Asian Chess - Chess Forums

 I wanted to bring to your attention two groups that are here on chess.com:

http://www.chess.com/groups/view/shogi

 

http://www.chess.com/groups/view/xiangqi

 

 First is about Shogi or Japanese Chess:

"Shogi (将棋, shōgi?, generals' chess), pronounced /ˈʃoʊɡiː/ (rhymes with yogi) in English, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, Chinese Xiangqi, and Korean Janggi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan. Shōgi means general's (shō) boardgame (gi). In early years, however, shogi was written 象棋 (the same as Xiangqi, "elephant chess").

The earliest predecessors of the game, chaturanga, originated in India in the 6th century AD, and spread from China to Japan, where it spawned a number of variants. Shogi in its present form was played as early as the 16th century, while a direct ancestor without the "drop rule" was recorded from 1210 in a historical document Nichūreki, which is an edited copy of Shōchūreki and Kaichūreki from the late Heian period (ca 1120).

According to ChessVariants.com, "Perhaps the enduring popularity of Shogi can be attributed to its 'drop rule'; it was the first chess variant wherein captured pieces could be returned to the board to be used as one's own. David Pritchard credits the drop rule to the practice of 16th century mercenaries who switched loyalties when captured—no doubt as an alternative to execution."

(more on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogi)

 

And second is about Xiangqi or Chinese chess:

"Xiangqi (Chinese: 象棋) is a two-player Chinese board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, shogi and janggi. The present-day form of Xiangqi originated in China and is therefore commonly called Chinese chess in English. The first character 象 Xiàng here has the meaning "image" or "representational", hence Xiangqi can be literally translated as "representational chess". The game is sometimes called "elephant chess" after an alternative meaning of 象 as "elephant".

Harold James Ruthven Murray in his A History of Chess spelled its name as "Hsiang-k'i": see Standard Mandarin#The "ki-" sequence, and translates 棋 more generally as "game": "the image game" (or "the elephant game"); the meaning of 棋 may have shifted down the centuries.

The game represents a battle between two armies, with the object of capturing the enemy's "general" piece. Xiangqi is one of the most popular board games in China. Distinctive features of Xiangqi include the unique movement of the pao ("cannon") piece, a rule prohibiting the generals (similar to chess kings) from facing each other directly, and the river and palace board features, which restrict the movement of some pieces.

Besides China and areas with significant ethnic Chinese communities, Xiangqi is also a popular pastime in Vietnam."

(more on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangqi)

 

 So, if you are a lover of eastern culture, or just want to try (we are playing in the group forums) a new game that has the same roots as our International variant come and join us!