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Chinese Chess is very similar to traditional Chess. It's played mostly in Asian countries, but it's becoming popular in Occident too.
The “Xiangi” or “Shiang-qi”, chinese name for this game meaning “Elephant's Chess”, has some differences from the one we know, but the essence of the game is the same. Its origin is related to that of the Japanese game “Shogi”. There are other chess variations such as the “Sittuyin”(Burman Chess), the “Changgi” (Korean Chess) and the “Makruk” (Thailandese Chess).
Main differences between Chinese Chess and traditional Chess
– In Chinese Chess, besides the regular pieces, there are two Mandarines, two cannons and two elephants.
– The board has 64 squares, but ten vertical lines and 9 horizontal lines, instead of 8 by 8 like traditional Chess.
– The pieces are not put in the squares, but in the intersection of the lines.
– The pieces are not represented by their figure. Each piece is a cylinder (usually wooden) with the piece's title written on them.
– The pieces are black and red.
– Between the fifth and the sixth row there's a line representing a river known as the “yellow river” which divides the board in two.
– When a player can't move any piece, he loses. This can be seen as an advantage since it eliminates one of the most tedious aspects of traditional Chess.
How to move the special pieces of Chinese Chess
– Mandarins move only one square diagonally. They must stay in the Palace.
– Cannons move more than a square (if wanted) orthogonally. They can only capture jumping over a piece in between.
– Elephants move two squares diagonally, but they can't jump pieces and they can't cross the river.
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