In xiangqi, a player-often with a material or positional disadvantage-may attempt to check or chase pieces in a way such that the moves fall in a cycle, preventing the opponent from winning. Unlike in chess, in which stalemate is a draw, in xiangqi, it is a loss for the stalemated player. If the general's player can make no move to prevent the general's capture, the situation is called 'checkmate' ( 將死). When the general is in danger of being captured by the enemy player on their next move, the enemy player has 'delivered a check' ( 照將/將軍, abbreviated as 將 jiāng ⓘ), and the general is 'in check'. The game ends when one player checkmates the other's general. The horse is not needed for this checkmate. Almost all pieces capture using their normal moves, while the cannon has a special capture move described below.Īn instance of checkmate that assumes the cannon is safe and Black cannot block the check. Pieces are never promoted (converted into other pieces), although the soldier gains the ability to move sideways after it crosses the river. A player cannot capture one of their own pieces. A piece can be moved onto a point occupied by an enemy piece, in which case the enemy piece is captured and removed from the board. Pieces are generally not permitted to move through points occupied by other pieces, the exception being the cannon’s capturing move. Įach player in turn moves one piece from the point it occupies, to another point.

Generally, Red moves first in most modern tournaments. Some books refer to the two sides as north and south which direction corresponds to which colour also varies from source to source.

Different xiangqi books advise either that the black or red side moves first. Which player moves first has varied throughout history and from one part of China to another. The pieces start in the position shown in the diagram above. Rules Xiangqi is a common pastime in Chinese cities (Beijing, 2005) The starting points of the soldiers and cannons are usually, but not always, marked with small crosses. Although the river (or Hanchu boundary) provides a visual division between the two sides, only two pieces are affected by its presence: soldiers have an enhanced move after crossing the river, and elephants cannot cross it. The river is usually marked with the phrases 楚河 chǔ hé ⓘ, meaning 'River of the Chu ', and 漢界 hàn jiè ⓘ, meaning 'Border of the Han', a reference to the Chu–Han War. Each of these areas is known as 宮 gōng ⓘ, a palace.ĭividing the two opposing sides, between the fifth and sixth ranks, is 河 hé, the 'river'. The vertical lines are known as files ( Chinese: 路 pinyin: lù 'road'), and the horizontal lines are known as ranks ( Chinese: 線/綫 pinyin: xiàn 'line').Ĭentred at the first to third and eighth to tenth ranks of the board are two zones, each three points by three points, demarcated by two diagonal lines connecting opposite corners and intersecting at the centre point. As in the game Go ( 圍碁 or Wéi qí 圍棋), the pieces are placed on the intersections, which are known as points. Xiangqi is played on a board nine lines wide and ten lines long.

Distinctive features of xiangqi include the cannon ( pao), which must jump to capture a rule prohibiting the generals from facing each other directly areas on the board called the river and palace, which restrict the movement of some pieces but enhance that of others and the placement of the pieces on the intersections of the board lines, rather than within the squares. The game represents a battle between two armies, with the primary object being to checkmate the enemy's general (king). Besides China and areas with significant ethnic Chinese communities, this game is also a popular pastime in Vietnam, where it is known as cờ tướng, literally 'General's chess'. Xiangqi is in the same family of games as shogi, janggi, Western chess, chaturanga, and Indian chess. It is the most popular board game in China. Xiangqi ( Chinese: 象棋 pinyin: xiàngqí Wade–Giles: Hsiang ch'i English: / ˈ ʃ ɑː ŋ tʃ i/), commonly known as Chinese chess or elephant chess, is a strategy board game for two players. If you have trouble playing the files, see Wikipedia Media help. This article includes inline links to audio files.

Wooden chinese checkers