兴化象棋 XingHuaXiangQi is a chinese xiangqi(elephant game) that played according to FIDE Laws of Chess. Another more popular chinese xiangqi is XiangQi(Chinese Chess). Main objective of XingHuaXiangQi is to enable XiangQi players to learn XingHuaXiangQi so that they will be able to play chess with the whole world. The other objective is for International Chess players to play XingHuaXiangQi with XiangQi players (the other half of the world chess players) after XiangQi players have learned FIDE rules. XingHuaXiangQi can be converted to a form of blindfold chess by flipping over the pieces. Join this group http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/kxa/ to get a free download to learn to play the game.

References:
興化象棋規則 XingHuaXiangQi Rules
FIDE Laws of Chess

The nature and objectives of the game of 興化象棋 XingHuaXiangQi

(1) The game is played between two opponents who move their 棋子 pieces alternately on a square board called a 棋盤. The player with the light-coloured ('white') pieces commences the game. A player is said to 'have the move', after his opponent has made his move.

(2) The objective of each player is to place the opponent's 帥/將 General/Commander 'under attack' in such a way that the opponent has no legal move. The player who achieves this goal is said to have 將死 'checkmated' the opponent's 帥/將 General/Commander and to have won the game. Leaving one’s own 帥/將 General/Commander under 將軍 attack, exposing one’s own 帥/將 General/Commander to 將軍 attack and also ’capturing’ the opponent’s 帥/將 General/Commander are not allowed. The opponent whose 帥/將 General/Commander has been 將死 checkmated has lost the game.

(3) If the position is such that neither player can possibly 將死 checkmate, the game is 僵局 drawn.


XingHuaXiangQi pieces
At the beginning of the game one player has 16 light-coloured pieces (the 'white' pieces); the other has 16 dark-coloured pieces (the 'black' pieces).

The 'white' pieces are as follows:
One 帥 General
One 士 Adviser
Two 車 Chariots
Two 相 Ministers
Two 馬 Horses
Eight 兵 Soldiers

The 'black' pieces are as follows:
One 將 Commander
One 士 Adviser
Two 車 Chariots
Two 象 Elephants
Two 馬 Horses
Eight 卒 Soldiers



XingHuaXiangQi board
The XingHuaXiangQi board is composed of an 8x8 grid of 64 equal squares alternately light (the 'white' squares) and dark (the 'black' squares).
The board is placed between the players in such a way that the near corner square to the right of the player is 'white'.

The moves of the pieces
It is not permitted to move a piece to a square occupied by a piece of the same colour. If a piece moves to a square occupied by an opponent's piece the latter is captured and removed from the chessboard as part of the same move. A piece is said to attack an opponent's piece if the piece could make a capture on that square according to the attacking piece's movement ability listed below.
A piece is considered to attack a square, even if such a piece is constrained from moving to that square because it would then leave or place the 帥 General or 將 Commander under attack.

車 Chariot may move to any square along the file or the rank on which it stands.

馬 Horse may move to one of the squares nearest to that on which it stands but not on the same rank, file or diagonal.

象 Elephant & 相 Minister may move to any square along a diagonal on which it stands.

士 Adviser may move to any square along the file, the rank or a diagonal on which it stands.

帥 General or 將 Commander may move to any adjoining square not attacked by one or more of the opponent's pieces.

兵/卒Soldier
(1) may move forward to the unoccupied square immediately in front of it on the same file, or
(2) on its first move it may move as in (1); alternatively it may advance two squares along the same file provided both squares are unoccupied, or (3) it may move to a square occupied by an opponent's piece, which is diagonally in front of it on an adjacent file, capturing that piece.

XingHuaXiangQi vs XiangQi

There are more similarities between XingHuaXiangQi and XiangQi than differences.
The differences are due to the reduced mobilities of the 棋子 pieces in XiangQi as listed below:

帥 General or 將 Commander
(1) CANNOT move diagonally;
(2) is CONFINED to 9 positions in the fortress to move to;
(3) CANNOT exchange position with 車 Chariot for protection.

士 Adviser
(1) CANNOT move laterally;
(2) has only ONE position each move diagonally;
(3) is CONFINED to 5 positions in the fortress to move to.

車 Chariot
CANNOT exchange position with 帥 General or 將 Commander for protection.

馬 Horse
CANNOT jump to the intended destination
if the laterally adjacent position to the 馬 Horse is occupied.

象 Elephant or 相 Minister
(1) has only TWO positions each move diagonally;
(2) is CONFINED to 7 positions on OWN side of chessboard.

兵 'white' Soldier or 卒 'black' Soldier
has NO promotion after it has advanced to the last rank.