217 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
217 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
===========================================================================
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EXPLANATORY NOTE
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November 1989
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Although it has been several years in the making, the present release of
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Xiangqi is very far from being a finished product. It remains woefully
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slow, and it doesn't play a particularly good game. But it has reached a
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plateau, and I don't know if it will ever get any better, so I'm releasing
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it into the public domain with one hope: that it will provide an
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introduction to an exciting and fast-moving game too little known in the
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West.
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If you do become interested in xiangqi and want a stronger opponent, I can
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recommend a commercial program called Xian, published by Leong Jacobs Inc.,
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2729 Lury Lane, Annapolis MD 21401. (Telephone 301-266-3660.) The program
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plays an excellent game and is blindingly fast. A graphics adapter is
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required.
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Xiangi was created using Turbo Pascal, copyright (c) Borland International
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1987, 1988, and Turbo Assembler, copyright (c) Borland International 1988.
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===========================================================================
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XIANGQI
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The Chinese Game of Chess
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- Version 2 -
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Program and notes
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by Peter Donnelly
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1301 Ryan Street
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Victoria BC Canada V8T 4Y8
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* * *
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No, it's not the same as Chinese checkers - which is not an oriental game
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at all. Nor is it the same as go. It is an ancient form of chess played by
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millions.
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Xiangqi (pronounced roughly "zhang-chee", with the "zh" being the sound of
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the middle consonant in "leisure") is in fact closely allied to our
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familiar western chess. It is thought that the two games share an ancestor
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that developed in India more than a thousand years ago. The Chinese board
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is somewhat different from ours, and the pieces, with one exception, are
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not exactly like their western counterparts. The game also has its own
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flavor; it is much more fast-paced and tactical in nature than western
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chess - or, for that matter, the Japanese shogi, to which it is also
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related.
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Xiangqi is also unlike western chess in its popular appeal; it is played by
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all classes. Visitors to San Francisco may see it played in outdoor
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gazebos, with the onlookers taking an active part - even to the extent of
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reaching in and moving the pieces!
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Authentic boards and pieces can be bought cheaply in any North American
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Chinatown. You will likely need help identifying the men, which are
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distinguished not by shape but by their names printed or stamped in Chinese
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on one side.
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XIANGQI ON THE COMPUTER
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No graphics card is required. The program adapts itself automatically to
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color or monochrome. If you have a hybrid system with a color graphics card
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and a monochrome monitor, and find that the display doesn't seem right, you
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can force the program into monochrome mode by putting M or /M on the
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command line.
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The game can be played with a Logitech or Microsoft mouse, or with the
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keyboard.
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With no mouse, move the cursor box about the screen with the arrow or
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numerical keys. Pick up and put down a piece with Enter or (handier on
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old-style keyboards) the grey plus key. Move to the menu either by pressing
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F1 before picking up a piece or by moving the cursor off the bottom of the
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board. When finished with the menu, just press the up arrow or F1 to return
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to the board. To be reminded of how a piece moves, position the cursor over
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the piece and press F2; every point where it can move, and every piece it
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protects, is marked with an X.
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The mouse controls need no explanation. The available options are always
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displayed on the screen, where the left and right buttons are indicated
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by arrowheads.
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On the menu line, "Free" lets you set up the board any way you like. (To
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clear the board first, load EMPTY.BD with the "Read" command.) Black's home
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side must always be at the bottom. The program doesn't check to see that
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pieces are placed in legal positions, and it will malfunction if, for
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example, you put an elephant on a point it can't normally visit.
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"New" sets up the pieces for a new game, and "Back" takes back your last
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move. You can take back a move even after losing the game - answer "Y" at
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the "Play again?" prompt and then choose "Back".
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"Save" will save a position (it remembers who is to move) and "Read"
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will restore it. Since the program lets you take back only one move, you
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should save any crucial positions that you may want to replay.
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At the beginning of a game you are always offered the black pieces and the
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first move. To take the red pieces instead, choose "Swap". You can also
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change sides during the game with this option. By continuously swapping,
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you will see the machine play itself.
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Cycle upward through the "Skill" levels with the Enter or plus keys; to
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cycle downward, use the minus key. With the mouse, cycle up with the left
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button and down with the right. The number of turns ahead the program will
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look depends partly on the skill level and partly on the position. There is
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no "book" for the opening so to speed things up you should set the level at
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1 or 2 for the first few moves. If playing at a low level, increase skill
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if you reach an endgame with only a few pieces on each side.
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Click on the musical note to toggle the sound on and off.
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Finally, strike Ctrl-Q while the machine is thinking if you change your
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mind about your move. To avoid wasting time, the machine checks the
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keyboard only at intervals during its search, so at higher skill levels
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this command may not take effect immediately.
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===========================================================================
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OBJECT OF THE GAME
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Players move and capture as in chess. Win is by checkmate or stalemate:
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that is, a player loses if he cannot make a move without exposing his
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general, or king, to capture.
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The program announces "I lose" when it sees that you can force a mate
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within the next few moves.
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THE BOARD
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There are 90 points of play, arranged in 10 ranks or rows and 9 files or
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columns. The board has some special features: the two castles, which are
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nine-point squares defined by a large X, and the river, which separates the
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two halves of the board. These features affect some of the pieces.
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MOVES OF THE PIECES
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General One point along a rank or file; may not leave the castle.
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Guard One point along a diagonal within the castle. Can visit only
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five different points.
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Elephant Always two points along a diagonal; may not cross the river
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or leap a piece. Can visit only seven different points.
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Horse One point along a rank or file, then one point diagonally.
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May not leap a piece.
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Chariot Any distance along a rank or file, without leaping. Just
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like a western rook.
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Cannon Ordinarily moves like a chariot, but cannot capture unless
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it leaps over a single piece of either color on the way to
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its target.
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Soldier One point straight ahead, until it has reached the far bank
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of the river; then it may move one point straight forward or
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along a rank. Never moves diagonally or backward.
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As well as its regular move, the general has the theoretical power of
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attacking the opposing general along an open file, moving just like a
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chariot. Any move that puts the generals opposite one another along an open
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file is therefore equivalent to moving into check, and is illegal.
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Note that only the chariot is exactly like its counterpart in chess. The
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horse is like the knight but must always take the "straight" part of its
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move first, and can be blocked by a piece of either color at the elbow of
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its path. The cannon cannot leap unless it is capturing, and cannot capture
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without leaping.
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HINTS ON PLAY
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Don't rely too much on knowledge of western chess. Xiangqi is a much more
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open, tactical game, with ready-cleared files that permit quick attack by
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the chariot and the cannon, the most mobile pieces. Control of these open
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files, particularly those aimed at the enemy castle, is of the utmost
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importance.
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The cannon is an interesting piece. It can be devastating at long range,
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but once it has been "shot" over the enemy line it can lose its efficacy,
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just like a spent ball. It is powerless against an enemy that is in close.
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An important thing to remember is that the cannon can pin two enemy pieces
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against their general - if either one moves, the general is in check. With
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this in mind, many games begin with black's cannon being moved to the
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centre file. Some fascinating situations develop when two or more enemy
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cannons line up against one another and begin leapfrogging at targets.
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The elephant, the guards, and for the most part the general itself are
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defensive pieces, except in those instances where they provide a screen for
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the cannon. But their constant presence in the home field gives the
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chariots, cannons, and horses more freedom to go to the attack. After
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developing your pieces - getting the chariots onto open ranks and files,
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bringing the horses off the back row, deploying the cannons behind screens
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- move quickly against the enemy. There is no place in xiangqi for the
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tenacious, passive defence. It is impossible to build an impregnable,
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interlocked wall of men as you might do in western chess - chiefly because
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of the very different nature of the pawns, or soldiers - and it is better
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to deploy your forces in an active, aggressive way.
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Do not overlook the power of the promoted soldier. Once across the river
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this little piece triples in strength, and in many situations, especially
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close in on the castle, it can be as effective as a chariot. And don't
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forget the general's ability to close off a file to the opposing general -
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a power that frequently clinches mate.
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For purposes of evaluating trades, count guard and elephant at 2, cannon
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and horse at 4, and chariot at 8. Trading a horse for a cannon may be a
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good idea early in the game but becomes less wise as the board opens up and
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the cannon becomes relatively weaker. Soldiers start at 1 but can greatly
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increase in value depending on their position. In the early stages of the
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game the enemy soldiers are temptingly exposed targets, but don't waste
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time on them: it is far more important to develop your major pieces and not
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lose tempo.
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