Chinese Chess: An Introduction to China's Ancient Game of Strategy

Chinese chess, or “elephant chess,” has intrigued game lovers for centuries. Similar in form to its well-known Western cousin, the Chinese game requires players to master subtle and fascinating variations of strategy. H. T. Lau introduces Chinese chess to Westerners, discussing issues such as the board, the movement and values of the pieces, and basic rules for capturing and defeating an opponent with the aid of 170 diagrams. Suggested end games and opening strategies are given as required reading for the beginner. Finally, this artfully simple book concludes with two appendices devoted to the elegantly constructed games found in The Secret Inside the Orange and The Plum-Blossom Meter, two classic seventeenth-century works on Chinese chess.