=========================================================================== EXPLANATORY NOTE November 1989 Although it has been several years in the making, the present release of Xiangqi is very far from being a finished product. It remains woefully slow, and it doesn't play a particularly good game. But it has reached a plateau, and I don't know if it will ever get any better, so I'm releasing it into the public domain with one hope: that it will provide an introduction to an exciting and fast-moving game too little known in the West. If you do become interested in xiangqi and want a stronger opponent, I can recommend a commercial program called Xian, published by Leong Jacobs Inc., 2729 Lury Lane, Annapolis MD 21401. (Telephone 301-266-3660.) The program plays an excellent game and is blindingly fast. A graphics adapter is required. Xiangi was created using Turbo Pascal, copyright (c) Borland International 1987, 1988, and Turbo Assembler, copyright (c) Borland International 1988. =========================================================================== XIANGQI The Chinese Game of Chess - Version 2 - Program and notes by Peter Donnelly 1301 Ryan Street Victoria BC Canada V8T 4Y8 * * * No, it's not the same as Chinese checkers - which is not an oriental game at all. Nor is it the same as go. It is an ancient form of chess played by millions. Xiangqi (pronounced roughly "zhang-chee", with the "zh" being the sound of the middle consonant in "leisure") is in fact closely allied to our familiar western chess. It is thought that the two games share an ancestor that developed in India more than a thousand years ago. The Chinese board is somewhat different from ours, and the pieces, with one exception, are not exactly like their western counterparts. The game also has its own flavor; it is much more fast-paced and tactical in nature than western chess - or, for that matter, the Japanese shogi, to which it is also related. Xiangqi is also unlike western chess in its popular appeal; it is played by all classes. Visitors to San Francisco may see it played in outdoor gazebos, with the onlookers taking an active part - even to the extent of reaching in and moving the pieces! Authentic boards and pieces can be bought cheaply in any North American Chinatown. You will likely need help identifying the men, which are distinguished not by shape but by their names printed or stamped in Chinese on one side. =========================================================================== XIANGQI ON THE COMPUTER No graphics card is required. The program adapts itself automatically to color or monochrome. If you have a hybrid system with a color graphics card and a monochrome monitor, and find that the display doesn't seem right, you can force the program into monochrome mode by putting M or /M on the command line. The game can be played with a Logitech or Microsoft mouse, or with the keyboard. With no mouse, move the cursor box about the screen with the arrow or numerical keys. Pick up and put down a piece with Enter or (handier on old-style keyboards) the grey plus key. Move to the menu either by pressing F1 before picking up a piece or by moving the cursor off the bottom of the board. When finished with the menu, just press the up arrow or F1 to return to the board. To be reminded of how a piece moves, position the cursor over the piece and press F2; every point where it can move, and every piece it protects, is marked with an X. The mouse controls need no explanation. The available options are always displayed on the screen, where the left and right buttons are indicated by arrowheads. On the menu line, "Free" lets you set up the board any way you like. (To clear the board first, load EMPTY.BD with the "Read" command.) Black's home side must always be at the bottom. The program doesn't check to see that pieces are placed in legal positions, and it will malfunction if, for example, you put an elephant on a point it can't normally visit. "New" sets up the pieces for a new game, and "Back" takes back your last move. You can take back a move even after losing the game - answer "Y" at the "Play again?" prompt and then choose "Back". "Save" will save a position (it remembers who is to move) and "Read" will restore it. Since the program lets you take back only one move, you should save any crucial positions that you may want to replay. At the beginning of a game you are always offered the black pieces and the first move. To take the red pieces instead, choose "Swap". You can also change sides during the game with this option. By continuously swapping, you will see the machine play itself. Cycle upward through the "Skill" levels with the Enter or plus keys; to cycle downward, use the minus key. With the mouse, cycle up with the left button and down with the right. The number of turns ahead the program will look depends partly on the skill level and partly on the position. There is no "book" for the opening so to speed things up you should set the level at 1 or 2 for the first few moves. If playing at a low level, increase skill if you reach an endgame with only a few pieces on each side. Click on the musical note to toggle the sound on and off. Finally, strike Ctrl-Q while the machine is thinking if you change your mind about your move. To avoid wasting time, the machine checks the keyboard only at intervals during its search, so at higher skill levels this command may not take effect immediately. =========================================================================== OBJECT OF THE GAME Players move and capture as in chess. Win is by checkmate or stalemate: that is, a player loses if he cannot make a move without exposing his general, or king, to capture. The program announces "I lose" when it sees that you can force a mate within the next few moves. THE BOARD There are 90 points of play, arranged in 10 ranks or rows and 9 files or columns. The board has some special features: the two castles, which are nine-point squares defined by a large X, and the river, which separates the two halves of the board. These features affect some of the pieces. MOVES OF THE PIECES General One point along a rank or file; may not leave the castle. Guard One point along a diagonal within the castle. Can visit only five different points. Elephant Always two points along a diagonal; may not cross the river or leap a piece. Can visit only seven different points. Horse One point along a rank or file, then one point diagonally. May not leap a piece. Chariot Any distance along a rank or file, without leaping. Just like a western rook. Cannon Ordinarily moves like a chariot, but cannot capture unless it leaps over a single piece of either color on the way to its target. Soldier One point straight ahead, until it has reached the far bank of the river; then it may move one point straight forward or along a rank. Never moves diagonally or backward. As well as its regular move, the general has the theoretical power of attacking the opposing general along an open file, moving just like a chariot. Any move that puts the generals opposite one another along an open file is therefore equivalent to moving into check, and is illegal. Note that only the chariot is exactly like its counterpart in chess. The horse is like the knight but must always take the "straight" part of its move first, and can be blocked by a piece of either color at the elbow of its path. The cannon cannot leap unless it is capturing, and cannot capture without leaping. HINTS ON PLAY Don't rely too much on knowledge of western chess. Xiangqi is a much more open, tactical game, with ready-cleared files that permit quick attack by the chariot and the cannon, the most mobile pieces. Control of these open files, particularly those aimed at the enemy castle, is of the utmost importance. The cannon is an interesting piece. It can be devastating at long range, but once it has been "shot" over the enemy line it can lose its efficacy, just like a spent ball. It is powerless against an enemy that is in close. An important thing to remember is that the cannon can pin two enemy pieces against their general - if either one moves, the general is in check. With this in mind, many games begin with black's cannon being moved to the centre file. Some fascinating situations develop when two or more enemy cannons line up against one another and begin leapfrogging at targets. The elephant, the guards, and for the most part the general itself are defensive pieces, except in those instances where they provide a screen for the cannon. But their constant presence in the home field gives the chariots, cannons, and horses more freedom to go to the attack. After developing your pieces - getting the chariots onto open ranks and files, bringing the horses off the back row, deploying the cannons behind screens - move quickly against the enemy. There is no place in xiangqi for the tenacious, passive defence. It is impossible to build an impregnable, interlocked wall of men as you might do in western chess - chiefly because of the very different nature of the pawns, or soldiers - and it is better to deploy your forces in an active, aggressive way. Do not overlook the power of the promoted soldier. Once across the river this little piece triples in strength, and in many situations, especially close in on the castle, it can be as effective as a chariot. And don't forget the general's ability to close off a file to the opposing general - a power that frequently clinches mate. For purposes of evaluating trades, count guard and elephant at 2, cannon and horse at 4, and chariot at 8. Trading a horse for a cannon may be a good idea early in the game but becomes less wise as the board opens up and the cannon becomes relatively weaker. Soldiers start at 1 but can greatly increase in value depending on their position. In the early stages of the game the enemy soldiers are temptingly exposed targets, but don't waste time on them: it is far more important to develop your major pieces and not lose tempo. ===========================================================================