chinese chess (xiangqi) introduction
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Chinese Chess (XiangQi) Introduction. Friends of Chinese Chess in Finland( Kiisys ) r.y . www.shakki.info. Confucius Institute 2010.10.30. Common origin with Western Chess is likely. Reference: H.J.R. Murray . A History of Chess, Oxford University Press, 1913 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Chinese Chess (XiangQi)
Introduction
Confucius Institute2010.10.30
Friends of Chinese Chess in Finland(Kiisys) r.y.www.shakki.info
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Common origin with Western Chess is likely
Reference:H.J.R. Murray. A History of Chess,Oxford University Press, 1913Li, David H. The Genealogy of Chess, Premier Publishing, 1996
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Early Indian game, ChaturangaDepicts an ancient battle
Four branches of ancient Indian army :
Western Chess Chinese Chess
Queen’s movement was changed to current type of movement in Europe in the 15th century (origianally there was a piece called a vizier which moved one step diagonally)
1. Chariots Rook(Engl. rook < Persian rokh, chariot> Italian rocca, fortress)
Chariot (Rook)
2. Elephants Bishop(Shatranj : al-fil, elephant)Movement method was changed in the 16th century, previously 2 diagonally
Elephant(moves 2 diagonally)
3. Cavalry Knight Horse
4. Infantry Pawn Pawn
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Modern games
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Why use Chinese Characters?
Pieces were easy to manufacture even using ancient methods
They identify a single piece perfectly
- A single character corresponded to a single word in ancient Chinese language
- Round wooden chips decorated with a few strokes of brush : compared with 3D western chess pieces making a Chinese Chess set is extremely simple
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Why use different characters for the same piece?
Identifies whose piece is it without using colors
All sets do not necessarily distinguish all the pieces, especially the horse ( 馬 ) and the chariot ( 車 ) often look the same on both sides
Most often the sets use traditional Chinese characters, but the simplified characters can also be used (马), ( 车 ) etc.
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Character for the Chariot (rook): 車
車车
jū
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Movement of the chariot
Initial positionMovement
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Character for the Horse: 馬
馬马
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Movement of the Horse
Initial positionMovement
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Character for the Elephant: 象 /相
象
相([anc.] minister )
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Movement of the Elephant
Initial positionMovement (if points A or B are occupied, the piece can not jump over. It also can’t jump over the river)
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Characters for the Advisor: 士 /仕
士 大(big)
人(human)
亻(human, as a part of a character)
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Movement of the Advisor
Initial positionMovement as in Charaturanga, one step diagonally(limited to the palace area)
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Characters for the General (King): 帥 /將
帥(帅)
爿 爿 將(将)
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Movement of the General
Initial position (ordinarily a king can not move to a line occupied by enemy General)
Moves one step horizontally or vertically (limited to the palace area)
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Character for the Pawn: 兵 /卒
兵
( 衣)
卒
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Movement of the Pawn
Initial positionMovement (after crossing the river, horizontal movement is also possible)
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Character for the Cannon: 炮 /砲
火
石
包
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Movement of the Cannon
Initial positionMovement ( When capturing an enemy piece, you need a piece in between. Relative location of those pieces are irrelevant)
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”River”?In the middle of the board, you can read 楚河漢界 (simplified 楚河汉界 )
State of Chu ( 楚 )’s river ( 河 ), State of Han’s ( 漢 ) border( 界 )
The game is supposedly related to the founding of Han Dynasty (c. 210 BCE)The Leader of Han, Liu Bang ( 刘邦 ) versusThe Leader of Chu, Xiang Yu ( 项羽 )
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Objective of the game
1. Making a mate like in Chess: the king is threatened and it no longer can move
- Remember that enemy king can help to checkmate
2. Also a stalemate is a winning situation (unlike in western Chess):
Stalemate = there are no more valid moves left
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Illegal moves #1
1. Perpetual checking is forbidden- After three repetitions, the offending party is judged to lose
An example of perpetual checking
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Illegal moves#2
2. Perpetual chasing is forbidden
An example of perpetual chasing
- Perpetual chasing unless using a pawn or a king is forbidden. After three repeats the offending party is judged to lose.
3. More detailed rules: http://wxf.org/xq/in.htm
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Common principles for beginners(1)Pawn Relative value
Pawn before crossing the river 1
Pawn after crossing the river 2
Advisor 2
Elephant 1 - 2
Horse 4 - 5
Cannon 4 - 5
Chariot (Rook) 9
1.The chariot is the most valuable piece. You must get it into the game as soon as possible. For a beginner, you should avoid exchanging it even for a horse and a cannon (unless preparing to checkmate).2. Horse and a cannon are approximately of equal value. You can exchange a horse for cannon or viceversa. However, normally it is worth keeping at least one chariot, cannon and a horse.
3. You can sacrificice a single pawn to improve your position, but in the end game pawns close to the enemy palace are often vitally important. Therefore sacrificing several pawns might be unadvisable.
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Common principles for beginners(2)
An easy checkmate example number 1 An easy checkmate example number 2
Use of Cannon requires some experience as the western chess has no equivalent piece
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Where to find people to play with?Friends of Chinese Chess in Finland (Kiisys) r.y.
http://shakki.info/
Online
http://shakki.info/linkkeja.html (links to game servers)
How to develop your game skills?Primarily just by playing!
Literature :
http://shakki.info/kirjallisuutta.html