Chinese Chess

On-line Help Manual

How to Play Chinese Chess

Introduction

Object of the Game

Chinese Chess Board

Game Rules

Tips

Getting Started

Starting a New Game

Making Moves

Invalid Moves

Move List

Winning a Game

Reviewing a Game

Saving a Game

Exiting a Game

Opening a Saved Game

Settings

Game Settings

Sound Settings

Display Settings & Toolbar

About Purple Software & Contact Details

How to Play Chinese Chess

Introduction

Chinese Chess, or Xiangqi, has been played in China from about AD700 and differs from its Western counterpart by reflecting the philosophy and history of China.

Object of the Game

As in Western chess the object of the game is to capture the opposing King.  A threat to capture the King is called       ‘Check’.  If the opposing King cannot escape check on its next move, the opposition loses the game.  Unlike Chess you can win a game of Chinese Chess if the opponent has no legal move and is not in check.  This is called winning by stalemate.

Chinese Chess Board

Chinese Chess is played on a board which is split into two halves, each eight squares by four in size.  Both sides of the board contain an Imperial Palace which consists of nine points joined by diagonal lines.  Across the centre of the board is the river which separates the two halves.  This river represents the Yellow River that divides north and south China.

Each player starts with sixteen pieces which are made up by seven different pieces rather than the six found in Western Chess.  These pieces are more restricted in their movements than Western Chess pieces and are moved on the       board’s intersections rather than on the squares like Western chess.

The pieces can be represented by Western symbols or Chinese characters as shown below:

Opening board position using international characters

Opening board position using Chinese characters

Game Rules

In order to force the opposing King into Checkmate, you must use the pieces available at your disposable to mount an attack which the opponent cannot counter.  Just like in the Western game of chess, the different pieces are only permitted to move in certain ways:

•	The King is restricted to the Imperial Palace.  The King may only move a single point either horizontally or vertically in any turn.  He may never move into check nor into the same column as the opposing King unless there is at least one piece in between them.

•	The Guard (also known as a Counsellor) is restricted to the Imperial Palace and may only move a single point diagonally in any turn.  The Guard is represented by a hat.  Each side starts with two Guards.

•	The Minister may move exactly two points diagonally.  The Minister may not cross the river nor jump over or through obstructing pieces.  The Minister is represented by an elephant’s head.  Each side starts with two Ministers.

•	The Knight moves one point either horizontally or vertically followed by a diagonal move to the left or right.  Unlike Chess, the Knight may not jump over or through obstructing pieces.  The Knight is represented by a horse’s head.  Each side starts with two Knights.

•	The Rook moves any number of unobstructed points in either the horizontal or vertical directions.  The Rook is represented by a castle.  Each side starts with two Rooks.

•	The Cannon moves much like a Rook.  It may only capture a piece by first jumping over an intervening piece of either colour.  The intervening piece is called a bridge or screen.  The Cannon is represented by a cannon.  Each side starts with two cannons.

The Pawn may move a single point forward.  Once across the river a Pawn may move horizontally to the left or right as well as move forward.  It may only move a single point in one direction on each turn.  Unlike Chess, Pawns do not get promoted to other pieces if they reach the far side of the board.  The Pawn is represented by a tent.  Each side starts with five Pawns.

Tips

Like its Western counterpart, experience leads to players appreciating the differing values of certain pieces, which in turn helps in making decisions on defensive and attacking strategies, and even decisions on sacrificing pieces.

The following information is a quick guide to some of the pieces available to you:

•	The Rook is considered the most powerful piece, followed by the Cannon then the Knight.

•	The Cannon decreases in power as pieces are captured since it requires other pieces on the board to use as a screen.

•	The Knight increases in power since its mobility increases when there are more free points to move between.  Remember that unlike Chess, a Knight in Chinese Chess may not move through occupied points.

•	Ministers and Counsellors are limited in power as they are restricted to one side of the board, with Counsellors  being restricted to the Imperial Palace.  They should be used as defensive cover for the King.

•	Pawns are the least powerful pieces, however they become more mobile once they cross the river.  Once across the river they can  move horizontally as well as forwards hence the number of points on the board they can attack increases.  Since Pawns are not promoted they become less powerful as they advance further.

Getting Started

When you first run Chinese Chess, you are presented with the Chinese Chess board and opening screen.

Starting a New Game

To start a new game, select the New option from the File menu.  Alternatively, you can click on the New button on the far left of the Toolbar or, when there is no game in progress, you can also click with the mouse anywhere on the game area.

The New Game dialog opens:

Here you select the players (human against either human or computer), the colours of the pieces (Red or Green) and the difficulty level for the computer (level 1 is the most basic).   Whoever plays with the red pieces has the first move.

Making Moves

When it is the turn of a human player, click on a piece on the Chinese Chess board to select it.   If you have enabled the Indicate Legal Destinations option in the Settings dialog (see Game Settings section below), all valid moves for the selected piece will be displayed.  To move the selected piece to one of these squares, click the desired destination square.

If you wish the computer to suggest a move, select the Hint option from the Game menu or click on the Hint button on the far right of the Toolbar.  To play the hint, click the piece suggested by the computer and then select the suggested destination square.

With more advanced levels, the computer may take some time to make its move.  To force the computer to stop thinking and make the best move it has found so far, select the Move Now option from the Game menu.

Invalid Moves

If you attempt to move a piece to an invalid destination, the piece will be returned to its starting point and you must make an alternative choice.

Move List

A scrollable Move List displays a list of all the moves made in the current game on the left-hand side of the screen.  Each move is identified by a number, a black or white piece  and a grid reference that refers to the Chinese Chess board.

Winning a Game

As with Chess, the object of this game is to capture your opponent’s King.  The King is said to be in ‘check’ when it is threatened by an opponent’s piece.  If the King is in check and it cannot escape being captured, ‘checkmate’ occurs.  When this happens the game is over.

At the end of a game, a Game Over message appears, stating which colour has won.

Unlike Chess, however, you can win a game if your opponent’s King is not in check but your opponent cannot make any more legal moves.  This is called winning by a ‘stalemate’.

Reviewing a Game

The Video buttons in the Toolbar allow you to review the current game.  Click the Take Back button to undo a single move (or series of moves) and the Replay button to redo a single move (or series of moves).  The Go to Start button takes you back to the start of the game and the Go to End button takes you to the end of the current game.

Alternatively, you can use the Take Back, Replay, Go to Start and Go to End options in the Game menu (or their respective keyboard shortcuts).

Saving a Game

To save a game so that you can continue playing it later, select the Save option from the File menu.  Alternatively, you can click on the Save button on the far left of the Toolbar.  The Save As dialog opens.

Simply enter a filename so that you can identify the game when you come to load it again at a later date.  It is, however, also possible to change the directory where the games are stored and overwrite any existing saved games.

To save an existing game under a different name while a game is in progress, use the Save As option on the File menu.  Note also that you will be asked if you want to save your game whenever you exit a game or start a new game while another game is still in progress.

Exiting a Game

To exit a game, select the Exit option from the File menu or click on the Close button (marked with an X) in the top right hand corner of the program.

Opening a Saved Game

To re-open a saved game, select the Load option from the File menu or click on the Load button on the Toolbar.  Select the game you wish to resume playing in the Open dialog.

Settings

Game Settings

The Game Settings dialog allows you to choose between the two supported piece sets (Chinese or International).  If you enable the Indicate Legal Destinations option, all valid moves for a particular piece are displayed when you select a piece on the board.

Sound Settings

In the Sound Settings dialog you can choose a Background Music option and switch the Sound Effects on or off.  Highlight your chosen background music and click OK.  For sound effects, tick the Game SFX box.  You can also change the sound levels, by moving the Volume bars to the left to reduce the volume level or to the right to increase it.  On installation of the games, you have the option of whether you wish to install the music or whether you would like it to run directly from the CD.

Display Settings & Toolbar

Toolbar

To display the toolbar at the top of the screen, select the Toolbar option from the View menu.

A tool tip displays the name of the toolbar button when you roll using the  mouse pointer over a  button.  From left to right, the toolbar buttons are as follows:

•	New  - to start a new game

•	Load - to load a saved game

•	Save - to save a game

•	Go to Start - to go to the start of the current game

•	Take Back - to undo a move

•	Replay - to replay a move

•	Go to End - to go to the end of the current game

•	Hint - to ask the computer to suggest a move

Status Bar

To display the Status Bar at the bottom of the screen, select the Status Bar option from the View menu.  This displays status information about the current game, such as “Ready” or “Thinking” if the computer is preparing to make its next move, at the bottom of the game window.

Screen Size

To change the screen size, select the Screen Size option from the View menu and choose a window size from the pre-determined settings.

About Purple Software & Contact Details

Purple Software is the world's leading developer of entertainment and lifestyle applications based on artificial intelligence that amuse, stimulate and challenge the mind. For more information or support, contact us by:

Phone:	+44 (0) 1494 750 300	( Hours: 09.00 – 17.30 GMT )

Fax:	+44 (0) 1494 750 301

Email:	info@purplesoft.com 	( General enquiries )

support@purplesoft.com	( Technical support )

Web:	www.purplesoftware.com

Address:	Purple Software Limited

Purple House

Corporation Street

High Wycombe, Bucks

HP13 6TQ

United Kingdom