Chinese Chess, Shiang-chi (or Xiangqi), is an Oriental cousin of the more familiar European or International Chess. Phonetically, Xiangqi means Elephant Chess. Both Chinese Chess and International Chess are descended from an ancient common ancestor— India. This ancient game traveled both east and west to become the most popular family of board games in the world today. Games of this family are played in Europe and Asia, as well as in the Middle East. They go by names like Shogi, Makrook, and Shahtranj. Like International Chess, Chinese Chess has two opposing armies with different kinds of pieces.
There are some parallels between Chinese Chess and International Chess. The obvious ones are the near equivalent movements to these pieces—Rooks, Knights, and Bishops.
The following is a table that distinguishes the basic technical parallels between Chinese Chess and International Chess:
Chinese Chess (XIANG QI)
International Chess
General of the Army
Purists prefer calling this piece the General. Western players prefer calling it the King（帅）.
King
No equivalent
Queen
Chariot（驹）
Rook (Castle)
Horse（马）
Knight
Cannon(炮）
No equivalent
Guard（仕）
No equivalent
Elephant（相）
Bishop
Soldier（兵）
Pawn
Now that the parallels are known, let‘s distinguish the few unique differences between these two games:
- An Imperial Palace
- A river located in the middle of the board that must be crossed
- The creation of the Cannon
The object of Chinese Chess is the same as the game of International Chess—to capture the enemy General (or King).
Chinese Chess is played on a board that contains 64 squares. The major distinction of this game is the battlefield. In the middle of the board is a river. Another difference is that the pieces are placed on the intersections of the lines, called points, and not in the squares that can be found in International Chess. Therefore, Chinese Chess is played on a board of 9 x 10 points, rather than on a board of 8 x 8 squares.
On each side of the board in Chinese Chess there is a palace (known as the Imperial Palace). Neither the General nor the guards of the Generals are allowed to leave the palace. Also, the opposing Generals are not allowed to “see” each other directly across the board.
Like International Chess, Chinese Chess is easy to learn but difficult to play. The basic movements of the pieces are as follows.
How to Play
Each player starts with 16 pieces of 7 different varieties. Playing pieces are placed on the intersections of the board, not in the squares. The playing pieces are flat disks with red or black characters. The red player begins play, and then play alternates black, red, black, and so on. Chinese Chess can be won either by putting the enemy General in checkmate or stalemate. It has been said that the player who makes the first offensive move has the advantage.
The Board
As mentioned earlier, Chinese Chess is played on a 9 x 10 grid. There are nine points on each side of the board that are marked by two diagonal lines. (This area is called the Imperial Palace.) The open space in the middle of the board is called the river. The two areas do affect the movement of several pieces.
From left to right on the bottom and top rows, there is the chariot, horse, elephant, guard, king, guard, elephant, knight, and rook. On the third rows, there are the cannons, and on the fourth row are the soldiers. Pieces at the bottom half are red. While the other side of the pieces are usually black or green.
Correct Opening Setup of Chess Pieces on the Chessboard
Setup
The game can be handicapped by allowing the weaker player to start the game by making two or three moves on their side of the river.
The River
Capture
A capture is when the space where the opposition piece occupies is taken over by another Chess piece (equivalent to that of International Chess).
Check
A General is in check if the opponent’s next move will capture him or her. When the General is in check, it is vital that the General is either moved away from the attempted capture, or another piece is maneuvered in front of the potential capture (or in the case of an attack from the Cannon, it is important to move the screen out of the way or the attacking piece is captured by a member of the opposition’s own army.
Checkmate/Stalemate
Checkmate is a position where the General is in check and there is no other alternative to escape from the action of checking. Chinese Chess can also be won by forcing the enemy into a position where he has no legal moves available, even though the opposition General may not be in check.
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