Anyone play Chinese Chess?

[IronFist]

No, I did NOT say Chinese checkers. I mean Chinese Chess. XiangQi or something?

Rules are here (http://txa.ipoline.com/)

If you play it, is it cool? Is it fun? Do you like it? Is it easy to learn? How does it compare with regular chess?

Thanks,

IronFist

[Mr Punch]

I used to play a lot with my brother, when we got bored of western chess, and later for its own merits. It's great! And easy to learn the moves. The strategy is pretty different to western chess, but the mindset is similar.

It has two major differences strategically (the aesthetic difference is that you play on the intersections, not the squares, but this actually has little bearing on the strategy obviously).

1) The king and his two 'mandarins' cannot move from the nine-point castle. But, the kings can put each other in check from the other side of the board. This is sweet.

2) One piece (forget which... cannon?) moves orthogonally, but can only take/check OVER another piece. Which is sometimes a little confusing but great!

I never knew if I was any good at it until I played in Korea (the Korean version has just a couple of minor differences): then I KNEW I sucked!! :rolleyes: But my opponent SAID I was very good (Korean manners!)!!

[Goldenmane]

Aye, I play.

I actually prefer it to regular chess.

And, yeah, Mat... it the canon that needs a piece between it and it's target.

It's a great game.

-geoff

[Chinwoo-er]

I know how they move and thats about it.
No strategies. No tactics.

I just use a simple " let me win or I will kill you ".
Simple, direction, victory assured.:D

[mantis108]

If you want to really get a feel on how the winds of battle change with chess, you should try the Japanese chess (Shoji?). It plays like a real battle which you can capture (not kill) the pieces and then use them (literally turn them around) to your advantage. Sometime you might think you have the upperhand but the other guy can freely drop his pieces that he captured from you previously and turn the table around. He can bait you with a big piece like a rook (offer it for your capture). If you take the bait, you might end up losing the game because of your greed. It's a fasinating game.

Mantis108

[lowsweep]

I've never ried chinese chess but i love western chess. Anybody play western? I personally love an 11 minute timer to add an extra little twist and make you think fast. Also, anybody here play on yahoo chess? lotsa fun.

[IronFist]

I used to play chess on Microsoft's zone.com. I don't have time to play anymore, but when I do I also like using a clock. I probably sucks now though :)

IronFist