Xiangqi

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Xiangqi (Chinese: ?? ; pinyin: xiÃÆ' ngqÃÆ' ; English: ), also called Chinese chess , is a strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in China, and is in the same family as Western (or international) chess, chaturanga, shogi , Indian chess and janggi . In addition to China and areas with significant Chinese ethnic communities, xiangqi ( c? T ) is also a popular hobby in Vietnam.

This game represents a fight between two soldiers, with the object of capturing the enemy general (king). Characteristics of xiangqi include cannon ( pao ), which must jump to catch; a rule that forbids the generals from facing each other directly; areas on the board called stream and palaces , which limit the movement of some parts (but increase others); and the placement of pieces at the intersection of the board line, not in the box.

Video Xiangqi

Board

Xiangqi played on a nine-line wide board and ten long lines. As in the game Go ( WÃÆ'Â © iqÃÆ' ??/??), the deduction is placed at the intersection, known as points . The vertical line is known as the file ( column ), and the horizontal line is known as ranking ( line ).

Focused on the first to third and eighth ranks up to the ten boards are two zones, three points each with three points, limited by two diagonal lines connecting opposite corners and intersecting at the center. Each of these fields is known as?/? g? ng , a castle.

Dividing the two opposite sides, between the fifth and sixth rank, is? hÃÆ' Â © , "stream". Rivers are often marked with phrases ?? Ã, ch? hÃÆ' Â © , which means "Chu River", and ?? (in Traditional Chinese), hÃÆ'n jiÃÆ'¨ , meaning "Border of the Han", references for the Chu-Han War. Although the river provides visual division between the two sides, only two parts are affected by its presence: the army has an improved movement after crossing the river, and the elephant can not cross it. The starting point of the soldier and the cannon is usually, but not always, marked by a small cross.

Maps Xiangqi

Rules

The pieces start at the position shown in the diagram above. The first moving player has varied throughout history and from one part of China to another. Different xiangqi books suggest that the black or red sides move first. Some books refer to two sides as north and south; which direction corresponds to the color also varies from source to source. Generally, Red moves first in most modern tournaments.

Each player in turn moves one part of the point it occupies to another point. Pieces are generally not allowed to move through the points occupied by other pieces. Pieces can be moved to the point occupied by enemy pieces, in which case enemy pieces are captured and removed from the board. A player can not catch one of his own pieces. Pieces were never promoted (converted into other parts), although the soldier could move sideways after crossing the river. Almost all the pieces capture using their normal movement, while the cannon has a special capture movement described below.

The game ends when one player catches another. When the general is in danger of being caught by the enemy player in the next step, the enemy player has "sent a check" (simplified Chinese: ??/?? ; traditional Chinese: ??/?? , abbreviated (simplified Chinese: ? ; traditional Chinese: ? ; pinyin: ji? Ng ji? ng )), and generally "in check". Checks must be announced. If the generals can not move to prevent general arrest, the situation is called "skak mat" (simplified Chinese: traditional Chinese: ?? ). Unlike chess, where the deadlock is a draw, in xiangqi, it is a loss for the remaining lawless player.

In xiangqi, players - often with material or position loss - may try to check or chase the pieces in such a way that the motion falls in a cycle, forcing the opponent to draw the game. The following specific rules are used to make it harder to pull the game by checking and chasing endlessly, regardless of whether the repeat position is repeated or not:

• A player who keeps a check with a piece or parts can be mastered has lost unless he stops such a check.
• The side that constantly chases one unprotected part with one or more pieces, excluding generals and soldiers, will be ordered to lose unless he stops the pursuit.
• If one side continually checks and the other constantly chases, the checking side must stop or be ruled gone.
• When nobody breaks the rules and they still do not take alternative steps, the game can be categorized as a draw.
• When both parties break the same rules at the same time and both still do not take alternative steps, the game can be categorized as a draw.

Different sets of rules set different limits on what is considered eternal. For example, the xiangqi club rules allow players to check or pursue six times in a row using one part, twelve using two parts, and eighteen times using three sections before considering lasting action.

The above rule to prevent continuous, though popular, testing and search is not the only one; there are many end game situations.

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Pieces

Each player controls 16 troops; soldiers are usually red and black. Pieces of flat disc are labeled or engraved with Chinese characters that identify the type of pieces, and in colors that indicate which players have ownership. The black pieces are marked with a slightly different character from the corresponding red piece.

In mainland China, most sets still use traditional Chinese characters (as opposed to simplified Chinese characters). Modern pieces are usually plastic, although some sets are wood, and the more expensive sets can use jade. In the more ancient times, many simple sets of unpainted woodcarvings; thus, to distinguish between the two sides, most of the same pieces use similar characters but vary slightly. This practice may come from a situation where there is only one material available to make a cut of and no dye available to distinguish the opposing army. The oldest xiangqi cut found today? (train) piece. It was kept in the Henan Province Museum.

General

General (or king ) labeled? (trad.)/? (simp.) ji ng ("common") on the black side and? (trad.)/? (simp.) shuÃÆ' i ("marshal") on the red side.

The general started the game at the midpoint of the back edge, inside the castle. The general can move and capture one point orthogonal and must not leave the palace, with the exception of the following.

The two generals may not be facing each other along the same file without the pieces of intervention. If it happens, ?? ("flying public") movable can be run, where the general to move can cross the board to catch the enemy general. In practice, this rule is only used to enforce the checklist.

The Indian name king for this section has been changed to general because the Chinese authorities object to their royal title given to the game deduction.

Advisor

Counselor (also known as guard or minister , and less common as assistant , mandarin , or warrior ) are labeled? shÃÆ'¬ ("undergraduate", "gentleman", "officer", "guardian") for Black and ? shÃÆ'¬ ("undergraduate", "official", "guardian") for Red. Rarely, set using characters? for both colors.

Counselors start on both sides of the general. They move and catch a point diagonally and may not leave the castle, which limits them to five points on the board. The counselor probably came from a mantry in chaturanga, like a queen in Western chess.

There is some controversy about whether "?" really meant to mean "scholar", "gentleman" who would be "??", or "guard", "guardian" who would be "??" (Simplified Chinese: ??). For some, the latter seems to make more sense because their function seems to keep/protect the generals. The general Western "translated" Advisory "does not reflect this layer of meaning.

Elephant

Elephants (or bishops ) are labeled? xi of ("elephants") for Black and? xi of ("ministers") for Red. They are next to the advisers. These pieces move and catch exactly two dots diagonally and can not jump over intervening pieces; The step is described as a character? TiÃÆ'¡n ("field"). If elephants can not move because of diagonal divisions nearby, they are known as "blocking elephant eyes" (???).

Elephants should not cross the river, and serve as pieces of defense. Since the movement of elephants is restricted to only seven board positions, it can be easily trapped or threatened. Both elephants are often used to defend each other.

Chinese characters for "ministers" and "elephants" are homophones in Chinese (Span> Listen ) and both have alternate meanings as "appearance" or " picture". However, in English, both are called elephants.

Horse

Horses (or knights ) are labeled? m? for Black and? mÃÆ' for Red in sets marked with Traditional Chinese characters and? m? for Black and Red on set is marked with Simplified Chinese script. Some traditional sets used? for both colors. Horses start the game next to elephants, on the outside of them. A horse moves and catches a point orthogonally and then a diagonal point away from its original position, a movement traditionally described as a character? RÃÆ'¬ . Horses do not jump like the knights do in Western chess, and can be blocked by a piece located one point horizontally or vertically adjacent to it. Blocking a horse is called "hobbled feet of a horse" (???). The diagram on the left illustrates the movement of the horse.

Because horses can be blocked, sometimes it's possible to trap the opposing horse. It is possible for a player's horse to have the advantage of asymmetrical attack if the opponent's horse is blocked, as seen on the diagram on the right.

Chariot

Chariots (or rooks ) labeled? j? for Black and? Ã, j? for Red in sets marked with Traditional Chinese characters and? for Black and Red in sets marked with Simple Mandarin characters. Some traditional sets used? for both colors. In the Chinese Chess context, all of these characters are pronounced as Ã, j? (not the typical ch? pronunciation). The train moves and captures any distance orthogonally, but may not skip the annoying pieces. The train starts the game on points at the corner of the board. Trains are often regarded as the strongest part of the game due to freedom of movement and lack of restrictions.

The train is sometimes known as a castle by an English-speaking player, because it's like a fortress in Western chess. Chinese players (and others) often call this part of the car, because it is one of the modern meanings of the character?

Cannon

Cannon labeled? pÃÆ' o ("catapult") for Black and? pÃÆ' o ("cannon") for Red. Those names are homophones, though sometimes? used for Red and Black. That? sha radical? means "stone", and that? hu? radical? means "fire". Both pieces of color are usually referred to as cannons in English. Black pieces sometimes labeled?

Each player has two cannons, which begin on the line behind the army, two points ahead of the horses. The cannon moves like a train, any distance orthogonally without jumping, but can only catch by jumping one part, friend or enemy, along the path of attack. The piece where the jumping cannon is called ?? (trad.)/?? (simp.) pÃÆ' o tÃÆ'¡i ("cannon platform") or "screen". A number of empty spaces, including none, may exist between the cannon, the screen, and the part to be taken. The cannons can be exchanged for horses immediately from their starting position.

Soldier

Army labeled? zÃÆ'º ("pawn" or "private") for Black and? b? ng ("soldier") for Red. Each side begins with five soldiers. The army starts the game located at each point one row back from the riverbank. They move and capture by advancing a single point. Once they cross the river, they can also move and catch a point horizontally. Soldiers can not back down, and therefore can not retreat; after progressing to the final rank of the council, however, a soldier may still move sideways on the edge of the enemy. The soldier is sometimes called a "pawn" by an English-speaking player, because of the similarity of the pieces.

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Approaching the relative value of parts

These estimates do not take into account the position of the piece in question (except the army in the general sense), the position of the other piece on the board, or the number of pieces remaining.

Other common rating rules:

• A gun plus horse is generally better than two horses or two cannons.
• Trains are not only the strongest part, but also generally stronger than the combination of two small pieces (horse/cannon). When the relative value of the cuts on both sides is more or less, the side with more trains generally has an advantage, especially when one side has a train and one side is not (Chinese: ?????). However, the horse-drawn carriage is not very strong in basic games: For example, chariot dancers vs 2 and 2 elephants are generally drawn, whereas if the attacking party has two horses or even three inexperienced warriors it is a victory.
• In the early stages, the cannon was stronger than the horse. In the endgame, the horse is stronger as the attacking part, but the cannon generally has better survival skills.
• Army values ​​vary in various stages of the game. In the opening and the middle game, initiative and flake mobility often requires the sacrifice of soldiers. At this stage, the soldiers closer to the middle file are generally more valuable, as they can effectively join the offense. With some attacking pieces on the board. soldiers have more power, and can cross the river more easily. At this stage, advanced soldiers are generally less powerful, because the army can not move backwards. In the basic endgames, the three soldiers who start in the 7th rank are roughly the same as the horse-drawn carriages: they can force a win against 2 advisors and 2 elephants, or a horse/cannon plus 2 elephants, while the train can not, and the horse carriage can not forcing a victory against three soldiers in the 7th rank when well maintained.

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Notations

There are several types of notation used to record xiangqi games. In each case, the movements are numbered and written with the same general pattern.

1. (first step) (first response)
2. (second step) (second response)
3. ...

It's clearer but it's not necessary to write each pair moving on separate lines.

System 1

The Chinese Chess book describes mobile notation methods where board ratings are numbered 1 to 10 from closest to farthest, followed by digits 1 through 9 for files from right to left. Both values ​​relative to the moving player. Moving is then indicated as follows:

[cut name] ([former rank] [former file]) - [new rank] [new file]

Thus, the most common opening in the game will be written as:

1. ? (32) -35 ? (18) -37

System 2

The notation system is partly described in the Chinese Chess Manual and is used by some computer software implementations describing the steps in relative terms as follows:

[abbreviation of one letter] [former file] [operator showing direction of movement] [new file, or in case of pure vertical movement, number of ratings passed]

The file number is calculated from each player right to the left of each player.

If there are two identical parts in a file, the (front) and - (back) symbols are used instead of the previous file number. The direction of movement is shown through the operator symbol. The plus sign is used to indicate forward movement. The minus sign is used to indicate reverse movement. The same point or point or mark is used to indicate horizontal or lateral motion. For moving parts diagonally (like a horse or an elephant), plus or minus signs are used rather than period.

Thus, the most common opening in the game will be written as:

1. C2.5 H8 7

In old books written in Mandarin, the system is the same, except that: the names of the pieces are written in Chinese; the name for the cannon on both sides is ?; the name of the horse on both sides is ?; forward motion is indicated by? (pronounced jÃÆ'¬n ); reverse motion is indicated by? ( tuÃÆ'¬ ); sideways motion is indicated by? ( png ); and numbers are written in Chinese for both players or only for Black.

Thus, the most common opening in the game can be written as:

1. ???? ? 8? 7

System 3

The system is unofficial and is mainly used by Western players. This is similar to algebraic notation for Western chess. Mail is used for files and numbers for ranking. The file "a" is on the left of Red and the "1" rating is closest to Red. Point designation is independent of moving players; for both sides "a1" is the lowest left point of the Red side.

[one-letter abbreviation] [previous position] [indication of arrest] [new position] [check indication] [analysis]

The pieces are abbreviated as in notation system 2, except that no mail is used for soldiers.

The former position is indicated only if it is necessary to distinguish between two identical pieces that can make a move. If they share the same file, indicate which rank is moving; if they share the same rankings, indicate which files are moving. If they do not share the rank or file, then the file is indicated.

Capture is marked with "x". No symbols are used to indicate non-capture motion.

Checks are shown with "", double check with "", check triple by "", and check quadruple with "". Checkmate is marked with "#".

For purposes of analysis, poor movements are marked with "?" and good movement with "!". This can be combined if the analysis is uncertain ("!?" May be good but may be good; "?!" May be bad) or repeated for emphasis ("??" is a disaster).

Thus, the most common opening in the game will be written as:

1. Che3 Hg8

Examples of short games ("scratch start") are:

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Gameplay

Due to the size of the board and the number of long pieces are low, there is a tendency for battles to focus on specific areas of the board.

Tactics

Xiangqi involves some common tactics for games in the chess family. Some of the common ones are briefly discussed here.

• When one part can attack more than one part of the enemy, they branch .
• A piece is embedded when it can not move without showing the more important part to take. The cannon can embed two pieces at once in one file or rank, the horse can be embedded because it can be blocked, and the general can pin because of the "general fly" rule.
• A piece is punctured when attacked and, by moving, shows less important pieces to be captured.

• The found check occurs when an attacking part moves so as to unblock the train, the cannon, and less frequently, the horse, to check the enemy's generals. The piece that uncovers the check can safely move anywhere within its power regardless of whether the opponent has the box under protection.
• Double check occurs when two parts simultaneously threaten enemy generals. It may or may not be possible to block, but catching one of the check pieces is not enough to remove the threat. The only cases that can be blocked are the train and the cannon in the same file as the general, with a train acting as a screen for a cannon, or two horses that provide the inspection found after another piece releases the attack from both. Other combinations of double checks can not be blocked.
• Unique to xiangqi is triple check , which appears in three combinations. In the first case of a cannon, a horse or a soldier, and a horse, the horse moves to inspect, opening double checks of trains and cannons. In the second case, a train or soldier and two horses, the horse-drawn carriage moves to inspect, uncovering a double inspection of two horses. In the third case of two cannons and two horses, one cannon can find double checks of the horse and act as a screen for other cannons. Quadruple Examination is also possible, which comes with two horses, a train, and a cannon. Triple and quadruple checks can not be blocked.

Typically, the army does not support each other until the end, because from the starting position it takes at least five steps a soldier to allow joint protection between the two, and they often tend to be caught by other parts.

Soldiers, horses, cannons and trains can form mutually protective formations. However, marching the train should be done with caution, as this risks losing one train to the lower part of the enemy. The horses that support each other are called Connected Horse (Chinese: ???), which is a relatively safe horse formation, though it can still be threatened with a soldier, a horse-drawn carriage plus another small piece, or pieces that block one of the horses thereby creating a one-sided protection.

It is common to use cannons independently to control certain ratings and files. Using a cannon to control the middle file is often considered an important strategy, therefore pin pins are like advisors and elephants. Both files adjacent to the middle file are also considered important and horses and trains can be used to encourage the skakmat there.

Since it is generally usually safest in its original position before the end-time phase, public assault usually involves forcing a general exit from its original position by checking or by threat. Thus, certain points and formations are very important in xiangqi.

For the attacking horse (Red), the most fatal points are c9 and g9 (Chinese: ???), mainly because without proper defense, the pair can quickly follow with an extra train or cannon.

For cannons, one of the most deadly formations is the open cannon (Chinese: ???), where the cannon directly controls the middle file without any other pieces between the cannons and the generals. This formation is very dangerous because the defensive party can not move any part in front of the cannon; while with additional cannons joining the attack, the mate can follow in place, and with the addition of a fort, the defensive side can put up a double check (with a fort in front of the cannon) followed by a windmill, often winning at least one snippet afterwards. If a defensive party can not pursue a cannon or capture it, it must move forward in general to avoid these threats, leaving the generals vulnerable to attack.

Another fatal formation, called "gun-controlled centroid horses" (Chinese: ?????, diagram on the right), also requires very poor coordination of enemy pieces. In the diagram, the Black "horse centroid" occupies the center of the palace, obstructing the general and Black's own advisor; while the Black gun in e8 was pinned to defend his own generals and could not move, and that also limited the movement of the two Black elephants. Such formations in the middle often result in deadly threats from friends choked; while in the endgame, as in the diagram, the Red cannon can not be pursued, making the black horse and cannon pinned and permanently trapped. Though Black rises a small part, he dies missing: The game concludes 41.Hg7 (attacks the elephant and creates a marriage threat) Eg10 42.Hh9 Ci9 43.Hf8 Cf9 (if no other Black cannon, it is instant mate) 44.Hxg6, and Black resigned: The only active part of Black was completely hopeless against the passing Red soldiers and horses.

A common defense configuration is to leave the general at the starting position, spread one advisor and one elephant at two points right in front of the general, and leave the other advisor and elephant in their starting position, to the public side. In this arrangement, the elephant-advisory partners support each other, and the generals are immune to attacks by cannons. Losing one part makes it vulnerable to a cannon, and the arrangement may need to be abandoned. Defenders can move advisers or elephants away from generals, or even sacrifice them intentionally, to fend off attacks by cannons.

A long sequence of checks that leads to spouse or general material acquisition both in chess composition and in actual play. A skilled xiangqi player often has to count several steps, or even dozens of steps forward for a forced sequence. In the diagram on the right, Black has a direct threat of marriage that can not be deflected, forcing Red to check Black on every move. Although it requires 11 movements to mate, the idea is generally clear: Induce a choked check at the expense of the train at the palace center (e9), then force Black to open the central file, allow the Red General to assist the attack, and finally marry by facing the general.

Aperture

Since the left and right wings of the symmetrical initial setup, it is customary to make the first step on the right side. Starting from the left side is considered unnecessary confusing.

The most common opening is to move the cannon to the middle column, the opening known as ??? (trad.)/??? (simp.) d? ng tÃÆ'³u pÃÆ' o or "Central Cannon". The most common answer is to advance a horse on the same side. Together, this movement-and-response is known by the lyrics ???, ??? (trad.)/???, ??? (simp.) Ã, d? ng tÃÆ'³u pÃÆ' o, m? lÃÆ'¡i tiÃÆ' o . Notation for this is "1.? (32) -35 ,? (18) -37", "1. C2.5 H8 7", or "1. Che3 Hg8" (diagram at right). After Black 1.... H8 7 (Hg8) response, the game can evolve into various openings, the most common is ??? (trad.)/??? (simp.) or "Screen Horses (Defense)" in which Black develops another horse to protect his center further (H2 3 or... Hc8) immediately in the second step, or later when Black transposes the game into this opening.

The first common alternative to Black is to develop a cannon (1.... C8.5/1... Che8, or 1.... C2.5/1... Cbe8); note that after one of these movements, taking a central soldier with a cannon (2. C5 4 or 2. Cxe7) is a novice trap that impedes the development and coordination of Red pieces if Black plays correctly (eg, 1. Che3 Che8 2. Cxe7? Ade9 3. Hg3 Hg8 4. Ce5 Rh10 when Black develops the first castle, and the loss of Black's middle pawn actually allows the Black horse to occupy the center in the next step).

Another common first step by Red includes moving the elephant to the middle column (1.Ege3), advancing the soldier on the third or seventh (1. c5) file, moving the horse forward (1. Hg3), and moving the cannon to the 4th or to-6 (d- or f-) (1. Chd3 or 1. Chf3). Compared to the opening of Central Cannon, these openings are generally less limited by theory.

General suggestions for the opening include the rapid development of at least one train and put it in open files and ratings, as this is the most powerful part with a long range of attacks. There is a saying that only poor players do not move the train in the first three steps (Chinese: ?????, ?????); But this does not have to be taken literally, and in fact is often violated in modern Xiangqi games. Attacking and defending the center, especially the central army/central pawn, is a common theme in the opening, then the opening of Central Cannon. Typically, at least one horse must be moved to the center to defend central soldiers; but the unattended central army can also be a "poison pawn" in the initial movement, especially if the attacking party has no direct follow-up to maintain pressure on the central file.

Middlegame Strategy

Xiangqi's strategy shares common themes with chess, but has several differences:

• Occupying a relatively less important center in xiangqi, but controlling and attacking the middle file is still one of the important themes. Because the middle file is often well defended, players will then attempt to mount an attack on one side on the enemy side, especially when a one-sided defense is ignored.
• The importance of pawn formation in xiangqi and chess is different. In Xianqi, soldiers (pawns) are often encouraged to avoid blocking their own horses. Successfully getting soldiers to cross the river as an attacking force can often tilt the scales from the middle game by a large margin.
• In high-level games, this initiative is very important, and small errors can damage the game.
• Sacrifices are common in xiangqi, but they are more often tactical than positional. Typically, at least a small portion is sacrificed for position advantage, or semi-tactical attack.

Endgame

Although xiangqi endgames require amazing skills to play well, there are a number of well-known book wins and book pullouts.

The general rule in the xiangqi endyard for the lucrative side is that, when there is less material on the board, do not swap pieces easily, because with fewer pieces attacking on the board, defending is easier. Therefore, if a particular type of endgame can transform, by trading pieces, to another type of endgame which is a book win, then this endgame itself is a book win.

Zugzwang in xiangqi endgames

Pushing zugzwang is a crucial theme in winning simple endgames, and almost exclusively in simple endgames. In the general soldier vs. general endgame shown on the right, Red's first major goal is to occupy the middle file. Red wins with 1. Gd1, the waiting movement, and Black in the zugzwang. Black must proceed with 1.... Ge8, as 1.... Ge10 instantly lost after 2. f9 #. After 1.... Ge8 2. f9 Gf8 3. e9 Ge8 4. d9 Gf8 5. Ge1, General Red manages to occupy the middle file. The game will end with 5.... Gf9 6. e9, and irrespective of the Black reply, 7. Ge2 # (stale) Black friends and thus win the game.

Zugzwang is probably reciprocal, but is very rare and is usually seen in endgame compositions. In this endgame is shown on the right, anyone who moves loses, because when one of the two generals moves to open d- or f-file, a friend in 1 is threatened with this move, while the player to move only helps the common enemy occupy the wrong one file. For example, Red can only move two soldiers if he wants to move. Moving the f- (or d-) army allows the enemy general to occupy the f-file (file-d). Even if 1. fe9 Gf10 2. d10, when Red threatens comrades in 1, Black still mates directly with 2.... fe2 # or 2.... f1 #.

Soldier (pawn) endgames

• A soldier, as long as not reaching the opposite rank, wins against a naked general with ease. With each extra defensive part on the defense side, it is a draw; However, army vs. advisors requires skills to play well.
• Two unfading soldiers (ie, on rank 6 or 7) win against the following combinations: Two counselors, two elephants, horses/bare cannons. Generally a draw against one adviser plus one elephant, or a horse/cannon plus a defensive piece.
• Three unsuccessful soldiers win against the following combinations: All 4 parts of defense (2 advisors plus 2 elephants, Chinese: ???), horses plus two advisers/two elephants, cannons plus two elephants.

Horse endgames

• A bare horse wins against nude advisors, but not a naked elephant.
• A horse plus an unsophisticated warrior wins against a combination of 3 defensive pieces, or a combination of small pieces plus the defense part except the elephant horse. This combination draws against all 4 defensive pieces.
• A horse plus an advanced soldier (on rank 8 or 9) uses a combination of 3 defensive sections, but maintains requiring the right position.
• A horse plus a soldier in the ranking of 10 wins against two advisors, or one advisor plus one elephant. This combination attracts 2 elephants.
• A horse plus two soldiers can win against one small piece of advisors of two elephants. With an additional adviser on the defense side, this is a book sweepstakes.
• Two horses win against all 4 parts of defense, or a combination of small pieces plus 2 defensive pieces except 2 elephant cannons.

Cannon endgames

• A bare cannon, or a cannon with an elephant, can not win against a naked general because of insufficient material. Cannons need defense pieces for cooperation, especially advisors.
• The cannon only requires one advisor to win against two advisers, or a single elephant. Meanwhile, even with all 4 defensive sections, this is a series of books against two elephants, one elephant adviser, one advisory army, or every small piece.
• Cannon with 4 parts of defense requires at least one extra soldier to win against 4 pieces of defense. A bald cannon with a soldier on the 6th rank wins against a combination of two defensive pieces.
• A pair of 4 defensive army 2 non-advanced soldiers generally pull a small 4-piece defensive piece. But if the defensive party does not have one, it is a book win.

Horse Cannon endgames

This endgame type is considered to be one of the more complex endgames. The commonly known book victories and book series are:

• Horse Cannon 4 defensive pieces vs small pieces vs. 4 defensive pieces: Victory if minor part is a horse (attacking side does not require all 4 parts of defense to win), draw if it is a cannon.
• With the same combination of two small pieces and all 4 defensive pieces on both sides, one needs two extra soldiers to win the book.
• If both parties have 2 small parts and 4 defensive parts, and the favorable side has only one additional soldier, then apart from the combination of two small pieces, it is a book draw.

Chariot endgames

Single endgames train:

• One horse cart generally can not win against 4 defensive parts, but with 3 or fewer defensive parts, it is a forced win.
• Chariot vs. one small piece plus 2 defensive parts: Victory if 2 parts of defense is not the same, or if the combination is a two-advisor horse. If the defense side has two elephant horses, a specific defensive position is required for drawing.
• Chariot vs. one small piece plus 3 defensive parts: A draw.
• Chariot vs. two small pieces without defensive pieces: A draw, but requires a good defensive position.

Chariot army (not advanced):

• Chariot soldier, with enough defensive cuts on his own, won against the chariot plus adviser, horse-drawn plus two elephants, or a horse-drawn carriage plus an army.
• Chariot soldier wins against 2 small pieces 2 advisors. This combination also wins against the 4-piece horse defense, but not a 4 piece defensive cannon.
• Chariot soldier vs 2 unadvanced soldiers 4 defensive pieces: If the offensive party has no defense, it is a series since 2 enemy soldiers can still be a formidable force. If the attacking party has one advisor, it is a victory.
• Chariot 2 soldiers can not force a victory against a defensive 4 chariot. In this endgame, attacking and surviving requires great skills.

Horseback Train:

• A horse-drawn carriage and a horse needs an adviser on his own side to win against a horse-drawn carriage plus two advisers.
• Chariot horses vs. two elephant trains: With sufficient defensive pieces for the attacking side, it usually wins if the moving limit is not considered.

Kanon Chariot:

• The railway plus cannons can not win against the bare buggies, as long as the chariots that retain occupy the middle file. But with the extra defense on the attacking side, it is a victory.
• Chariot 2 cannon advisor will win against the two elephant trains.
• Chariot cannon 4 defensive pieces vs chariot 4 defensive pieces: Draw.

Two trains:

• Two chariots vs chariot 4 defensive pieces: Draw with a good defensive position.
• Two chariots vs chariot small pieces 2 defensive pieces: The only combination of images is 2 chariot canon dancers.
• Two buggies vs. 2 small pieces 4 defensive pieces: Victory if 2 small sections are 2 horses.

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History

Xiangqi dates back to the Warring States period; according to the first-century text of BC Shuo yuan, is one of Mr. Mengchang's interests of Qi. Emperor Wu of Zhou North wrote a book in AD 569 called Xiang Jing . It describes the rules of astronomy-themed games called xiangqi or xiangxi (??/??). The word xiÃÆ' ngqÃÆ' ?? usually translated as "elephant game" or "game of numbers", because Chinese characters? means "elephant" and "figure"; it comes from a picture of an elephant, and is used to write a word meaning "figure", possibly because the two words are pronounced the same.

For this reason, Murray theorizes that "in China [chess] takes over the board and the name of the game is called" in the sense of 'Astronomy Game', which represents the real movement of a naked-eye astronomical object at night. sky, and that early Chinese references to "Mean Games of Astronomy and not Chinese chess". Previous games called xiÃÆ' ngqÃÆ' may be based on the movement of celestial bodies. However, the connection between? and astronomy is marginal, and arises from the constellations called "figures" in the context of astronomy in which the meaning of other "figures" is less likely; this use may have caused some ancient Chinese writers theorized that game ?? started as an astronomical simulation.

To support his argument, Murray quotes an ancient Chinese source saying that in the older xiangqi (which modern xiangqi may have taken some of its rules) game pieces can be shaken, which does not occur in modern chess xiangqi. Murray also wrote that in ancient China there was more than one game called xiangqi.

An alternate hypothesis for Murray is that Xiaqi was patterned after various troops in the era of the American War. David H. Li, for example, argues that the game was developed by Han Xin in the winter of 204 BC-203 BC to prepare for the upcoming battle. His theories have been questioned by other chess researchers. The earliest descriptions of the game rules appear in the story "CÃÆ' Â © n ShÃÆ'¹n" (??) in the collection of Xuanguai lu (???), written in the middle of the Tang dynasty.

With economic and cultural development during the Qing Dynasty, xiangqi entered a new stage. Many circle streams and different players became famous. By popularizing xiangqi, many books and manuals on game play techniques were published. They play an important role in popularizing xiangqi and improving game techniques in modern times. Western Style Chinese Chess Open Encyclopedia was written in 2004.

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Modern games

Tournaments and leagues

Although xiangqi is from Asia, there are leagues and xiangqi clubs around the world. Every European nation generally has a self-regulating league; for example, in England, xiangqi is governed by the Royal Chess Association of England. Asian countries also have national leagues, such as the Chinese Chinese Chess Association.

In addition, there are several international federations and tournaments. The Xiangqi China Association organizes several tournaments every year, including the Yin Li Tournament and Ram Cup. Other organizations include the Xiangqi Federation of Asia and the Xiangqi World Federation, which organize tournaments and competitions every year, with mostly limited to players from member countries.

Ratings

The Xiangqi Asia Federation (AXF) and its associated member associations ranked players in a format similar to the Elo chess ranking system. According to XiangQi DataBase, the top female and male players in China, in June 2012, are Tang Dan and Jiang Chuan, with rankings 2529 and 2667 respectively. Other strong players include Zhao GuanFang, Xu Yinchuan (male), Lu Qin (male), and Wang LinNa (female).

The Xiangqi Asia Federation also confer a grandmaster title to select individuals worldwide who have excelled in xiangqi or contributed specifically to the game. There are no specific criteria for being a grandmaster and a list of less than a hundred grandmasters in September 1996. Grandmaster titles are awarded by bodies such as AXF and Chinese Xiangqi Association (CXA).

Computer

The complexity of the game tree of xiangqi is about 10 ¹⁵⁰ ; in 2004 projected that top human players will be defeated before 2010. Xiangqi is one of the more popular computer-versus-computer competitions in the Computer Games.

The computer program to play xiangqi shows the same developmental trend as it has been for international chess: they are usually console apps (called machines) that communicate their movements in text form through some standard protocols. To display graphics boards, they then rely on a separate Graphic User Interface (GUI). Through such standardization, many different machines can be used through the same GUI, which can also be used for automated game different machines against each other. Popular protocols are UCI (Universal Chess Interface), UCCI (Universal Chess Interface), Qianhong protocol (QH), and WinBoard/XBoard protocol (WB) (the latter two named after the GUIs implement it). There are now many dozens of xiangqi machines supporting one or more of these protocols, including some commercial machines.

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Variations

Blitz Chess
Each player only has about 5-10 minutes each.

Manchu chess
Created during the Qing Dynasty. The red horse, the cannon, and one of the trains are absent, but the remaining trains can be played as horses and cannons as well.

Supplier Chess
Similar to the Western chess Bughouse Chess variant, this variant has the ability to redistribute captured pieces, similar to the rules in shogi. Four players play as two-man teams in two matches side by side. One team plays Black and the other plays Red. Any snippet obtained by capturing an opponent's share is given to teammates for use in other games. These pieces can be deployed by his team-mates to give him an advantage over other players, provided the passage starts on the player's own side of the board and does not cause the opponent to be in check.

Formation
One piece of a player mixed up, then placed randomly on one side of the river, except the generals and advisors, who should be in their usual position, and the elephant, which should start on two of the seven points they can usually accomplish. Other player pieces are set to reflect the first. All other rules are the same.

Banqi
This variation is better known in Hong Kong than in mainland China. He uses xiangqi and board pieces, but does not follow his rules, carries more of a resemblance to the Western Game Strategy as well as Luzhanqi Chinese games.

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Variations played with boards or special pieces

There are many versions of xiangqi three players, or san xiangqui , all played on special boards.

San Guo Qi
"Game of the Three Kingdoms" is played on a special hexagonal board with three xiangqi soldiers (red, blue, and green) vying to dominate. The Y-shaped river divides the board into three gem-shaped regions, each containing a box found on one side of the xiangqi board, but distorted to make the game playable by three people. Each player has eighteen pieces: sixteen regular xiangqi, plus two new ones standing in the same rank as the cannon. New pieces have different names depending on their side: huo ("fire") for Red, qi ("flag") for Blue, and feng ("wind") for Green. They move two spaces orthogonally, then one space diagonally. The generals each bore the name of China's historic kingdom - Shu for Red, Wei for Blue, and Wu for Green - from the Three Kingdoms of China period. It is likely that San Guo Qi first appeared under the Southern Song dynasty (960-1279).

San You Qi
"Three Friends Chess" was created by Zheng Jinde of Shexian in Anhui province during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1661-1722). It is played on a Y-shaped board with full xiangq pieces of troops mounted at the ends of each of the three wide-board radius. In the center of the board sits a triangular zone with certain features, like a sea, mountain, or city wall, each of which is passed by certain passages. Two of the five army soldiers were replaced by new pieces called huo ("flames") pieces, which moved one forward diagonal space. Two qi ("flags") are positioned in the front corner of the palace; they move two spaces forward in their own camp, and then one space in any direction inside an enemy camp.

Sanrenqi
"Three Men Chess" is a commercial no-stream variant played on a cross-shaped board with some special rules, including a neutral fourth country called Han. Han has three Chariots, one Cannon, and one General named "Emperor Xian of Han", but these pieces do not move and do not belong to one of the players to a certain point in the game when two team players fight a third player. By then the third player gets also controlling Han.

Si Guo Qi
"Four Kingdoms Chess" is also played on board, cross-shaped, but with four players. Since there is no river, elephants can move freely on the board.

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See also

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Note

References

• Lau, H. T. (1985). Chinese Chess . Tuttle Publishing. ISBNÃ, 0-8048-3508-X.
• Leventhal, Dennis A. Chinese Chess . Taipei, Taiwan: May Yes, 1978. (not printable but partially downloadable)
• Li, David H. The Genealogy of Chess . Premier Publishing, Bethesda, Maryland, 1998. ISBNÃ, 0-9637852-2-2.
• Murray, H. J. R. (1913). Chess History (reissued.). Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0-19-827403-3.
• Wilkes, Charles Fred. Chinese Chess Manual . 1952.

Further reading

• Li, David H. First Silabus on Xiangqi: Chinese Chess 1 . Premier Publishing, Bethesda, Maryland, 1996. ISBNÃ, 0-9637852-5-7.
• Li, David H. Xiangqi Silabus on Cannon: Chinese Chess 2 . Premier Publishing, Bethesda, Maryland, 1998. ISBNÃ, 0-9637852-7-3.
• Li, David H. Xiangqi Silabus on the Elephant: Chinese Chess 3 . Premier Publishing, Bethesda, Maryland, 2000. ISBNÃ, 0-9637852-0-6.
• Li, David H. Xiangqi Syllabus in Pawn: Chinese Chess 4 . Premier Publishing, Bethesda, Maryland, 2002. ISBNÃ, 0-9711690-1-2.
• Li, David H. Xiangqi Silabus on Horse: Chinese Chess 5 . Premier Publishing, Bethesda, Maryland, 2004. ISBNÃ, 0-9711690-2-0.
• Lo, Andrew; Wang, Tzi-Cheng. "The Earthworms Destroy the Dragon ': Xiangqi Game" in the Asian Games, The Art of Contest, edited by Asia Society, 2004. (A serious and recent reading of the history of xiangqi)
• Sloan, Sam. Chinese Chess for Beginners . Ishi Press International, San Rafael, Tokyo, 1989. ISBNÃ, 0-923891-11-0.

External links

• Xiangqi Championship
• Learn Chinese Chess in English Rules, openings, strategies, ancient manuals
• Introduction to Xiangqi for Chess Players
• Xiangqi, Chinese Chess Presentation, rules, history and variants, by Jean-Louis Cazaux
• Xiangqi (??): Chinese Chess by Hans Bodlaender, ed. Fergus Duniho, The Chess Variant Pages
• Boardspace.net Play real time games against human or (weak) robot opponents

Source of the article : Wikipedia