Thread started: Jul 22 2009, 3:30 AM EDT
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Have you ever heard of Xiangqi, which is called Chinese Chess in the west? It is perhaps the most popular board game in the world. It is currently played by millions (or tens of millions) in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and other Asian countries.
It 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.
If you know how to play Chess, the rules of Xiangqi will be familiar. The general idea is the same. Each player controls an army of pieces, moves one piece at a time, and tries to get the opponent's royal piece. It differs from Chess mainly in the object, the board, and the pieces.
The object of the game is to capture the enemy general. The game is won as soon as one player can make no move that prevents capture of his general. This is checkmate. Stalemate, where one player has no legal move but is not in check, is a win for the last player to move.
The board is very different from the one used for Western chess. The pieces are played on the lines, not on the squares
The pieces are small discs of wood, plastic, or some other material. Pieces are identified by Chinese ideograms in the team colours, typically black (sometimes another dark colour) and red. The names of some of the pieces differ on the two sides. Such as Chariots / Rooks, Horses / Knights, Minister / Elephant and so on.
If you want to learn more about Chinese chess,check out :
http://www.chesssoul.com/index.html. You can download and have a try from it.
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