Games - Xiangqi

	Games - Xiangqi

Xiangqi ( ), is a two-player Chinese game in a family of strategic board games of which Western chess, Indian chaturanga, Japanese shogi, and the more similar Korean janggi are also members. The first character 象 xiàng here has the meaning "image" or "representational", hence Xiangqi can be literally translated as "representational chess". Although the character can also mean elephant, the game is more appropriately and more commonly called Chinese chess in the West.

The ancestry of xiangqi is disputed with some historians contending that it originated from Liubo and others stating that it is a relative of the 6th century Indian game of chaturanga (see History below). It is one of the most popular board games of the chaturanga family in the world, especially in Asia. Distinctive features of xiangqi include the unique movement of the pao ("cannon") piece, a rule prohibiting the generals (similar to chess kings) from facing each other directly, and the river and palace board features, which restrict the movement of some pieces.

Rules of the game

Board

Xiangqi is played on a board that is 9 lines wide by 10 lines long. In a manner similar to the game go, the pieces are played on the intersections, which are known as points. The vertical lines are known as files, while the horizontal lines are known as ranks. With a few awkward substitutions, it is possible to play this game using a standard chess set.

Centered at the first through third ranks of the board is a square zone also mirrored in the opponent's territory. The three point by three point zone is demarcated by two diagonal lines connecting opposite corners and intersecting at the center point. This area is known as 宮 gōng , the palace or fortress.

Dividing the two opposing sides (between the fifth and sixth rows) is 河 hé, the river. The river is often marked with the phrases 楚河 chǔ hé , meaning "Chu River", and 漢界 (in Traditional Chinese) or 汉界 (in Simplified Chinese) hàn jiè , meaning "Han border", a reference to the Chu-Han War. Although the river provides a visual division between the two sides, only a few pieces are affected by its presence: soldiers are promoted after crossing, and elephants cannot cross the river.

The starting points of the soldiers and cannons are marked with a small cross.

Pieces

The two players take command of pieces on either side of the river. One player's pieces are usually painted red (or, less commonly, white), and the other player's pieces are usually painted black (or, less commonly, blue or green). Which player moves first has varied throughout history, and also varies from one part to another of China. Some xiangqi books state that the black side moves first; others state that the red side moves first. Also, some books may refer to the two sides as north and south; which direction corresponds to which color also varies from source to source.

Modern xiangqi pieces are represented by disks marked with a Chinese character identifying the piece and painted in a color identifying to which player the piece belongs. Modern pieces are usually made with plastic, though some sets use pieces made of wood, and more expensive sets may use pieces made of jade. In more ancient times, many sets were simple unpainted woodcarvings; thus, to distinguish between the pieces of the two sides, most corresponding pieces use characters that are similar but vary slightly between the two sides.

General

The generals are labeled with the Chinese character 將 (trad.) / 将 (simp.) jiàng (general) on the black side and 帥 (trad.) / 帅 (simp.) shuài (marshal) on the red side. These pieces are equivalent to the kings of Western chess. Legend has it that originally the pieces were known as emperors, but when an emperor of China heard about the game, he executed two players for "killing" or "capturing" the emperor piece. Future players called them generals instead.

The general starts the game at the midpoint of the back edge (within the palace). The general may move one point either vertically or horizontally, though unlike the king of Western chess, the general may not move diagonally. The general cannot leave the palace under any circumstances; thus, the general can only move to and stay on the 9 points within the palace.

When a general is threatened by an enemy piece, the general is said to be "in check." When the general is in check and unable to escape check on the player's move, it is said to be checkmated, and the player loses the game. A player also loses when his general is not in check, but he can make no legal move that doesn't put the general in check; a stalemate rule does not exist.

Furthermore, in a rule often forgotten by new players of the game, a player cannot make any move that would leave the two generals facing one another on the same file with no other pieces placed in between. In other words, a clear line of sight can never exist between the two generals. This is a very important feature of the game, as the general often plays a role in enforcing checkmate, especially when many of the other pieces have been taken and the board is wide open. Indeed, checkmate remains possible as long as a player retains the general and any single piece (with the exception of a cannon), even a soldier, that can cross the river.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Xiangqi ]

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