Xiangqi: Encyclopedia II - Xiangqi - Notation

Xiangqi - Notation

Xiangqi - Notational system 1

The book The Chess of China^[1] describes a notational system of absolute positional references in which the ranks of the board are numbered 1 to 10 from closest to farthest away, followed by a digit 1 to 9 for files from right to left. Both values are relative to the moving player. Moves are then indicated as follows:

Thus, the most common opening in the game would be written as:

1. 炮 (32)–35, 馬 (18)–37

Xiangqi - Notational system 2

A notational system partially described in A Manual of Chinese Chess^[2] and used by several computer software implementations describes positions in relative terms as follows:

The file numbers are counted from each player's right to each player's left.

The initials are as follows:

Direction of movement is indicated via an operator symbol. A plus sign is used to indicate forward movement. A minus sign or hyphen is used to indicate backwards movement. A dot or period or equal sign is used to indicate horizontal or lateral movement. If a piece (such as the horse or elephant) simultaneously moves both vertically and horizontally, then the plus or minus sign is used rather than the period.

Thus, the most common opening in the game would be written as:

1. C2.5 H8+7

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Notation", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki