brettidol

[brettidol]

Turnierpartie vom Sonntag an Brett 6 in der Kreisliga. Ich hatte Weiß und Möglichkeiten auf Gewinn zu spielen aber habe die Chancen nicht gesehen und es wurde Remi.

[brettidol]

Yes. The speed checkmate is not so easy in Xiangqi.

[brettidol]

With White I always play Sf3 first. What I like about this move is that it forces black not to play e5. Also, I keep the opening open. Most of the time I play b3 as the second move. On d6 with the idea of black playing e5 anyway, I like to react with immediately d4 instead of b3.I want to avoid the pawn chain, because I would like to develop the black bishop strongly over b2.I don't move each of the indicated pieces in the course of the game, but respond flexibly to my opponent's ideas.The opening concept has increased my playing strength and it suits me much better than center openings with d4 or e4. I feel comfortable and know every reaction of Black by now. That's what's good as a chess player: when you master your systems and know how to react. Some players can play an incredible number of opening systems very precisely, but I'm not one of those players. That's why I'm satisfied with just a few systems. With Black I play Sicilian, Caro-Kann and King's Indian a lot. I actually like all systems that go over the flank - preferably quiet openings. The Dutch system is too aggressive for me and so far I couldn't win it for myself.

[brettidol]

Real chess game on Friday at the club. I defeated my opponent with white. I like to build up strong bishop attacks via the Larsen system. In this case it worked well. My attack becomes destructive.

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My Opponent resigned the Game. OK. He has set some material (a cannon and a rook for a knight) and is also a beginner like me. I can play more solidly in the meantime and didn't set anything in the Game.

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I like Xiangqi very much by now. Found it today as a board game on ebay with shipping from Germany. Most offers come from China but that is too uncertain for me whether it really arrives.

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The limits of computer analysis in chess. The chess program thinks that Black has a +2.50 advantage, but it is clearly a draw.

[brettidol]

The question: Why do I play chess if I am a weak player? The answer: Because I enjoy it and appreciate the social interaction.

[brettidol]

There are some long-distance games gathering again. I like the diversity of board games :-)

[brettidol]

Black attacks aggressively and has given up a knight for it. In the attack Black forgets the check. This attack does not work because of a lack of resources.

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My English is a bit fragile in speaking but it gets better with time. Here you can see the rule that is very helpful in the game to checkmate or capture the king. There must always be a piece between the kings that they are allowed to be on one line. It is just as important when it comes to capturing or placing the pieces. The Rule can lead to a piece being tied up. It may be that a rook in the palace sets check, and you are not allowed to capture it because of the rule.

[brettidol]

Xiangqi, or Chinese chess, is an interesting game. It has similarities to the well-known western chess but also some differences.

The General/King is firmly confined to 9 squares, together with his two advisers. The King can only capture one hex horizontally and vertically and can only capture inside the palace. His advisers can only capture one hex diagonal and are also restricted to the 9 palace hexes.

The winner is the one who mates or captures the opponent's king. To capture is to make him immobile and unable to move any other piece. In Western chess capture would be a draw. In Xiangqi it is also considered a victory. A draw is only possible if no one can mate the other piece.

Soldiers are like pawns in Western chess, but these don't capture diagonally. They run upwards and hit straight ahead. Once they have crossed the river side, they can also capture and move sideways . Soldiers do not transform at the bottom, but remain soldiers who can then only run sideways, because backwards is forbidden.

Cannons can move across the entire playing field. Their function to strike and protect is limited. They can only strike if there is an enemy or own figure between them. You need a piece that is jumped over to hit the piece behind it. Likewise, they can only give check if a piece is between them and the king. The Cannon is not comparable to any piece in Western chess and is completely a concept.

Knights can move like in western chess. They jump over the first dare or vertical square and come up one square forward diagnostically. Here there is a special rule that makes the difference to Western chess. The knights can only jump if there is no own or opponent piece on the jump square. In Western chess it does not matter whether a piece is on the jump square or not.

Elephants also jump but only one square diagonally and on the next diagonally they come up. The jumping rule also applies to them. The difference is that they cannot cross the river. The Elephants are pure defenders of their own side of the game. Nevertheless, they are not to be underestimated as they can move outside the palace, unlike the king and advisors.

The Rooks, or Chariots in the game, have the same functions as in Western chess. They can move upwards, sideways, and backwards in any direction. They cannot jump over pieces. At the same time, they are the strongest pieces in the game. A Chariot has 9 points, a cannon 4.5 and a knight 4. Nevertheless, the combination of the different pieces is often more effective. Cannon together with Chariot is very effective for attacks. If the king is blocking, the cannon can still penetrate and break through. Likewise, the knight, which is indispensable for tactical attacks.

There is a special rule among the Kings. They may never stand in a line facing each other without a piece between them. This is very important for effective attacks. In the next post I will show you an example of this. It is a very important rule that causes a lot of confusion if you don't know it.

I hope you enjoyed the explanation. Maybe it will make you want to try the game. You can do so on the free platform Xiangqi.com. You can also play against computers.

[brettidol]

Board games are old and boring I sometimes hear. But that's not true. More and more people are discovering the fascination of board games. You don't need highly optimized graphics to connect and have fun. Board games connect generations upon generations. It's nice that it's still the case. Board games are as little death to get as print books and vinyl records.

Board games can also survive Corona through online platforms. With chess, there is a lot on offer. Fortunately, there are also platforms that allow other board games to be played online. I always come across new board games through online board game sites.