Their sole purpose is to protect the General.

The elephants

Elephants (Chinese: 象/相 pinyin: xiàng (elephant) and xiàng (minister), respectively)^[2] for Red. They are located next to the advisors. These pieces move and capture exactly two points diagonally and may not jump over intervening pieces. If an elephant cannot move due to a diagonally adjacent piece, it is known as "blocking the elephant's eye" (Chinese: 塞象眼 pinyin: sāi xiangyǎn).

Elephants may not cross the River, and serve as defensive pieces. Because an elephant's movement is restricted to just seven board positions, it can be easily trapped or threatened. The two elephants are often used in conjunction to defend each other.

Note that elephant and minister are homophones. However, both are referred to as elephants for the purpose of the game.

The horses

Horses (Chinese: 馬/傌 pinyin: mǎ (horse) and mà (horse), respectively) begin the game next to the elephants, on their outside flanks. A horse moves and captures one point orthogonally and then one point diagonally away from its former position. The horse does not jump as the knight does in Western chess, and can be blocked by a piece located one point horizontally or vertically adjacent to it. Blocking a horse is called "hobbling the horse's leg" (Chinese: 蹩馬腿 pinyin: bié mǎ tuǐ).

The Cars

The cars (Chinese: 車/俥 pinyin: chē (car or chariot) begin the game on the points at the corners of the board. The car moves and captures any distance orthogonally, but may not jump over intervening pieces. The chariot is often considered to be the strongest piece in the game due to its freedom of movement and lack of restrictions. The car is sometimes known as the rook by English-speaking players, since it is like the rook in Western chess.

In the context of Chinese Chess, both of these characters are pronounced as jū.

The Cannons

Cannons (Chinese: 砲/炮 pinyin: pào (catapult) and pào (cannon), respectively) start on the row behind the soldiers, two points in front of the horses. Cannons move like cars, any distance orthogonally without jumping, but can only capture by jumping a single piece, friend or foe, along the path of attack. The piece over which the cannon jumps is called the screen (sometimes cannon platform) (Chinese: 炮台 pinyin: pào tái (cannon platform or fort)). Any number of unoccupied spaces, including none, may exist between the cannon, screen, and the piece to be captured. Cannons can be exchanged for horses immediately from their starting positions.

The names are homophones, though sometimes 炮 is used for both Red and Black. The 石 (shí) radical of 砲 means 'stone', and the 火 (huǒ) radical of 炮 means 'fire'. Both pieces are referred to as cannons in English. The black piece is sometimes labelled 包 (bāo), meaning 'package'. It is easy to see then that 砲 is a 'stone package', or catapult, and 炮 is 'fire package', or cannon.

The Soldiers

Soldiers (Chinese: 卒/兵 pinyin: zú (pawn or private) and bīng (soldier), respectively) begin the game located on every other point one row back from the edge of the River. They move and capture by advancing one point. Once they have crossed the River, they may also move and capture one point horizontally. Soldiers cannot move backward; after advancing to the last rank of the board, however, a soldier may still move sideways at the enemy's edge. The soldier is sometimes called the "pawn" by English-speaking players, due to the pieces' similarities.

The board is a ten by nine (10x9) board with a clearly distinct River and two Palaces. Pieces are placed on the points between intersecting lines. The River is marked 'Chu river' (Chinese: 楚河 pinyin: chǔ hé) on one side and 'Han border' (Chinese: 漢界 pinyin: hàn jiè) on the other. These names are in direct reference to the Chu river and the Chu-Han war. The Palaces (Chinese: 宫 pinyin: gōng (palace or fortress)) are clearly marked with additional lines, forming a box.

Red typically moves first. Each player in turn moves one piece from the point it occupies to another point. Pieces are generally not permitted to move through a point occupied by another piece. A piece may capture an enemy piece by moving to the position held by the enemy. A player may not capture one of his own pieces. Pieces are never promoted.

The game ends when one player captures the other's general. When the general is in danger of being captured by the enemy player on his next move, the enemy player has "delivered a check". A check should be announced. If the general's player can make no move to prevent the general's capture, the situation is called "checkmate" (Chinese: 将死 pinyin: jiàng sǐ ('will die')). Unlike chess, in which a player unable to move a piece is stalemated, in xiang qi, a player with no legal moves left loses.

In xiang qi, a player—often with material or positional disadvantage—may attempt to check or chase pieces in a way such that the moves fall in a cycle, forcing the opponent to draw the game. The following special rules are used to make it harder to draw the game by endless checking and chasing, regardless of whether the positions of the pieces are repeated or not:

• The side that perpetually checks with one piece or several pieces can be ruled to have lost unless he or she stops such checking.
• The side that perpetually chases any one unprotected piece with one or more pieces, excluding generals and soldiers, will be ruled to have lost unless he or she stops such chasing.
• If one side perpetually checks and the other side perpetually chases, the checking side has to stop or be ruled to have lost.
• When neither side violates the rules and both persist in not making an alternate move, the game can be ruled as a draw.
• When both sides violate the same rule at the same time and both persist in not making an alternate move, the game can be ruled as a draw.

Different sets of rules set different limits on what is considered perpetual. For example, club xiang qi rules allow a player to check or chase six consecutive times using one piece, twelve times using two pieces, and eighteen times using three pieces before considering the action perpetual.^[3]

Beginner's strategy

The most common opening move is the Red cannon to the middle file, behind the middle soldier. Black may either respond with a mirroring move, or may move a horse into a position to protect its middle soldier. Any move deviating from those two (such as an elephant into the middle soldier's file) are risky at best, as Red has taken a piece for free and puts the General into check. While mirroring Red's cannon move does put the General into check if Red takes the Black's middle soldier, Black may again mirror Red's move, taking the middle soldier on the red side. This alleviates all pressure on Black to defend his general from a cannon attack.^[3]

• Chess

• http://ancientchess.com/page/play-xiangqi.htm
• http://history.chess.free.fr/xiangqi.htm
• http://www.chessvariants.com/xiangqi.html