Manchu chess

Variant of xiangqi created during the Qing dynasty

Manchu chess board and starting setup. The red chariot can also be placed on i1.^[1]

Manchu chess^[2] (Chinese: 满洲棋; pinyin: Mǎnzhōuqí^[3]), also known as Yitong^[4] or Yitong chess (Chinese: 一统棋; pinyin: Yìtǒngqí^[5]), is a variant of xiangqi. It was created during the Qing dynasty by the Bannermen and was one of the most popular board games among them.^[6]

Rules

Black's pieces are set up and move the same as in xiangqi, but horses, cannons, and one of the chariots are absent for Red.^[2]^[3] The remaining chariot has the combined powers of the chariot, horse, and cannon.^[2]^[3] Although Black appears to have the advantage, the lethality of the red chariot can easily lead to a losing endgame if Black does not play cautiously.^[3] The red chariot is believed to be the representation of Solon soldiers who were brave and battle-hardened during the Manchu conquest of China.^[7]

Citations

^ Wei 1990, p. 237
^ ^a ^b ^c Finkel 2007, p. 126
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Xu 1984, p. 4173
^ Cazaux & Knowlton 2017, p. 105
^ Wei 1990, p. 236
^ "Manchu Chess (满洲棋)". Liaoning Antique Archaeology Institute. Retrieved 2017-11-26.(in Chinese)
^ Xu 1984, pp. 4173–4174

References

Cazaux, Jean-Louis; Knowlton, Rick (2017). A World of Chess: Its Development and Variations through Centuries and Civilizations. McFarland. ISBN 9781476629018.
Finkel, Irving L. (2007). Ancient Board Games in Perspective: Papers from the 1990 British Museum Colloquium, with Additional Contributions. British Museum Press. ISBN 9780714111537.
Wei, Zhixin (1990). Peculiar Xiangqi Situation (象棋奇局). Shaanxi Science and Technology Press. ISBN 9787536907881.(in Chinese)
Xu, Ke (1984). Qing Petty Matters Anthology (清稗类钞). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 9787101010732.(in Chinese)

Chess variants (list)

Orthodox rules

Different starting position	Fischer random chess Displacement chess Transcendental chess
Different number of pieces	Dunsany's chess Handicap
Unorthodox board	Balbo's game Circular chess Cylinder chess Double chess Grid chess Hexagonal chess (Cross chess, Masonic chess) Infinite chess Millennium 3D chess Minichess (Los Alamos chess) Rhombic chess Spherical chess Three-dimensional chess Triangular chess

Unorthodox
rules with
traditional
pieces

Standard 8×8 board	Andernach chess Atomic chess Beirut chess Checkless chess Chessplus Circe chess Crazyhouse Cubic chess Dynamo chess Extinction chess Hostage chess Knight relay chess Legan chess Losing chess Madrasi chess Monochromatic chess Patrol chess PlunderChess Portal chess Progressive chess Three-check chess Way of the Knight
Multimove variants	Avalanche chess Kung-Fu Chess Marseillais chess Monster chess Progressive chess
Elements of chance	Dark chess Dice chess Knightmare Chess Kriegspiel Penultima
Unorthodox rules on an unorthodox board	Alice chess Apocalypse Chad Chessence Congo Diplomat chess Dragonfly Jeson Mor Parallel worlds chess Rollerball 5D Chess with Multiverse Time Travel

Unorthodox
rules using
non-traditional
pieces

Standard 8×8 board	Baroque Berolina Chakra Chess with different armies Duell Falcon–hunter chess Grasshopper chess Musketeer chess Pocket mutation chess
Compound pieces	Almost chess Capablanca chess Capablanca random chess Chancellor chess Embassy chess Grand Chess Janus Chess Maharajah and the Sepoys Modern chess Seirawan chess Tutti-frutti chess
Unorthodox boards and pieces	Chesquerque Chess on a really big board Courier-Spiel Dragonchess Gess Omega Chess Stratomic Dekle's triangular chess 2000 A.D. Wildebeest chess Wolf chess

Multiplayer

Inspired games

Chess-related
games

Historical	Chadarangam Chaturaji Chaturanga Courier chess Grant Acedrex Shatranj Short assize Tamerlane chess
Regional	Janggi variants Makruk Senterej Shatar Shogi Chu shogi Dai shogi Other variants Sittuyin Xiangqi Jungle Banqi Manchu chess Game of the Three Kingdoms Game of the Three Friends Game of the Seven Kingdoms Other variants