CHINESE CHESS

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Hsiang-ch'i, or (Pinyin) Xiangqi, strategy board game played in China from about AD 700. In Chinese chess the pieces represent artillery and fortresses, elephants, cavalry, infantry, and chariots. Each player has 16 pieces; the names of corresponding pieces of the opponent's armies are in some cases different. The two halves of the chessboard, each of which is eight squares by four, are separated from each other by a space one square wide, which represents the Yellow River. The game differs from the Western game of chess in that the pieces are moved on intersections of lines rather than on squares. This pattern was familiar to the Chinese from the game of go, which was well known before chess arrived from India. Another major difference is that the pieces are in the form of flat disks, similar to checkers, and are designated by names written on them in red or blue.