Chinese Chess History and Rules

Chinese Chess, or xiangqi, is perhaps the most popular board game in the world, played by millions of people in China, other parts of Asia, and wherever there is a Chinese settlement is found. During the recent years it has started to become better known among non-Chinese as westernized sets of boards and pieces sometimes show up in specialty games shops, and there have been several computer versions. Chinese chess history and rules are still not as well known as it deserves to be due to the popularity of other games.

Facts about the game:

It is seen that the pawns in the original game were slow to come into contact with the enemy and in the Western chess, this problem was solved by allowing the pawns their initial two-step move however, Chinese solution was to set up the pawns in a forward position. In the western countries the extension of the powers of the queen made it easier to enforce checkmate in the endgame. There is a difference that the king was given the extraordinary power of striking across the board like a rook against the opposing king, making it easier to checkmate with just a few pieces left on the board.

Some rules:

The player take alternate turns and in each turn, a player must make a single move with a single piece. If a piece ends its move on a point occupied by an enemy piece, that piece is captured and permanently removed from play and it is similar to the normal chess. A Stalemate is one where one player has no legal move but is not in check, is a win for the last player to move. In the Chinese chess history and rules it is also considered as illegal to make any move that exposes your general to immediate capture.

Lewis isle chess set