Many similarities

There are many similarities between Chinese Chess and Western Chess. Although the board is a little larger (9x10), and play takes place on the intersections not the squares, the number of pieces is the same at 32, and checkmate is still the goal.

There are seven basic pieces in Chinese Chess (see diagram at top). Compared to Western Chess, the rook is exactly the same, and the knight almost the same, while bishop, king and pawn are all a bit different. There is no queen in the game, but there are two new pieces, cannon and guard. In the diagram the cannons are on the third and eighth ranks, and the guards stand next to the kings. (The 'gap' in the centre of the board is called the river, and the two 'X' areas mark the palaces of the two kings - all this is explained overleaf.)

Interestingly the movements of bishop and guard bear a very marked resemblance to those made by pieces used in the medieval form of our own chess before the rule changes some five hundred years ago. The origins of Chinese Chess, which has been played for centuries, are shrouded in the past - but it is obvious that it shares some sort of common ancestor with our western game.