Xiangqi, or Chinese chess, is an interesting game. It has similarities to the well-known western chess but also some differences.
The General/King is firmly confined to 9 squares, together with his two advisers. The King can only capture one hex horizontally and vertically and can only capture inside the palace. His advisers can only capture one hex diagonal and are also restricted to the 9 palace hexes.
The winner is the one who mates or captures the opponent's king. To capture is to make him immobile and unable to move any other piece. In Western chess capture would be a draw. In Xiangqi it is also considered a victory. A draw is only possible if no one can mate the other piece.
Soldiers are like pawns in Western chess, but these don't capture diagonally. They run upwards and hit straight ahead. Once they have crossed the river side, they can also capture and move sideways . Soldiers do not transform at the bottom, but remain soldiers who can then only run sideways, because backwards is forbidden.
Cannons can move across the entire playing field. Their function to strike and protect is limited. They can only strike if there is an enemy or own figure between them. You need a piece that is jumped over to hit the piece behind it. Likewise, they can only give check if a piece is between them and the king. The Cannon is not comparable to any piece in Western chess and is completely a concept.
Knights can move like in western chess. They jump over the first dare or vertical square and come up one square forward diagnostically. Here there is a special rule that makes the difference to Western chess. The knights can only jump if there is no own or opponent piece on the jump square. In Western chess it does not matter whether a piece is on the jump square or not.
Elephants also jump but only one square diagonally and on the next diagonally they come up. The jumping rule also applies to them. The difference is that they cannot cross the river. The Elephants are pure defenders of their own side of the game. Nevertheless, they are not to be underestimated as they can move outside the palace, unlike the king and advisors.
The Rooks, or Chariots in the game, have the same functions as in Western chess. They can move upwards, sideways, and backwards in any direction. They cannot jump over pieces. At the same time, they are the strongest pieces in the game. A Chariot has 9 points, a cannon 4.5 and a knight 4. Nevertheless, the combination of the different pieces is often more effective. Cannon together with Chariot is very effective for attacks. If the king is blocking, the cannon can still penetrate and break through. Likewise, the knight, which is indispensable for tactical attacks.
There is a special rule among the Kings. They may never stand in a line facing each other without a piece between them. This is very important for effective attacks. In the next post I will show you an example of this. It is a very important rule that causes a lot of confusion if you don't know it.
I hope you enjoyed the explanation. Maybe it will make you want to try the game. You can do so on the free platform Xiangqi.com. You can also play against computers.
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