Xiangqi (elephant game) is a Chinese board game similar to chess. Like Chess, xiangqi uses thirty-three gaming pieces, but unlike chess they move on the intersections of the grid rather than in the squares. Many of the pieces move in similar ways to those of chess. The shi/zu (soldiers) is similar to a pawn, the chariot moves much like a rook, and the xiang (elephant/minister) moves diagonally like a bishop, but only two points at a time. The general is equivalent to the king, but there is no queen. The pao (cannon) is distinctive – it can only capture a piece when another piece lies between it and its victim. The xiangqi board is made of huang huali wood and the gaming pieces are of ivory.
