Chinese Chess (XiangQi) Introduction Confucius Institute Friends of Chinese Chess in Finland(Kiisys) r.y.

Common origin with Western Chess is likely Reference: H.J.R. Murray. A History of Chess,Oxford University Press, 1913 Li, David H. The Genealogy of Chess, Premier Publishing, 1996

Early Indian game, Chaturanga Depicts an ancient battle Four branches of ancient Indian army : Western ChessChinese Chess Queen’s movement was changed to current type of movement in Europe in the 15th century (origianally there was a piece called a vizier which moved one step diagonally) 1. ChariotsRook (Engl. rook Italian rocca, fortress) Chariot (Rook) 2. ElephantsBishop (Shatranj : al-fil, elephant) Movement method was changed in the 16th century, previously 2 diagonally Elephant (moves 2 diagonally) 3. CavalryKnightHorse 4. InfantryPawn

Modern games

Why use Chinese Characters? Pieces were easy to manufacture even using ancient methods They identify a single piece perfectly - A single character corresponded to a single word in ancient Chinese language - Round wooden chips decorated with a few strokes of brush : compared with 3D western chess pieces making a Chinese Chess set is extremely simple

Why use different characters for the same piece? Identifies whose piece is it without using colors All sets do not necessarily distinguish all the pieces, especially the horse ( 馬 ) and the chariot ( 車 ) often look the same on both sides Most often the sets use traditional Chinese characters, but the simplified characters can also be used ( 马）， ( 车 ) etc.

Character for the Chariot (rook): 車 車车車车 jū

Movement of the chariot Initial positionMovement

Character for the Horse: 馬 馬马馬马

Movement of the Horse Initial positionMovement

Character for the Elephant: 象 / 相 象 相 ([anc.] minister )

Movement of the Elephant Initial positionMovement (if points A or B are occupied, the piece can not jump over. It also can’t jump over the river)

Characters for the Advisor: 士 / 仕 士 大 (big) 人 (human) 亻 (human, as a part of a character)

Movement of the Advisor Initial positionMovement as in Charaturanga, one step diagonally(limited to the palace area)

Characters for the General (King): 帥 / 將 帥 （帅） 爿 爿 將 （将）

Movement of the General Initial position (ordinarily a king can not move to a line occupied by enemy General) Moves one step horizontally or vertically (limited to the palace area)

Character for the Pawn: 兵 / 卒 兵 (衣)(衣) 卒

Movement of the Pawn Initial positionMovement (after crossing the river, horizontal movement is also possible)

Character for the Cannon: 炮 / 砲 火 石 包

Movement of the Cannon Initial position Movement ( When capturing an enemy piece, you need a piece in between. Relative location of those pieces are irrelevant)

”River”? In the middle of the board, you can read 楚河漢界 (simplified 楚河汉界 ) State of Chu ( 楚 )’s river ( 河 ), State of Han’s ( 漢 ) border( 界 ) The game is supposedly related to the founding of Han Dynasty (c. 210 BCE) The Leader of Han, Liu Bang ( 刘邦 ) versus The Leader of Chu, Xiang Yu ( 项羽 )

Objective of the game 1. Making a mate like in Chess: the king is threatened and it no longer can move - Remember that enemy king can help to checkmate 2. Also a stalemate is a winning situation (unlike in western Chess): Stalemate = there are no more valid moves left

Illegal moves #1 1.Perpetual checking is forbidden - After three repetitions, the offending party is judged to lose An example of perpetual checking

Illegal moves#2 2. Perpetual chasing is forbidden An example of perpetual chasing - Perpetual chasing unless using a pawn or a king is forbidden. After three repeats the offending party is judged to lose. 3. More detailed rules:

Common principles for beginners(1) PawnRelative value Pawn before crossing the river1 Pawn after crossing the river2 Advisor2 Elephant1 - 2 Horse4 - 5 Cannon4 - 5 Chariot (Rook)9 1.The chariot is the most valuable piece. You must get it into the game as soon as possible. For a beginner, you should avoid exchanging it even for a horse and a cannon (unless preparing to checkmate). 2. Horse and a cannon are approximately of equal value. You can exchange a horse for cannon or viceversa. However, normally it is worth keeping at least one chariot, cannon and a horse. 3. You can sacrificice a single pawn to improve your position, but in the end game pawns close to the enemy palace are often vitally important. Therefore sacrificing several pawns might be unadvisable.

Common principles for beginners(2) An easy checkmate example number 1An easy checkmate example number 2 Use of Cannon requires some experience as the western chess has no equivalent piece

Where to find people to play with? Friends of Chinese Chess in Finland (Kiisys) r.y. Online (links to game servers) How to develop your game skills? Primarily just by playing! Literature :