Chinese Chess (Xiang Qi):
How To Play Chinese Chess
(continued)
Pieces and Their Movement
Each player has 16 pieces of 7 types: General (King), 2 Guards, 2 Elephants (aka Bishops), 2 Chariots (Rooks), 2 Horses (Knights), 2 Cannons, and 5 Soldiers (Pawns). The characters for each piece vary between the red and black pieces.
The following is a description of each piece and its movement by its technical ranking and prowess.
Chinese Chess Set
The General of the Army or the King can move one space horizontally or vertically (forward, backward, left, or right), with no diagonal movement. Unlike the "King" in International Chess, the "General of the Army" in Chinese Chess cannot move diagonally. In addition, the General cannot leave the Imperial Palace. >From a territory perspective, this means that there are only nine points that can ever be occupied by the General.
Another important restriction is that the General may never move onto an intersection that is directly across the board from the enemy General unless there is at least one piece in between them. Likewise, if there is only one piece between Generals it may not be moved so as to expose the Generals to each other. This rule becomes an important factor in "checkmate" and "stalemate" situations.
In summary, the three distinctions that make the General of the Army differ from the King of the International Chess:
- It cannot move diagonally.
- It cannot leave the Imperial Palace.
- The opposing Generals may never face or oppose each other directly across an unobstructed board.
Note: There are no Queens in this game, but it is acceptable to have female Generals.
