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Kriegspiel is September's Recognized Chess Variant of the month. |
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The Elephant is a piece used in Xiangqi (Chinese chess). It is also called Prime Minister, as the words for Elephant and Prime Minister in Chinese (Xiang) sound the same. This piece quite likely evolved from the Alfil of Chaturanga.
The Elephant steps two spaces diagonally. It may not move only one space, and if the first step of its move is occupied, it may not complete its move. It may capture or move to an empty space with its move.
There is one other restriction for the Elephant in Xiangqi: it may not cross the river.
The Elephant in the above diagram, can move to the locations indicated by the red circles. The Elephant cannot move to the lower right because it is blocked by the white pawn.
Elephants can only reach a very small part of the board.
Unlike its leaping cousin, the Alfil, the Elephant of Chinese Chess is a stepper. A stepper reaches its destination by stepping along a specified path. If any space in its path is occupied, a stepper cannot complete its move. For the Elephant, its path is two spaces diagonally. It is a simple stepper, not a compound piece of any kind, and as such it may not stop part-way. It must make its complete move or not move at all. The Elephant is not the only stepper in Chinese Chess. Its fellow stepper is the Chinese Chess Knight, which steps along a Knight path.
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Date | Name | Rating | Comment |
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Charles Gilman | None | The combination of the move and lack of river in Changgi makes a further difference: Changgi Elephants can capture each other, unlike those in either Xiang Qi or Chaturanga. | |
David Cannon | Excellent | I would like to see something added about the difference between the Elephant in Xiangqi and the Elephant in Changgi (Korean Chess). The two varieties of chess are almost identical except for three things, one of which is the move of the Elephant. Xiangqi : the elephant moves two points diagonally (non-leaping) and cannot cross the river. Changgi : the elephant moves like a ZEBRA in some chess variants (i.e., one square orthogonally followed by one square diagonally, or vice versa) - except that it is not a leaper; there must be unobstructed access between the point of departure and the point of arrival. Also, there is no 'river' in Changgi, so the rule about not crossing the river is not applicable. |
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Last modified: Sunday, August 21, 2005