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It is a game that is played on a board that is 9 lines wide by 10 lines long. The pieces are played on the intersections, which are known as points. On the center-back edge of each side of the board, is a 3x3 point fortress, with 4 diagonal lines connecting the center point to the corners. Dividing the two opposing sides (between the fifth and sixth rows) is the river.
Xiangqi plays faster than Western chess, because the barrier of pawns is reduced dramatically, and also because the Cannons (see below) jump to capture, which makes them a threat early in the game. In addition, since the General is confined to only moving within his 3x3 point fortress, he can be checkmated easier unless he is protected by his other pieces. Also, while in Western chess battle is concentrated in the middle few rows for the bulk of the game, in xiangqi the battle seems to be happening simultaneously all over the board. The give-and-take between offensive and defensive play are thus more obvious in xiangqi.
The game-tree complexity of xiangqi is approximately 10150 [1].
Chinese chess has a long history. Its origin has not been confirmed yet. But judging by its rules, we can conclude that the origin of Chinese chess was closely related to military strategists in ancient China.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, wars were fought for years running. A new chess game was patterned after the array of troops. This was the earliest form of Chinese chess.
During the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, a kind of chess game was popular among the people. It laid a foundation for the finalized pattern of Chinese chess.
In ancient times, Chinese chess was always enjoyed by both highbrows and lowbrows.
During the reign of Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, Prime Minister Niu Sengru wrote a fake story about chess. That occurred during the Baoying period, so it was named Baoying chess. Baoying chess had six pieces. He wrote about the rules of the chess. Baoying chess produced a significant influence on the chess in subsequent years.
Three forms of chess took shape after the Song Dynasty. One of them consisted of 32 pieces. They were played on a chessboard with 9 vertical lines and 9 horizontal lines. Popular in those days was a chessboard without a river borderline. The Chu River and Han Borderline were added later. This form has lasted to this day.
With the economic and cultural development during the Qing Dynasty, Chinese chess entered a new stage. Many different schools of chess circles and chess players came into prominence. With the popularization of Chinese chess, many books and manuals on the techniques of playing chess were published. They played an important role in popularizing Chinese chess and improving the techniques of playing in modern times.
On either side of the river are the red (or white) side, which moves first, and the black (or blue or green) side. (Note, however, that there has apparently been a rule change, for older chess books show black moving first.) They are represented by disks marked with an identifying character and color.
The soldiers (known as pawns in some sources) are labelled 兵 (bing) (soldier) for red and 卒 (zú) (pawn) for black. Each side has 5 soldiers (or pawns). They are placed on alternating points, one row back from the edge of the river. They move, and capture (unlike Pawns in Western chess) by advancing one point. Once they have crossed the river, they may also move (and capture) one point horizontally. Unlike Western chess, when they reach the enemy's edge of the board they are not promoted, nor may they retreat; however, they may still move from side to side.