Chinese chess where cannons must jump to capture
Xiangqi, known as Chinese chess, is China's most popular board game, a two-player strategy cousin of shogi, janggi, and Western chess. Checkmate the enemy general on a nine-by-ten point grid marked by a river, two palaces, and jump-capturing cannons.
Pieces sit on intersections, as in Go, not inside squares: nine files by ten ranks, often on disposable paper historically, now wood or plastic too. Each side's palace is a three-by-three zone laced with diagonals on ranks 1–3 and 8–10. Between ranks 5 and 6 runs the river, classically labeled Chu River and Han Border after the Chu–Han War—soldiers gain power after crossing; elephants may never cross. Each army fields sixteen flat disks, usually red versus black, engraved with traditional characters even in mainland sets. H. J. R. Murray reads xiangqi—elephant plus qi for board game—as likely "the Figure Game," though "Elephant Game" remains the surface gloss.
The general (black jiang, red shuai) starts mid-back inside the palace, stepping one point orthogonally and never leaving—except the flying-general capture along an open shared file, which in practice means facing generals is illegal self-check. Advisors stay on the five palace points, moving one diagonally. Elephants (or ministers) stride exactly two points diagonally without jumping, blocked by an "eye," and cannot cross the river, leaving only seven reachable points. Horses step one orthogonal then one diagonal like a Western knight but cannot jump—"hobbling the horse's leg" blocks them, creating asymmetric attacks. Chariots rake any orthogonal distance without leaping and are often the strongest pieces.
Cannons (pao) are the signature: they slide like chariots when not capturing, yet must vault exactly one intervening piece—the screen—to capture beyond. Soldiers (pawns) advance one point forward before the river and, afterward, may also ease sideways—never retreat. Kings were renamed generals under Chinese naming taboos that forbade lending royal titles to toys; English players still sometimes say king, knight, rook, or bishop for familiarity. Vietnam knows the game as cờ tướng, "General's chess," against Western cờ vua, "King's chess." The oldest recovered piece is a chariot held in the Three Gorges Museum.
Source: Xiangqi
