An Extremely Popular Game

"Chinese Chess Explained ( 象 棋 )"

Chinese Chess is an extremely popular game in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and amongst Chinese communities everywhere. Watch any travel documentary about China on TV and there is a fair chance that the camera will pause for a few seconds on two men playing Chinese Chess in the street or in a park, usually accompanied by talkative spectators.

Chinese Chess has spawned books, magazines, a mass of opening and endgame theory, problem studies, computer program, grandmaster titles, and so on - but it is as yet little played in the West and indeed most chess players over here have never even heard of the game! In fact Chinese Chess is just one of several different chess games played in the Far East, but along with Shogi (the Japanese form of chess) it rates as the most important. Our game of Western Chess is, of course, increasingly played in China, but much less so than Chinese Chess.

MANY SIMILARITIES
There are many similarities between Chinese Chess and Western Chess. Although the board is a little larger (9x10), and play takes place on the intersections not the squares, the number of pieces is the same at 32, and checkmate is still the goal.

There are seven basic pieces in Chinese Chess (see diagram at top). Compared to Western Chess, the rook is exactly the same, and the knight almost the same, while bishop, king and pawn are all a bit different. There is no queen in the game, but there are two new pieces, cannon and guard. In the diagram the cannons are on the third and eighth ranks, and the guards stand next to the kings. (The "gap" in the centre of the board is called the river, and the two "X" areas mark out the palaces of the two kings - all this is explained overleaf.)

Interestingly the movements of bishop and guard bear a very marked resemblance to those made by pieces used in the medieval form of our own chess before the rule changes some five hundred years ago. The origins of Chinese Chess, which has been played for centuries, are shrouded in the past - but it is obvious that it shares some sort of common ancestor with our western game.

OPEN AND TACTICAL GAME
There are only five pawns per side in Chinese Chess, and their initial separation leads to an open, very tactical, and usually exciting game. Both sides will strive for the initiative, and passive play is likely to go unrewarded.

The game is often known by its Chinese name Xiang Qi (pronounced shee-ang chee); the two characters at the top of the page show the written Chinese form. Chinese Chess pieces usually look like draughts pieces but with Chinese characters marked on the top (for more on this, and where to buy a Chinese or westernised set, see back page).

PIONEERING STAGE
Chinese Chess is very much at a pioneering stage in the West, but some progress is being made in bringing it to the attention of non-Chinese players. In the last few years some books and magazines in English have been published, and a few small groups have sprung up, not only in the UK, but also in Germany, Italy, France, Holland, Finland, and the USA. Germany probably has the highest number of western players at present (including Robert Hubner, a grandmaster in the western game).

In the UK activity has centred on the London area, with occasional one-day and weekend tournaments. But a Chinese Chess Week is held in Devon each year, and postal or telephone play (or play against computer program) are further options.

The rules of Chinese Chess are given overleaf, followed by two sample games which demonstrate the moves of the pieces, and give a flavour of how the game is played. If these sample games appear rather baffling at first, do not worry. It does take a little time to adjust to Chinese Chess (the cannon being the hardest piece to get used to), but if you can play Western Chess you will certainly be able to play Chinese Chess too.










The rules given below, and the two sample games on the next page, assume a knowledge of Western Chess and of algebraic notation (extended here to a-i for the files and 1-10 for the ranks). Unless otherwise stated, everything (including captures, checkmate, draws, etc) operates exactly as in our western game. The pieces move on the intersection rather than the squares, but the only difference this makes is a visual one.

The gap in the centre of the board is called the river. Pieces can cross the river exactly as if the vertical lines were joined up, but a pawn gains extra powers after crossing it (as explained later). Each side also has a 3x3 palace (indicated by the "X"). The king and guards cannot leave the palace, but other pieces can freely enter.

The first player takes the RED (or white) pieces, and the second player takes BLACK. Each side has 16 pieces: a king, two guards (standing next to the king), two rooks, two cannons (on the 3rd & 8th ranks in the diagram), and five pawns. All pieces capture in the same way that they move, except the cannon.

The ROOK is exactly the same as in our chess, and in the absence of a queen is the most powerful piece on the board.

The KNIGHT is almost the same, but is slightly more restricted than the western version. In moving one point in a straight line and then one point diagonally, that first point must be vacant. So in the starting diagram Nb1-a3 and Nb1-c3 are both legal, but Nb1-d2 is illegal as c1 is occupied.

The BISHOP is somewhat different. It is a defensive piece and moves exactly two points diagonally (the first of these must be vacant, it cannot jump). Moreover it cannot cross the central river. So a bishop can only visit the points a3/c1/c5/e3/g1/g5/i3.

The GUARD is another defensive piece - it is confined to the marked 3x3 palace and moves one point diagonally on the marked lines. So the red guards can visit only d1/d3/e2/f1/f3.

The KING is more restricted than its western counterpart. It moves one point horizontally or vertically (never diagonally) and, like its guards, it is confined to the 3x3 palace. There is no castling move, but there is a very important additional rule - the two kings are not allowed to face each other on the same file unless there is something in between them (remove the pawns from e4 and e7 in the diagram above, and you have an illegal position).

The CANNON is an unfamiliar but very interesting piece. When not capturing it moves just like a rook, but when it does capture there must be exactly one other piece (of either colour) anywhere along its rook-type path that it can jump over. For example, in the starting position the cannon on h3 could move sideways between c3 and i3, or vertically between h2 and h7, but it could also capture the knight on h10 (jumping over the piece on h8), although that would be a poor opening move.

Finally the humble PAWN, whose move is the same whether capturing or not capturing. It moves one point directly forwards, but once across the river it gains extra powers and can then move either one point forwards as before, or alternatively one point sideways. For example, in the starting position, Red 's pawn on e4 can only move to e5. And from there to e6. Once over the river on e6, however, it can then move to d6 or f6, or capture on e7. There is never any diagonal movement, and there is no back rank promotion - if a pawn gets to the back rank it can then only travel sideways.

There are just a few other subsidiary rules. The object of the game is checkmate as usual, but a stalemated player loses not draws. Also perpetual check is illegal (there would be too many draws otherwise), and so the checking player must vary.

The rules on other types of repetitions are unfortunately not yet standardised, but in the UK at present we use the simple rule that any threefold repetition (apart from perpetual check) leads to a draw, just as in Western Chess.

A fairly rough evaluation of the pieces in Chinese Chess is rook 9, cannon 4<½>, knight 4, bishop & guard both 2, and pawn 1 (or 2 if across the river). The knight may become stronger later in the game, when the board is more open, while the cannon tends to diminish in power when there are fewer pieces left to jump over.

This very simple king and pawn ending illustrates both the stalemate rule and the important rule which forbids the two kings from facing each other directly on the same file.














Red wins immediately with 1. Kf1-e1 which stalemate Black. The black king cannot to to e10 (kings facing) or g10 (outside the palace) or f9 (check from the pawn) - so Black has no move and loses.

If it is Black to move in the diagram, then after 1. ... Kf10-e10 2. f8-f9 Ke10-d10 3. f9-e9! Red again wins through stalemate.





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