Xiangqi – Chinese Chess
A lifetime member of the United States Chess Federation (USCF), I have enjoyed playing Chess for decades. During my business career in Columbus, a couple of my co-workers who were originally from mainland China introduced me to Xiangqi, the Chinese form of Chess. While the rules are a bit different, it is clear that Chess and Xiangqi share a common origin, and both are great fun in their own way.
I quickly realized that there were very few sources in English to learn how to play Xiangqi. For this reason, in 2019 I started a youtube channel called ‘Xiangqi for Chess Players’ to introduce English speaking Chess Players to the Chinese form of the game. At that time it was the only youtube channel specifically to help players learn Xiangqi in English, though recently there have been several other channels created to teach Xiangqi. If you think you might be interested in learning how to play Xiangqi, explained in English, please take time to view my introductory lesson. It covers all the rules of Xiangqi to get you started, and succeeding lessons cover tactics, strategy, and checkmate patterns. I only touch on openings briefly, as the amateur Xiangqi player just starting out is better to open with general opening principles and concentrate his or her effort on the rules, tactics, and checkmates.
I created the Xiang qi tutorials from the viewpoint of Western chessplayers who are already proficient in chess. If you are one who follows chess, reads books or watches videos on chess and knows the strategies and concepts, you will find learning Xiangqi an easy and fun transition. Finding a Xiangqi Club in most parts of the US will prove to be difficult for many, but one can still learn the game and play online.
Here is my introductory video for learning Xiangqi in English:
Western Chess
As a life time member of USCF since the mid ’80’s I have competed in over 75 officially rated tournaments. Throughout the ’80s and ’90’s I served as the tournament director (TD) for numerous tournaments in Southern Ohio, although my TD certification is expired.
I am currently trying to garner support in Chillicothe Ohio for a regularly meeting Chess Club. Meeting announcements are made via a Facebook Group:
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