Xiangqi

Xiangqi (Chinese: 象棋 xiàngqí, Vietnamese: cờ tướng), or Chinese chess, is a traditional Chinese strategy board game that is related to chess. It has the largest number of players among chess variants, and is a very popular game in China, Vietnam, and overseas Chinese and Vietnamese communities around the world.

History
Traditional Chinese accounts date the game to the Warring States period (475-221 BC) in Chinese history. The earliest record of rules resembling anything like modern xiangqi, however, dates back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). Due to the similarities to international chess, most Western historians believe that it probably shares the same origin in the Persian game of shatranj, which would have been brought to China by Persian traders via the silk road, and ultimately in the Indian game of chaturanga. In modern Chinese culture, the game is often seen as symbolising the war between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu at the end of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), which eventually resulted in Liu Bang's victory and the establishment of the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220).

Rules
Xiangqi is played on an 8x9 board. Unlike in chess, the pieces are not placed within the squares, but instead are placed on the intersections between lines. The row in the middle of the board with no lines going through it is known as the river, and the boxes at both ends with diagonal lines going through them are known as the palaces. Each player starts with 5 soldiers (兵 bīng / 卒 zú), 2 cannons (炮 pào / 砲 pào), 2 chariots (車 jū / 俥 jū), 2 horses (馬 mǎ / 傌 mǎ), 2 elephants (象 xiàng / 相 xiàng), 2 advisors (士 shì / 仕 shì) and 1 general (將 jiàng / 帥 shuài). In most modern games, the player in red generally starts first. The objective of the game is to capture the opponent's general.

Like in chess, each piece has its own specific moveset, and capturing an opponent's piece is generally done by moving into the space occupied by that piece. The chariots may move any number of spaces horizontally or vertically, just as the rook in chess. The horses move similar to the knight in chess, which is one step horizontally or vertically followed by one step diagonally, but unlike the knight in chess, may not jump over intervening pieces. This movement is often said to be reminiscent of the Chinese character 日 (rì). The cannons may move any number of spaces horizontally or vertically just like the chariot, but must jump over exactly one intervening piece, friendly or otherwise, in order to capture. The cannons may not jump over intervening pieces when they are not capturing. The elephants move exactly 2 spaces diagonally, and may not jump over intervening pieces, which is often said to be reminiscent of the Chinese character 田 (tián). The elephants may not cross the river, thus making them primarily defensive pieces. The advisors can move one space diagonally, and are not allowed to leave the palace under any circumstances. The soldiers may move one space forward, and may also move one space horizontally after crossing the river, but never backwards. Unlike the pawns in chess, soldiers do not get promoted in xiangqi, and those that have reached the other end of the board may only move horizontally. The general can move one space horizontally or vertically, and under most circumstances may not leave the palace. The sole exception is when executing the "flying general" (飛將 fēijiàng) move, which may be done if the two generals are facing each other in the same file with no intervening pieces. When this happens, the general may "fly" across the board to capture the other general (hence making it illegal for the generals to face each other).

Like in the king in chess, the general in xiangqi may also be placed in check (將軍 jiāngjūn), and a player who has no legal moves left to prevent the general from being captured is said to be in checkmate (將死 jiāngsǐ). Unlike chess, xiangqi does not have a stalemate rule, and a player who has no legal moves left loses the game.

Play
Xiangqi is a very popular game, and you can often see the elderly having games in public parks in China, Vietnam and areas with significant overseas Chinese communities. If you know how to play, this can be a good way of befriending and interacting with the locals.

Watch
There are numerous professional xiangqi tournaments in China and much of the Sinosphere. The Chinese National Xiangqi Individual Championship (全国象棋个人赛) is the premier tournament in China, which attracts the top professional players from around the country. Besides China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore also have their own national xiangqi championships, which are also generally of a high standard. The premier international tournament is the World Xiangqi Championship, which brings together the top players from China, Vietnam and around the world to compete for the world title.

Buy
Cheap sets can easily be found in bookshops and department stores in China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong and areas with large overseas Chinese communities like Singapore and Malaysia. For those living in Western countries, Chinatowns or neighbourhoods/suburbs with large Chinese immigrant communities are the obvious place to start.

China also has a tradition of making ornamental sets. For these, prices of several thousand yuan are fairly common, with the sky being the limit. Do some research before you buy though to ensure that you are not getting ripped off.

If you wish to play at a more serious level, numerous strategy guides can be found at any bookstore in China. As with anything else, their quality varies widely.