The ancient Chinese board game of Xiangqi, or Chinese Chess, has been played for over 1,000 years. However, few books have been published in the English language on the strategy of Chinese Chess. Now, this 367 page book demonstrates optimal strategies, verified by modern computer analysis. The book is heavily illustrated with pictographic chess board diagrams, similar to diagrams in international chess books. These picture pieces are easier to visualize than classical Xiangqi Chinese character piece labels. Excessive use of algebraic notation is avoided, making it easier to follow game annotations, and to evaluate positions. This Chinese chess book is an easier way for English speakers to learn this complex, baffling and counter-intuitive board game, that has a tactical language quite different from that of international chess. Various topics are covered: ● Xiangqi Rules ● Opening Game Theory ● Middle Game and End Game Tactics ● Beginning, Intermediate and Expert Strategies ● Fully Annotated Games with Play-by-play analysis ● Hundreds of Illustrations - An Actual Board is Not Needed to Follow Annotated games!
Learn the ancient and fascinating game of Chinese Chess with this expert guide. Chinese chess, or "elephant chess," has intrigued the powerful and the quizzical for centuries. Although its rules are similar to the well-known Western game, subtle and fascinating variations must be mastered in order to understand the strategies it requires. A great way to learn Chinese Chess, this book is simple enough for Chess beginners but contains a wealth of information and tips that experienced players will find useful as well. In Chinese Chess, author H.T. Lau explains the game's fundamentals--the rules, the board, and the basics with dozens of insightful diagrams. With the aid of 170 diagrams, Chinese Chess walks players through the board, the movement and values of the pieces, basic rules for capturing and defeating an opponent, techniques and game-winning tactics. Once he's covered the basics, Lau introduces advanced tactics, methods for escaping difficult positions, and cunning strategies for winning. This book includes eighty mid- and end-game exercises designed to sharpen playing skills and strategy and concludes with two appendices devoted to the elegantly constructed games found in The Secret Inside the Orange and The Plum-Blossom Meter, two classic seventeenth-century works on Chinese chess.
Chinese Chess or Xiangqi (Elephant chess in Chinese) is an ancient board game popular in China for centuries. In recent times, its popularity has exploded with millions of international players and a world tournament with millions in cash prizes. Reinventing the traditional Chinese chess game, the author incorporates innovative strategies of defense and offense on a repositioned game board. This new game system will inspire traditional players and entice novice ones. Written with over five hundred diagrams with detailed illustrations and easy-to-read language, the reader will enjoy the creative presentations. This is a must read for players of all levels and is a fresh adaptation of an ancient game. The author: Norman L. Chan New York City, New York United States of America Mailing address: Post Office Box 640696 Oakland Gardens, New York New York, USA 11364 Email address: [email protected]
The ancient Chinese board game of Xiangqi, or Chinese Chess, has been played for over 1,500 years. However, few books have been published in the English language on the strategy of Chinese Chess. Now, this new Xiangqi book demonstrates optimal strategies, verified by modern computer analysis. The book is heavily illustrated with pictographic chess board diagrams, similar to diagrams in international chess books. These picture pieces are easier to visualize than classical Xiangqi Chinese character piece labels. Excessive use of algebraic notation is avoided, making it easier to follow game annotations, and to evaluate positions. This Chinese Chess book is an easier way for English speakers to learn this complex, baffling and counter-intuitive board game, that has a tactical language quite different from that of international chess. Various topics are covered: ● Xiangqi Rules ● Opening Game Theory ● Middle Game and End Game Tactics ● Beginning, Intermediate and Expert Strategies ● Fully Annotated Games with Play-by-play analysis ● Hundreds of Illustrations - An Actual Board is Not Needed to Follow Annotated games!
A Beginners Guide to Xiangqi Chinese Elephant Chess covers the play & details of China's most popular board game. The layout of the playing board, movement and capturing tactics of the Xiangqi pieces, 2 standard example games, Do's and Don't of opening play, Checkmate methods and Glossary of terms.
Board games have been played throughout the world for thousands of years. Many times, in many different cultures, people have amused themselves by devising mock races, battles and hunts, played in miniature on a small surface. The rules and the level of sophistication has changed through the ages, but the general idea has remained the same. Some of the oldest games, like backgammon, chess and draughts, are still popular today. This book looks at twelve different games taken from various periods of history. Most will not be recognised by the general public, but deserve to be better known. They are pachisi, halma, agon, tâb, fanorona, nine men's morris, wari, konane, xiang qi, tablut, asalto and renju. Each game has a whole chapter to itself, which includes a history, the rules, and a section on strategy and tactics. It is the author's intention that the reader will gain appreciation and enthusiasm for these wonderful old games, and be entertained by them for years to come.
The Lexicon of Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) Terms is the first ever English lexicon on Xiangqi. There are well over 1600 entries and over 490 figures in the book, which span all disciplines in Xiangqi. Chinese terms have been added with Hanyu Pinyin wherever appropriate so that the entries would be clear and leave no room for doubt in the process of transliteration. The lexicon was born out of necessity. The author, Jim Png Hau Cheng, has written extensively about Xiangqi, in English, for over six years on his website, www.xqinenglish.com, which has over 2300+ web pages at last count. During the process of writing, and trying to explain Xiangqi in English, he was faced with the mammoth task of trying to come up with suitable English phrases for Xiangqi. While there are thousands of terms in Chinese with regards to Xiangqi, a useful list of Xiangqi terms in English was virtually non-existent. Without such a list of terms, it was nearly impossible to communicate the intricacies of Xiangqi understandably. For each term, he had to do research, compare, categorize, distil, and even invent various terms. It has been a tedious process which saw the author working through many sleepless nights, acquiring astigmatism and a head full of white hair. Fortunately, a list of terms was slowly born over time. Technical terms which include basic terminology, the language used in openings, midgames, endgames, endgame compositions have been explained in simple, understandable prose. Many figures have been included to explain various important positions and concepts. Terms regarding the culture and history of Xiangqi can also be found with short and crisp explanations. Jim has also translated various important Chinese passages to the best of his abilities. For example, the Theory of Xiangqi presented in both the Secret in the Tangerine and the Elegant Pastime Manual has been translated to strengthen the fundamentals of the beginner. There are also over three hundred biographies of the Xiangqi greats. Introductions to important ancient manuals and contemporary Xiangqi masterpieces, their history, and their authors have not been left out. There are also five appendices in the Lexicon. The first appendix is perhaps the most important part of the book. Jim has provided the English terms for various Chinese terms in the hope that it would bridge the language barrier. Chinese writers hoping to write Xiangqi in English will find the list useful. The second appendix is a collection of nearly a hundred Xiangqi sayings that are frequently encountered. Each saying is a gem of wisdom from which the author has translated and explained to the best of his abilities. The third appendix was a thesis that was presented in a chess conference in Hangzhou in 2016. The authors of the thesis have kindly granted permission for publication. It is a timeline of the history of Xiangqi from the ancient times. The fourth appendix is a list of the various grandmasters and masters (both men and women) of the different federations. While the information can be found on the internet, it has not been collected and categorized in the same manner as Jim has done. The last appendix is a list of tables which show the results of the major tournaments in Xiangqi. The work seen in the book is a six-year culmination of the author's efforts to promote the game he loves so dearly. It would be impossible to include all there is to know about a subject as deep as Xiangqi into one book. While such a Lexicon cannot be exhaustive, it would serve as a good reference for people interested in Xiangqi, but are not familiar with the Chinese language.
When you think of chess, you probably think of the strategy game played throughout Europe and the Americas. There is another kind of chess played throughout the world by probably more people than any other strategy game. That game is Chinese Chess. The "Elephant Game" as it is called by the Chinese, dates back more than 2000 years. A cousin of Western Chess, its unique style of play results in a wide-open, quick-moving and aggressive contest. Chinese Chess for Beginners explains both the rules and the strategies of the game clearly and in detail so that you can start playing right away. It covers everything from the opening through the endgame. The book includes a set of paper chessmen that you can cut out and begin to play right away.
Learn the many varieties of chess the world over with this concise chess guide. Chess Variations is a must for all chess enthusiasts and an outstanding book which promises many hours of pleasurable entertainment for all others. With more than 40 variations of the popular board game, this book contains, among others, the oldest known form of chess (Chaturanga), the game created by Edgar Rice Burroughs and introduced in his Martian series (Jetan), as well as regional forms currently played in Korea, Malaya, Burma, Thailand, and Japan. For those games that require boards or pieces other than those issued in playing modern chess, the author presents guidelines on "The Construction of Sets." Also included in the book are charts, diagrams, and sample games played by the author and his friends. The excitement of playing these exotic chess variations increases with the knowledge of their historic beginnings as well as with the movements of such strange-sounding pieces as the Zarafah, Ashwa, and Firzan.
