Chinese chess 象棋

Xiangqi plays faster than Western chess, where the wall of pawns counts for more; and the cannons (see below) jump in order to capture, which makes them a threat early in the game. What is more, where in chess the battle usually centres on the middle squares, in xiangqi it seems on the contrary to unfold everywhere around the board at once.

Origins

Xiangqi 象棋 is a Chinese board game for two players whose origins lie in the military strategies of the Spring and Autumn period (722–481) and of the Warring States period (481–221 BC). Official documents about the game survive from that time.

In the beginning, xiangqi was made up of three things: the chess pieces, a die and a board. The pieces were carved from ivory, and each player had six of them. Before starting the game the players threw the die; the board was a square one.

After a long period of development, the modern form of xiangqi appeared under the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) and became popular under the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). There is no die in modern xiangqi, and the game differs from its ancient counterpart in its pieces and in its board.

History

The earliest traces are placed between 569 (there is some controversy on the point) and 800. It shares a common ancestor with Western chess — of which it could therefore be the ancestor, just as much as the Indian game chaturanga and the Persian game shatranj — and with shogi. Note that in the past the name xiangqi was given to board games other than Chinese chess.

The board

The board on which xiangqi is played is a rectangular one, nine lines wide by ten lines long, giving 90 points of intersection. The grid forms squares. The pieces are placed on, and move along, the points of intersection.

The part that separates the two opposing sides — the blank central band, without vertical lines, between the fifth and sixth horizontal lines of the board — is called "the river".

The square area with two diagonals joining opposite corners and crossing at the central point is called the jiu gong (literally "nine palaces" or "nine fortresses"), because nine points of intersection are to be found there. The jiu gong lies between the fourth and the sixth vertical lines of the board.

Rules

The pieces, discs marked with a character that identifies them, are placed on the intersections of the lines, as in go. The two opponents are the reds on one side, who move first, and the blues or blacks on the other (the greens in Korea). The central row of squares is called the river. Each side has a palace, three lines by three — that is, nine positions — set at the centre of each side along the edge of the board.

Each player has:

• 1 general (the equivalent of the king)
• 5 soldiers (the equivalent of pawns)
• 2 mandarins, or advisors
• 2 elephants
• 2 horses (the equivalent of knights)
• 2 chariots (the equivalent of rooks)
• 2 cannons

A river separates the two sides. The pieces do not carry the same name on each side.

The pieces

The general

It is marked with the Chinese character shuài (帥) on the red side and jiàng (將) on the blue side. These really are military generals, even though they are the equivalent of the kings in Western chess. Legend has it that an emperor had two players executed for the "murder" or "capture" of the emperor piece, and that later players therefore called it the general.

The general starts the game on the central intersection along the edge, inside the palace. It can move one point vertically or horizontally, but never diagonally. When the general is lost, the game is lost. It cannot leave the palace, even though it can in theory capture the enemy general by moving along a line as a rook would in chess. But since it is illegal to place yourself in check, a player may make no move that would leave the two generals facing each other on the same line with no other piece between them.

The advisors

They are marked 仕 for the reds and 士 for the blues (both pronounced shì). They are senior officials — members of the council serving the commander in chief. They are called guards, because they stay close to the general, or assistants, or again mandarins. They are placed to the left and to the right of the general. They are the weakest pieces, since they can move only one point diagonally and cannot leave the palace.

The ministers, or elephants

Named ministers (相 xiàng) for the reds and elephants (象 xiàng) for the blues, these pieces stand to the left and to the right of the advisors. They move exactly two points diagonally, and cannot jump over another piece. Their role is purely defensive, since they cannot cross the river.

Note: the Chinese characters for "minister" and "elephant" are homophones.

The chariot

It is marked jū (車 or 车) on both sides. Like the rook in chess, the chariot — or cart — moves and captures along a straight line, vertical or horizontal. The two chariots begin the game in the corners.

The horse

Called the horse, mǎ (馬 or 马), on both sides, this piece is similar to the knight in international chess. The horse cannot jump over another piece, however, so it is important to note that it moves first one point vertically or horizontally, and then one point diagonally, away from its starting position.

The cannons

Marked pào (炮) for the reds and pào (砲) for the blues. Each player has two cannons. The cannons stand on the row behind the soldiers, directly in front of the horses. They move exactly like the chariots, but their way of capturing is different. To capture a piece there must be exactly one piece — friendly or enemy — between the cannon and the piece to be taken. The cannon then moves to that point and captures the piece. Cannons are powerful at the start of the game, when these "screens" are plentiful, but quickly lose value as the war of attrition goes on.

The cannon is certainly the most disconcerting piece for a player used to Western chess: it changes, in complicated ways, the ideas of discovered check, double check and pinning.

The soldiers

They are marked bīng (兵) — soldiers — for the reds and zú (卒) — conscripts — for the blues. Each side has five soldiers. They stand on the third line, on every other point.

They move and capture straight ahead. Once they have crossed the river, they can also move — and capture — one point horizontally. They are not promoted when they reach the far edge of the board, but they can move from side to side.

End of the game

The game ends when one of the generals is captured, or when no legal move remains. In the latter case, the player with no legal move loses.

Miscellaneous rules

Unlike Western chess, there is no draw by perpetual check or by repetition of position. If there were, few games between expert players would come to a conclusion. If a position is to be repeated, a referee is called to decide who is at fault. In practice the referee asks the player who is losing to make a different move.

Under the Chinese and Korean rules, it is illegal to make a move that would open an unobstructed line between the two generals.

The Chinese chess lesson