Chinese Chess Rules

Chinese Chess Rules consist of three parts: (1) the basic rules telling which moves are allowed; (2) the advanced rules restricting certain moves to ensure fair games; (3) the drawing rules preventing games from being too long

Chinese Chess Basic Rules

One can move the pieces according to the following rules:

1. The King moves only one space at a time, either horizontally or vertically. Furthermore, the King must always stay within the palace , which is a square marked with an X.
2. The Guards (Advisor) move only one space at a time diagonally. Similar to the King, the guards must stay within the palace.
3. The Ministers (Elephants) move two spaces at a time diagonally (i.e. 2 spaces left/right and 2 spaces up/down in a move). They must stay within their own side of the river. If there is a piece midway between the original and final intended position of a minister, the minister is blocked and the move is not allowed.
4. The Rooks (Cars) move one or more spaces horizontally or vertically provided that all positions between the original and final positions are empty.
5. The Knights (Horses) move two spaces horizontally and one space vertically (or respectively 2 spaces vertically and one space horizontally). If there is a piece next to the horse in the horizontal (vertical) direction, the horse is blocked and the move is not allowed.
6. The Cannons move one or more spaces horizontally or vertically like a Rook. However, in a capture move, there must be exactly one non-empty space in between the original and final position. In a non-capture move, all spaces in between must be empty.
7. The Pawns (or Soldiers) move one space at a time. If a pawn does not cross the river yet, it can only move forward vertically. Once crossing the river, the pawn can also move horizontally.
8. Capture: When a piece moves to a position currently held by an opponent's piece, it captures that opponent's piece. The captured piece is removed from the board.
9. King's line of sight: The two Kings in the board must never be on the same file (vertical line) without any pieces in between them. A move that puts the two Kings in such a setting is illegal.
10. King safety: One must never leave the King to be captured by the opponent in the next move. Any moves that put the King in such a setting is illegal.

End game condition: The game ends when one of the following situations happens:

* Checkmate: If one threatens to capture the opponent's King and the opponent has no way to resolve the threat, one wins.
* Stalemate: If one does not have any valid move, one loses.
* One or both sides violate the Advanced Rules .