Xiangqi, or Chinese Chess, is an extremely popular game in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is currently played by millions (or tens of millions) in
China,
Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and other Asian countries. Xiangqi has remained in its present form for centuries. It is believed that both Xiangqi and Orthodox Chess derive from the original Indian game of Chanturanga.
(xiáng) (qí ) translates to Elephant Game. In Mandarin it is written as either Xiangqi, Xiang Qi or Hsiang-Ch`i and pronounced "Shiang-Chi". In Cantonese it is written as Jeuhng Keih and pronounced "Junk Kay".
The name Xiangqi has an interesting origin. Of China's four traditional arts -- qin (music), hua (brush painting), shu (calligraphy) and qí (strategy games) -- the latter term, qi, provides the final syllable of Xiangqi. There is much literature on Xiangqi, most of it in Chinese. There are, however, a few books available in English and other languages.
Xiangqi sets can be procured from a number of sources. The most obvious of these are shops in the Chinese districts of large cities. Often, such sets are quite cheap, consisting of a paper board and flat wooden counters inscribed with red and black pictograms. These traditional Chinese symbols may appear strange to the western eye, but can easily be recognized with a minimum of practice. (For more sophisticated sets, see below.)
Chinese Chess is a game for two people playing in opposition. Both players start with 16 pieces depicting various Chinese characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Play is turn-based, with Red starting.
Two piece sets are available, the Traditional Chinese pieces, or a Western version with pictures more familiar to Chess players
Each player has 5 pawn, 2 Canons (rows C and H), and from outer to inner; 2 Castle/Rook, 2 Knight, 2 Minister/Elephant, 2 Counsellor/Guard, and a King.
The object of the game is to get your opponent's King into Checkmate (I.E.: no legal moves available), whilst defending your own King from a similar predicament.
The board consists of 10 rows and 9 files (columns), divided in two halves separated by the so-called "River". The person playing first is referred to as Red, the second player as Green.
Promotion
The only pieces that can be promoted in Chinese Chess are the pawns. They get promoted as soon as they cross the "River", which allows them to also move to the left or right.
Check
If an opponent threatens a King with capture, that King is in 'check'. The next move must get the King out of check, either by moving the King to a safe destination square, or by introducing another piece between the King and the opponent piece(s) giving check.
Checkmate
If a player cannot get his or her King out of Check, then it is in Mate or Checkmate and that player loses the game.
Please note that if a player is unable to move his or her King, whilst simultaneously having no other legal moves available, it is also Checkmate and a loss for that player. In western Chess, this would be termed stalemate, which leads to a draw.
Drawing
Chinese Chess games resulting in a draw are possible but rare. If the same moves are repeated four times in succession the game is declared a draw.
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Pieces and their Moves
Here follows a description of the pieces and the way they move. The pieces appear in order of appearance on the board, moving vertically from the inner to the outer board and horizontally from the outer to the inner.
Pawn  
Pawns move and capture one position forwards only. Having been promoted (crossed the river), they can also move left or right.
Cannon 
Cannons move in a similar fashion to the Rook in western chess. The only difference is that in order to capture an opponent's piece, they have to jump over a single piece of either colour. They cannot jump over other pieces when there is no capture involved.
Castle/Rook 
The Castle/Rook is able to move in straight lines both horizontally and vertically as per the Rook in western Chess.
Knight 
Knights move in a similar fashion to those in western Chess. They move one space horizontally or vertically, and one space diagonally with one exception, they cannot jump over other pieces.
Minister/Elephant  
Minister/Elephants move two positions diagonally in each of the four possible directions. They are not allowed to cross the "River" thus rendering them defensive.
Counsellor/Guard  
The Guard's job is to protect its King. It is only allowed to move in the King's restricted area and only one position diagonally at a time.
King  
The King moves horizontally or vertically within his restricted area. The opposing King is not allowed to be on the same column unless there is at least one piece in between them.
The board
The Xiangqi board is made up of ten horizontal lines and nine vertical lines. The verticals are interrupted by a central-horizontal void called a river. Two palaces are positioned at opposite sides of the board. Each is distinguished by a cross connecting its four corner points.
| NOTE: Orthodox Chess pieces are played on squares; Xiangqi Chess pieces are played on line intersections which are called points. |
The above board shows various L-shaped markings in order to distinguish the setup points of Pawns and Cannons. These markings are not present on all commercial boards.
Pieces
Each player has the following pieces:
| 2 Rooks |
(R) |
(or chariots) |
| 2 Knights |
(N) |
(or horses) |
| 2 Elephants |
(M) |
(or bishops or ministers) |
| 2 Mandarins |
(G) |
(or advisors or assistants or guards) |
| 1 King |
(K) |
(or generals) |
| 2 Cannons |
(C) |
|
| 5 Pawns |
(P) |
(or soldiers) |
The Xiangqi array is shown below:
 
Traditional Pieces Westernized Pieces
From left to right on the bottom and top rows, you see: a Rook, a Knight, a Minister, a Guard, a King, a Guard, a Minister, a Knight, and a Rook. On the third rows, you see the Cannons, and on the fourth row you see the Pawns. Pieces at the bottom half are red. |
| Chinese Pieces |
Movement |
Westernized Pieces |
  |
Rooks
The Rook moves as an orthodox Rook. (See Rook for more information.) |
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Knights (Mao)
The Knight moves one point orthogonally followed by one point outward-diagonally. It may not leap over occupied points. (See Mao for more information.) |
  |
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Elephants
The Elephant moves exactly two points diagonally. It may not leap over occupied points. Also, Elephants are confined to their home side of the river. Due to these limitations, the Elephant can see only seven points of the board. (See Elephant for more information.) [The symbols on red and black Elephants differ, but their moves are the same.] |
  |
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Mandarins
The
Mandarin
(or Guard) moves one point diagonally. It may never leave the palace. [The symbols on red and black Mandrians differ, but their moves are the same.] |
  |
  |
King or General
The King moves as an orthodox King, but cannot move diagonally. It may never leave the palace. (See King for more information.) [The symbols on red and black Kings differ, but their moves are the same.]
The two Kings cannot face each other on an open file. For example, a red King on e1 and a black King on e9, with no piece on the e-file between them, is an illegal position. If either King sits exposed on an open file, the other King may not move to occupy that file. |
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Cannons (Pao)
The Cannon moves differently when it moves to capture than when it moves passively.
- The Cannon moves passively as an orthodox Rook
- The Cannon moves to capture as an orthodox Rook which is required to hop over a single screen.
In other words, Cannons capture by hoping over a second piece in order to capture a third piece. For example, a Cannon on a1 can take a piece on f1 when exactly one of the points b1, c1, d1, or e1 is occupied by a piece of either color. Cannons only capture when hoping and only hop when capturing. They may never hop over more than one piece in a given move. (See Cannon for more information.) |
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Pawns
Unlike orthodox Pawns, the Xiangqi Pawn's passive move and capture move are always the same. A starting Pawn moves one point straight-forward. A Pawn crossing the river promotes, keeping its old move and gaining a new move -- a one-point step to either horizontal. Pawns do not promote on the last rank, where they can move only left or right. (See Xiangqi Pawn for more information.) [The symbols on red and black Pawns differ, but their moves are the same.] |
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Other rules
- Red moves first.
- The game is won by checkmating or stalemating the opponent King.
- Perpetual check is forbidden. You cannot check your opponent more than three times in a row with the same piece and same board positions.
- You cannot force an enemy piece to move to and from the same two points, indefinitely, in order to avoid capture. If you move a Rook to e5, threatening a Cannon on e6, and your opponent's only viable move is Cannon to f6, then you cannot force that Cannon to and from e6 and f6 by moving your Rook to and from e5 and f5, indefinitely. The purpose of this rule (and the above rule) is to avoid perpetual-check draws. Some of these situations are complicated, but the person who is forcing the perpetual move must usually break it off.
- The game is a draw when neither side can force a checkmate or a stalemate.
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