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The Chinese chess has the same origin as the international chess, or the Chaturanga caused in the India about the VIIth century. Possibly be the game that is provided with major number of followers in the whole world.
With big resemblances with the international chess, the fundamental differences are the following ones:
In addition to towers, horses and bishops that move as in the international chess, there are mandarins and cannons nonexistent in other.
One plays in a board of 64 squares, but the cards are not placed in them but in the intersections of the lines, what does that, in practice it is a board of 9 x 10 points. With two special characteristics: a river between the areas of two opponents, and a palace that shuts up the king and his two mandarins.
Board and cards
The board of the Chinese chess has 10 horizontal lines and 9 vertical (these interrupted by the river. In contrast to the western chess, the pieces are not placed in the pigeonholes, but in the intersection of the lines. To every side of the board there is a palace, with a size of three points for three points marked by a few diagonal lines that they cross.
Every player has the following cards: 2 towers, 2 horses, 2 bishops, 2 mandarins, 1 king, 2 cannons and 5 farmhands.
The cards are usually a wooden cylinder, with the title written in his back, in black those of a player, and in red those of the opponent. After the game begins every player has in the intersections opposite to him, placed the cards, from left to right: tower, horse, bishop, mandarin, king, mandarin, bishop, horse, tower. Two more anticipated lines, in front of the horse two cannons are, and other more alante, in the fourth line, with a free space between them, 5 farmhands. In the line along with the river cards are not placed on having initiated the game.
The pieces move of the following form
Towers: As in the western chess. Movement in horizontal or vertical line. Not diagonal.
Horse: As in the western chess, but they cannot jump on other cards.
Bishop: Two squares move in diagonal, to an empty place, and never to another side of the river.
Mandarins: They move only one space diagonally, without being able to leave the palace.
King: Only one horizontal space moves or vertically, without being able to leave the palace. The black king and the red one have a different symbol in his back. Two kings cannot face in the same line, unless there are pieces between them.
Cannon: The cannon moves of different form when he eats up to a piece, which when one does not eat it. When it moves without eating, it does it like a tower. When one eats a piece it does it jumping on other one, the same is the color of which it is. And in fact, it can only jump when one is going to eat up. It can only jump on a piece every time.
Farmhands: There are different symbols for the blacks and the red ones. When they are in their own side of the river only they can move a pigeonhole forward. When they are in the opposite side they can move a pigeonhole forward, or a pigeonhole to the right or to the left, but they can never step back
Beginning of the game
The red ones move first. There gains the game the player who manages to give checkmate, or drowns on the contrary. To do this there is realized a check that prevents the opponent from moving to no legal place, or one drowns him preventing him from moving to no legal place.
It is important to remember that it is not possible to move the same piece to the same place resulting in the repetition of the same move during three times. The one that usually causes this situation must solve it.
When none of the players can capture the king of the opponent, the game finishes in stage.
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