Introduction

This posting is intended to address Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the game of Chinese chess (otherwise known as "xiangqi" or "elephant game" or "co tuong"). Corrections, additions, suggestions, etc., should be sent to Stephen Leary at al269@yfn.ysu.edu. It is hoped that this first draft of the FAQ will grow and improve with time, as information is received and posted to the newsgroup, then incorporated into the FAQ.

Contents

What is Chinese Chess?

Chinese chess is a chess-like game which is especially popular in the Far East: China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, etc. The strongest players and tournaments can be found in these countries. As would be expected, most of the materials published on Chinese chess are written in the languages of this region: most notably, Chinese and Vietnamese. As Asians continue to immigrate to Europe and North America, the level of Chinese chess skill on these continents can be expected to improve and more materials should become available in western languages, such as English, French, and German. Also, more westerners should be expected to become interested in the game and improve their level of expertise.

^

What does the board look like?

It looks like this (along with the starting position of the pieces):

    r---n---m---g---k---g---m---n---r   9
    |   |   |   | \ | / |   |   |   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+   8
    |   |   |   | / | \ |   |   |   |
    +---c---+---+---+---+---+---c---+   7
    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
    p---+---p---+---p---+---p---+---p   6
    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+   5
    |       R   I   V   E   R       |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+   4
    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
    P---+---P---+---P---+---P---+---P   3
    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
    +---C---+---+---+---+---+---C---+   2
    |   |   |   | \ | / |   |   |   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+   1
    |   |   |   | / | \ |   |   |   |
    R---N---M---G---K---G---M---N---R   0

    A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I
For cultural purists, you may prefer this one. The coordinates are lined up in traditional ways.
    1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9         setup: black
 1 (j)_(m)_(x)_(s)_(i)_(s)_(x)_(m)_(j) 10     (i): 51           ijang 将
    |   |   |   |\  |  /|   |   |   |         (s): 41, 61       shi   士
 2  |___|___|___|__\|/__|___|___|___|  9      (x): 31, 71       xiang 象
    |   |   |   |  /|\  |   |   |   |         (m): 21, 81       ma    马
 3  |__(p)__|___|/__|__\|___|__(p)__|  8      (j): 11, 91       ju    车
    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |         (p): 23, 83       pao   炮
 4 (z)__|__(z)__|__(z)__|__(z)__|__(z) 7      (z): 14, 34       zu    卒
    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |              54, 74, 94
 5  |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|  6
    |                               | 
 6  |_______________________________|  5
    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |         SETUP: RED (moves first)
 7 (B)__|__(B)__|__(B)__|__(B)__|__(B) 4      (I): 51           shuaI 帅
    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |         (S): 41, 61       Shi   仕
 8  |__(P)__|___|___|___|___|__(P)__|  3      (X): 31, 71       Xiang 相
    |   |   |   |\  |  /|   |   |   |         (M): 21, 81       Ma    马
 9  |___|___|___|__\|/__|___|___|___|  2      (J): 11, 91       Ju    车
    |   |   |   |  /|\  |   |   |   |         (P): 23, 83       Pao   炮
10 (J)_(M)_(X)_(S)_(I)_(S)_(X)_(M)_(J) 1      (B): 14, 34       Bing  兵
    9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1              54, 74, 94

^

What are the pieces and how do they move?

    Each side has the following pieces:
    2 Rooks     (R) (or chariots)
    2 Knights   (N) (or horses)
    2 Ministers (M) (or bishops or elephants)
    2 Guards    (G) (or assistants or counselors)
    1 King      (K) (or generals)
    2 Cannons   (C)
    5 Pawns     (P) (or soldiers)

    ROOKS
    The rooks move and capture as in chess
                                                      ........k........9
    KNIGHTS                                           .................8
    The knights move and capture as in chess, with    .................7
    one important difference: they can be blocked.    .................6
    Example: if a knight sits on c2 and another piece .................5
    (either your own or the opponent's) sits on c3,   .     river      .
    the knight cannot move to d4 or b4; but it could  .................4
    move to b0 or d0 or a1 or e1 or e3. If a knight   ....R............3
    sits on c2 and another piece is on d2, then it    ....N.c..........2
    cannot move to e1 or e3.                          ..............C..1
                                                      ........K...M....0
                                                      a b c d e f g h i
    MINISTERS
    The ministers can move only two diagonal spaces at a time. They cannot
    cross the river (see River below) to the other side of the board. It 
    captures on the square to which he is moving. A minister on g0 can move 
    to e2 or i2. If an opposing piece sits on e2, he can capture it. 
    If his own piece sits on e2, he cannot move there. If he sits on g0 and 
    another piece sits on h1, he cannot move to i2 because he is blocked.

    GUARDS
    The guards can move only 1 space diagonally, and cannot leave the
    palace (see Palace below). They capture the same way they move.

    KING
    The king moves as in chess, only he cannot move diagonally, only 1
    square vertically or horizontally. The king must remain in the palace.
    
    CANNONS
    Cannons move like rooks, as many squares vertically or horizontally as
    they want, as long as there is no other piece in the way. However,
    cannons capture by jumping over a piece to capture another piece.
    Example: a cannon sits on e1; a knight sits on f1 (the piece can belong
    to either side); and an opposing rook sits on h1. The cannon could
    capture the rook by jumping over the knight. It can only capture by
    jumping, and can jump over only one piece. If there were two pieces
    between the cannon and the rook, then the rook could not be captured
    by that cannon. The cannon cannot jump if it isn't going to capture
    something, it must simply move like a rook.

    PAWNS
    Pawns move 1 square forward (never two, as is possible on the first
    move in chess). While the pawn is on its own side of the board, it
    captures by moving 1 square forward and taking an opposing piece that
    may be sitting there (the pawns don't capture diagonally as in chess).
    Once a pawn moves across the river onto the other side of the board,
    it acquires an additional power: it can then move 1 square sideways
    in addition to being able to move 1 square forward. On the other side
    of the board, the pawn could then capture by moving sideways or forward.
    The pawn can never move backward. The pawn does not promote when it
    reaches the back rank of the opponent--it can then just move sideways.

    PALACE
    The king and guards cannot leave the palace (except the guards who leave
    when they are captured :-) ). If we call the king's starting point
    e0, then the palace is defined as these 9 points: d0, e0, f0, d1, e1, f1,
    d2, e2, f2.

    RIVER
    The river is nothing more than an empty space in the middle of the
    board dividing the two sides. A piece cannot move into the river--no one
    can sit in the river because he would drown. It doesn't count as a space.
    The word "river" is not printed on most sets; usually there are some
    Chinese characters printed on it. The minister and guard are considered
    purely defensive pieces because they cannot cross the river and attack 
    the opposing king. Once a piece crosses the river, it becomes more 
    important for attack than defense.

    INTERSECTIONS
    The pieces move on the intersections of the board, not in the spaces
    between them, as in chess.

    COLORS
    In chess, the player who moves first has the "white" pieces. In Chinese
    chess, the player who moves first moves red pieces. The second player's 
    pieces are usually black or sometimes green or blue.

^

What are the rules of the game?

    Here are some rules to remember:

    a) the object of the game is to checkmate or stalemate the opponent. 
       This is accomplished by:
       1. Placing the opponent in check so that he has no legal move
          to get out of the check.
       2. Stalemating your opponent so that he has no legal move (when you 
          stalemate your opponent, you win--it is not a draw as in chess).
    
    b) Red usually moves first.

    c) You cannot check your opponent indefinitely by moving the same
       piece to the same squares (resulting in perpetual check and a draw
       in chess). You cannot put the opponent in check more than 3 times
       in a row with the same piece without either side moving any other
       piece.  
       
    d) Similar to the rule above, you cannot indefinitely "chase" an
       opposing piece from one square to another if your opponent has no
       other way to avoid losing the piece. If you move a rook to e5
       threatening a cannon on e6, and your opponent's only move to avoid
       capture is to move the cannon to f6, then you cannot keep chasing it
       from e6 to f6 by moving from e5 to f5 indefinitely.  The idea of
       this rule and the rule above is to avoid perpetual check draws.
       Some of these situations can be complicated but usually the person
       who is initiating the perpetual move loop must break it off.

    e) The two kings cannot face each other on the same file. If red's
       king is on e1 and black's king is on e9 and there are no pieces
       directly between them on the e-file, then that is an illegal
       position. If black's king is the only piece on the f-file, then red's 
       king on the e-file cannot move to the f file.

    f) When neither side can capture the opposing king, the game is a draw.
^

What are the values of the pieces?

    Here are some rough values, which of course, can change depending on
    the game situation or how skillful a particular player is in maneuvering
    a particular piece:

    Rook       9
    Cannon     4.5
    Knight     4
    Minister   2
    Guard      2
    Pawn       2 (after crossing river)
    Pawn       1 (before crossing river)

^

What kind of notation is used?

    
    It seems every writer or organization uses different notation. We are
    generally following ICCS notation in the FAQ for compatibility:
    the rows are A to I from left to right (from red's viewpoint), and
    the files are number 0-9 from bottom of the board to the top. It is
    wished (by me, I mean) that all would follow the simple notation used
    in XiangQi Review, but that seems an idle dream at this time.
^

What are some common opening moves?


    The Central Cannon is the most popular. Red moves Ch2-e2. Black usually
    replies with Ch7-e7 or Nh9-g7 or Nb9-c7.
    The Minister's (or Bishop's) opening was popularized by Hu RongHua.
    The starting move is Mg0-e2.
    Other starting moves are Pc3-1 or Pg3-1 or Nh0-g2.
^

Are there any proverbs for this game?

* When my opponent's cannon moves to the middle, my knight jumps up front. (For the most common opening.) * If a rook is not moved within the first 3 moves, it is dead. * A pawn is as powerful as a rook after it crosses the river. ^

Are there any basic guidelines for handicap play?

    Rook Odds
    The side giving odds as red plays without the left rook. There are 3
    "iron" pieces. Red's leftmost pawn, left knight and left cannon can't
    be captured unless they've moved.

    2 Knights Odds
    Red plays without his knights. "Iron" center pawn. Red's center pawn can
    be captured only by check & only by the piece giving check.

    Knight and Move(s) Odds
    The side giving odd plays black and without his left knight; red makes
    1 or more moves before black replies (possible red moves--see Moves Odds).

    1 Knight Odds
    Red plays without his left knight.

    4 Plus Moves Odds
    The side receiving odds plays red & makes 4 or more moves before black
    moves. No pieces except pawns can be moved to the player's own river
    edge for these 4 (or more) moves.

    3 Moves Odds
    The side receiving odds as red makes 3 moves before black replies.
    About equal to 1 knight odds. No pieces are allowed to cross the river
    during these 3 initial moves.

    2 Moves Odds
    Side receiving odds as red makes 2 moves.

    1 Move Odds
    The side receiving odds plays red.

    Less Than 1 Move Odds
    Half-move odds would be playing 2 games as red & 1 as black.

    Agree to the conditions before play begins to avoid disputes.
    Giving cannon odds is rare & much harder than giving knight odds.
^

Can you recommend a few good books?

    There are really only 2 books in English that are widely available:
    1. Chinese Chess by H.T. Lau.
       Basic rules, opening, middle and endgame play. Many exercises.
       Material needed to win or draw various endings. Descriptions of
       popular opening variations. 
    2. Chinese Chess for Beginners by Sam Sloan.
       English-speaking Chinese chess fans needed a book like this;
       unfortunately, Sloan wrote it. Filled with exaggerations & misleading
       statements. An alleged "entertaining" writing style that some might
       call inept or juvenile. Still, some useful information. The
       revised edition contains a few new things & not many corrections.
       "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

    Other books in English you might find in a library or old book store:
    3. Hsiang Ch'i: The Chinese Game of Chess by Terence Donnelly.
    4. A Manual of Chinese Chess by Charles Wilkes.
    5. The Chess of China by Dennis Leventhal. (A good read, if you find it.)
    6. Shang Chi--The Chinese Chess by Chen-Chih Sun.
^

Can you recommend some magazines?


    1. XiangQi Review is the best English language publication. It is
       published 6 times a year, usually 20 pages. $10/year in US, or
       $15/year overseas. Address is:
       Chinese Chess Institute
       PO Box 5305
       Hercules, CA  94547-5305

    2. Chinese Chess Newsletter. Published from England, so focuses on
       Europe. The "usual" subscription rate is 10 pounds a year. Not much
       on production quality but contains useful news.
       C.K. Lai
       12 Lagan House
       Sumner Rd
       London SE15 5RB England

    3. Chinese Chess News/Korean Chess. The copy I have is one 8 1/2 by 11
       sheet of paper, typewritten on both sides. Some news and addresses
       for Chinese chess and information on Korean chess.
       David Rockwell
       8514 Trumbull Ave
       Skokie, IL  60076-2440

       Or, if writing from Europe:
       Malcolm Horne
       10B Windsor Square
       Exmouth, Devon
       EX8 1JU England

    4. Xiangqi Mi Tong Bao.  In Italian. Supposedly a slick production
       with a professional look to it.
       Agostino Guberti
       Via Don Gnocchi 20/D
       20075 Lodi (Milano), Italy
^

Where can I buy books?

    Chinese Chess for Beginners is published by:
    Ishi Press International
    76 Bonaventure Dr
    San Jose, CA  95134
    (408) 944-9900
    
    They may also sell Chinese Chess by H.T. Lau. Otherwise, this book
    is published by:
    Charles E. Tuttle Co.
    PO Box 410
    28 S. Main St.
    Rutland, VT  05702
    800/526-2778

    The Chinese Chess Institute sells some books written in Chinese. A
    translation guide is provided. A new title is a text devoted to the
    games of Lu Qin ($10). They are also working on some things in English
    for beginners. See address for XiangQi Review above.
^

Where can I buy Sets?

    From Ishi Press (mentioned above) or The Game Place (mentioned below)
    or at your nearest Chinatown (Fat Ming at 903 Grant in San Francisco) 
    if you live near a large city, or from Chinese grocery & gift shops in 
    smaller cities.

^

Is there any software available?

    
    The best software program is Chinese Chessmaster III. But this program
    cannot be bought from North America. It originates from Taiwan and is
    difficult to buy from North America.  There are two programs for DOS: 
    Uncle Wang, XIAN, and Battle Chess II: Chinese Chess.  ICD claims that 
    Uncle Wang is better than XIAN.
    You can get Uncle Wang or XIAN from:

    ICD Corp.
    21 Walt Whitman Rd
    Huntington Station, NY  11746
    800/645-4710
    $49.95

    You may also get XIAN from:
    The Game Place
    4512 University Way NE Ste. 102
    Seattle, WA  98105
    800/826-GAME
    (We haven't verified that this program is indeed XIAN)
    $39.95

    A windows version of XIAN is available from:
    TSoft
    PO Box 3642
    Odessa, TX 79760
    (915) 366-2168

    Battle Chess II: Chinese Chess (the weakest commercial program)
    InterPlay Productions
    3710 S. Susan, Ste. 100
    Santa Ana, CA  92704
    (714) 545-9001
    $49.95
    (Exciting graphics)

    For the Macintosh, there is a new shareware program written by Tie Zeng
    available on the Internet by ftp. Ftp to: mac.archive.umich.edu. 
    The program is in the path: /mac/game/board and is called 
    chinesechesspro1.01.cpt.hqx

    There is a shareware DOS Chinese chess program available on the Internet,
    but it is very weak. Available via anonymous ftp at:
    chess.uoknor.edu in the path: /pub/chess/DOS/chinechs.exe
^

Are there any clubs where I can find opponents?

    
    Los Angeles Area:
    Chinese Chess Association of Los Angeles
    539 E. Garvey Ave
    Monterey Park, CA 91754

    San Francisco Area:
    Chinese Chess Association
    153-A Waverly Pl
    San Francisco, CA  94108
    (415) 391-1236
    
    New York City Area:
    The Chinese Chess Confederation is apparently no longer at their
    Bowery Street location. Try writing them at:
    PO Box 1079, G.P.O.
    Brooklyn, NY  

    Toronto:
    Toronto Chinese Chess Association
    32 Scott Dr.
    Richmond Hill, Ontario L4C 4C3
    (416) 492-7581
^

Can I play opponents by using my computer?

    
    You can play real time games on the Internet Chinese Chess Server (ICCS).
    Telnet to: coolidge.harvard.edu 5555 or 128.103.28.15 5555
    Login with a short name & choose your own password. Type "help"
    or "help intro" if you're new.

    You may also play real time Chinese chess on the Internet Go Server at
    hellspark.wharton.upenn.edu 6969. You will probably have to use the
    "shout" command to find players since most will be playing go.

^

Is there a Chinese chess version of the United States Chess Federation?


    No. Organization of Chinese chess in the United States lags behind
    most other countries, including those in Europe. Also, Europe seems
    to enjoy a great deal of cooperation between Asian "experts" and
    western "novices," unlike the situation in the US. Chinese chess
    "organization" in the US is basically confined to Chinatown clubs,
    which are not usually as accessible as the tourist shops. A suggestion 
    for future development would be to organize Chinese chess activities at 
    regular chess or go clubs & then try to branch out on your own after a 
    regular clientele has been established. Perhaps try to find a local 
    Chinese chess expert who would agree to give a simul or lecture to 
    drum up interest.

    Around 1990, there was an organization called the Vietnamese-American
    Chinese Chess Association based in Virginia. They planned to publish
    some books on the game in English; however, apparently nothing was
    produced and recent attempts to contact this organization have failed,
    so they must be considered defunct at this time.

^

Who are some of the strongest players around the world?

    
    Most of the strongest players live in China. Here are the Chinese
    National Ratings for the first half of 1993:
    MEN:
    Lu Qin         2556  (Has won 5 Ram Cup 5 years in a row)
    Zhao GuoRong   2534  (Two-time Chinese National Champion--1990 & 1992)
    Hu RongHua     2524  (Greatest player in Chinese chess history?)
    Li LaiQun      2510  (Current holder of QiWang [Chess King] title)
    Xu TianHong    2502  (Won Third World Cup in Beijing in April)
    Liu DaHua      2468  (Won Chinese National title in 1980 & 1981)
    Yu YouHua      2460
    Lin HongMin    2451
    Xu YinChuan    2437  (18-year-old just won 1993 Chinese National title)

    WOMEN:
    Xie Siming     2418  (Inactive)
    Hu Ming        2345  (Has won women's title 3 years in a row)
    Shan XiaLi     2324
    Huang YuYing   2285  (Inactive)
    Huang ZiJun    2276  (Inactive)

    OTHER COUNTRIES

    Taiwan
    
    Wu KuiLin
    Liang JinYi

    Hong Kong

    Chiu YuKuen

    Vietnam

    Mei QingMing

    Japan

    Shen Hao (formerly of Shanghai)

    Singapore

    Lee KhengSoi
    Teo SimHua

    Thailand

    Ma WuLian

    Malaysia

    Li JiaQing
    Chieng KuokWu
    Chen JieYu

    Indonesia

    Ifan ChungMing

    Germany
    
    Huebner Robert (GM of chess)
    Siewert Hans-Joachim

    Italy

    Yu JianGuo
    Hu YunXi
    Nastasio Davide
    Guberti Agostino

    USA

    Lee Michael
    Gong Fan
    Chien Chi
    Yan TatSun
    Ng Hak Lok

    Canada

    Der Lawrence
    Yu Chou Jen
    Li Chung
Go back to table of content.
^