chinese chess
Chinese chess (also known as Xiangqi) is an ancient strategic board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in China, along with Go. Here are the basic characteristics of Chinese chess:
• The game is played on a board with a 10×9 grid of lines.
• Each player has 32 pieces including 1 general, 2 advisors, 2 elephants, 2 horses, 5 chariots and 20 soldiers. The pieces represent military units from ancient Chinese warfare.
• The objective is to capture the opponent’s general, or place the opponent in a situation where the general cannot avoid capture on the next move (a state of checkmate).
• The pieces move on different paths according to their role, simulating how troops would move in an actual battle formation. For example:
– The general can move one space diagonally.
– The advisors move diagonally any number of empty spots.
– The elephants move two spaces horizontally or vertically, then one space diagonally.
• Capturing is done by displacement – the attacking piece replaces the enemy piece on its spot, removing it from the board.
• The game progresses through several stages – initial deploying of forces, attack and defense, maneuvering, and finally capturing of key pieces that can lead to checkmate.
So in summary, Chinese chess is a strategic board game that simulates the movement and victory conditions of an ancient military formation and battle, using specialized chess pieces with unique movement capabilities. The gameplay involves careful positioning and optimization of forces.