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Xiangqi / Chinese Chess
Xiangqi is known as Chinese Chess in English, it is extremely popular in the eastern hemisphere, it shares some similarities with western chess. The direct translation of “Xiangqi” is “Elephant Game” or “Figure Game”, the real meaning of it is still unknown because the Chinese language has existed for a long period of time and a lot of changes have been made, the word “Xiang” can mean elephant or figure or alike, where “qi” means “strategy game”.
Some say, it is “The elephant game” because the chess pieces were made of ivory; but some say that Chinese chess was an influence of the Indian culture, and Indians used elephants in their army for transport and war fighting.
Some say, it is “The image game” or “The constellation game”, representing the movement in the sky
Some say, it is “The figure game”, because the chess pieces are simply figures that mimics war in reality.
Chinese chess is believed to be a simulation of the war and a reflection of the life of the ancient society. It was designed for military purposes, then radiated to other social classes as entertainment.
A well known historic civil war between the "han" and "chor" was employed to make it dramatic and attractive to most people.
Game Design Elements
In Xiangqi, each player controls an army of pieces (equal amount).
Pieces are moved one at a time, the objective of Xiangqi is to either checkmate or stalemate your opponent,
A checkmate is when you have placed his General in check, and he cannot eliminate the check with any move.
A stalemate is when a player has no legal move.
The Board / Art
The Board of Xiangqui is made up of a grid of 10 horizontal lines and 9 vertical lines.
The vertical lines are interrupted in the middle by the “River”.
The design of the board and rules was based on the ultimate war between the two kings near the river "yellow river"
I believe there are hidden meanings behind the rules and mechanics, it reflects the culture at the time,the king takes shelter and protection in the palace by advisors and guards; the soldiers are expected to be of high mortality and casualty ,and sacrificing. these are true reflection of the war craft of the ancient time
The important and role of the “Palaces” and “River” will be explained below shortly
This is the beginning setup of the game, pieces are placed like the following.
Rules
Chariots / Rooks
The Chariot or Rook has the exact same mechanic as the Rook in Chess.
It can only move
in a straight line, vertically or horizontally.
It can move across any number of empty space
or eliminating an opponent’s piece by taking over the location
It may not pass any occupied spaces.
Horses / Knights
The Horse or Knights may seem to be like the mechanic as the Knight in Chess.
In Xiangqi, it cannot leap over pieces, when it moves, it first moves one space orthogonally followed by one more space diagonally outward.
When the first space it would move over is occupied, its movement in that direction is blocked. It may never stop on the first space of its movement.
Minister / Elephant
The Minister or Elephant moves two spaces in the same diagonal direction. Like the Horse, it may not leap over occupied spaces. So if the first step of its move is over an occupied space, it is blocked and may not make that move.
Also, they are confined to their own side of the river.
Due to these limitations, the Elephant can reach only seven spaces of the board.
Advisors / Guards
The Advisor or Guard moves one space diagonally.
They are not allowed to leave the palace.
General / King
General / King
The General or King moves one space orthogonally
They are not allowed to leave the palace.
The two opposing pieces (General and King) cannot face each other on an open file. If this happens, the last player to move the piece loses.
Unlike the King in Chess, the General or King may not move diagonally.
Cannons
Cannons
The Cannon moves differently when it moves to capture than when it moves passively.
When it moves, it is exactly like the Chariot/Rook. But during this time, it cannot eliminate any piece.
When eliminating an opponent’s piece, it must hop over a single intervening piece. (either the player or opponent’s piece). The distance does not matter, but it has to be vertical or horizontal.
Soldiers / Pawns
Soldiers / Pawns
The Soldiers or Pawns move one space vertically forward, after it crosses the river, it gains additional ability to move one space sideways.
This piece cannot move backwards.
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