Chinese chess facts for kids

Xiangqi board with pieces in their starting positions

Xiangqi (pronounced "shyang-chee") is a fun board game that comes from China. Many people call it Chinese chess in English. It's a bit like the chess game you might know, but it has its own special rules, pieces, and a unique board.

Xiangqi is played by two people. Each player has 16 game pieces. One player uses red pieces, and the other uses black pieces. The main goal is to capture the other player's "Jiang" (or "Shuai") piece, which is like the king in regular chess. If you capture it, you win! Xiangqi is one of the most popular board games in China.

What Makes Xiangqi Different?

Even though Xiangqi comes from the same ancient game as international chess (called Chaturanga), it has many differences.

The Board and Pieces

The Xiangqi board looks different from a regular chess board. It has a "river" in the middle that separates the two sides. Also, the pieces sit on the intersections of the lines, not inside the squares.

Some pieces are similar to chess, like the "General" (king) and "Horse" (knight). But there are also unique pieces like the "Cannon" and "Elephant."

How the Pieces Move

Each piece in Xiangqi moves in its own special way:

• The General (Jiang/Shuai) can only move one step at a time, forward, backward, or sideways. It must stay inside a special nine-point area called the "fortress."
• The Mandarin (or "Advisor") also stays in the fortress. It moves one step diagonally.
• The Cannon is very powerful! It moves any number of spaces horizontally or vertically. But to capture a piece, it must jump over exactly one other piece (called a "screen").
• The Elephant moves exactly two steps diagonally. It cannot cross the "river" in the middle of the board.
• The Horse moves one step horizontally or vertically, then one step diagonally. It can be blocked if a piece is next to it.
• The Chariot (or "Rook") moves any number of spaces horizontally or vertically, just like a rook in international chess.
• The Soldier (or "Pawn") moves one step forward. Once it crosses the river, it can also move one step sideways. It never moves backward.

Related pages

• History of chess
• Shogi

See also

In Spanish: Xiangqi para niños

Images for kids

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  Xiangqi is a common pastime in Chinese cities (Beijing, 2005)

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  An instance of checkmate that assumes the cannon is safe and Black cannot block the check. The horse is not needed for this checkmate.

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  General and advisors

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  Xiangqi is a popular weekend activity in Beijing.

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  Xiangqi game pieces dated to the Song dynasty (960–1279)