Xiangqi
chess variant native to China
Xiangqi (; Chinese: 象棋; pinyin: xiàngqí), commonly known in the West as Chinese chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is the most popular board game in China. Xiangqi is in the same family of games as shogi, janggi, Western chess, chaturanga, and Indian chess. Besides China and areas with significant ethnic Chinese communities, this game is also a popular pastime in Vietnam, where it is known as cờ tướng, literally 'General's chess', in contrast with Western chess or cờ vua, literally 'King's chess'.
The game represents a battle between two armies, with the primary object being to checkmate the enemy's general (king). Distinctive features of xiangqi include the cannon (pao), which must jump to capture; a rule prohibiting the generals from facing each other directly; areas on the board called the river and palace, which restrict the movement of some pieces but enhance that of others; and the placement of the pieces on the intersections of the board lines, rather than within the squares.
Etymology
As 象; xiàng means "elephant"—the sense in which it is used as the name of one of the pieces in the game—and 棋; qí is a word for "chess" or "board game" which also appears in the names of games such as weiqi and fangqi, the name xiangqi is generally interpreted literally as "elephant chess."
However, the character 象; xiàng, besides "elephant," may mean "ivory," a "figure" or "representation" (such as might be carved from ivory), or a "celestial phenomenon" or "apparition." H. J. R. Murray therefore offers "the Elephant Game," "the Ivory Game," "the Astronomical Game," and "the Figure Game" as possible interpretations of the name, and holds "the Figure Game" to probably be the true meaning, arguing that although the game is now played with pieces distinguished by the inscription of their names and not with figures like Indian or Persian chess, it was played with figures at an earlier stage in its history, and this name would reflect one of the game's most distinctive features.
Board
Xiangqi is played on a board nine lines wide and ten lines long. As in the game Go (围棋; or Wéi qí 圍棋), the pieces are placed on the intersections, which are known as points. The vertical lines are known as files (Chinese: 路; pinyin: lù; lit.
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