Chinese chess

How Chinese chess is played

From the book's pages

• A board of 9×10 lines; the pieces stand on the intersections. Through the middle runs the river; the pieces cross it as if the lines were not broken, except the elephant. At each end is the fort, three by three points with diagonals.
• Each player has sixteen pieces: one general (G), two advisors (A), two elephants (E), two horses (H), two chariots (R), two cannons (C) and five soldiers (S), set up as in figure B. Red always moves first.
• Only one piece on each point; none jumps over others, except the horse as described and the cannon. The general moves one point straight forward, backward or sideways, and never out of the fort. The advisor moves one point diagonally inside the fort.
• The elephant moves exactly two points diagonally; the point between must be empty, and it never crosses the river. The horse moves one point straight and then one diagonally; if a piece stands on the straight point, the way is blocked (figures C and E).
• The soldier moves one point forward. Once it has crossed the river, it also moves one point sideways; never backward, never diagonally, and it is not promoted. On the back row it can only move sideways.
• The chariot moves as the rook in chess. The cannon moves like the chariot, but must always jump over one piece, its own or the enemy's, and is set down on any point beyond it — or takes the next piece. It never jumps over two, and without a piece to jump over it cannot move (figure F).
• Each piece captures when it moves, by taking the point of an enemy piece. Capturing is not compulsory.
• The generals may not stand on the same file without a piece between them: they may not «see» each other. If you remove the last piece between them, you put your own general in check, and that is forbidden (figure D).
• The general is in check when it is threatened or the generals see each other. The answers are to take the attacker, move the general or put a piece between; against a cannon the screen can also be removed, but not taken. If nothing can save it, it is checkmate and a loss.
• Stalemate — the general cannot move without landing in check, and no other piece can move — counts as a defeat.
• Perpetual check is not allowed: if the same position arises in two consecutive moves by the same player, that player must make another move.

My choices

• The cannon follows the book: it must always jump. Modern tournament rules let it move like the chariot when it does not capture, and jump only to capture; that can be chosen in «New game».
• The rule against perpetual check is read like this: a position you have already created twice yourself, you may not create a third time.
• The pieces show the characters; the button above the board switches to letters. The last move is shown in the book's notation: piece, from, – or ×, to, † for check.
• The machine counts material and a little position a few moves ahead. It is an opponent for beginners and decent amateurs, not a master.

New game