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Xiangqi vs Orthodox Chess. Missing description (9x9, Cells: 77) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Fri, Mar 18, 2011 03:30 AM UTC:

Travis Z wrote

First your first point about checkmate is wrong. Actually study the variant before making a response. If the cannon takes either knight the other player can simply move the rook and get out of check. THERE IS NO CHECKMATE POSSIBLE ON THE FIRST MOVE.

Not that I made the first point, but I do agree with it. Cannon to F3 is checkmate if that is the first move. Cannon to F3 does not take a Knight. So your comments on the Cannon taking the Knight don't pertain to the move and only suggest that you don't understand where F3 is. Following algebraic notation, files are identified by letters, beginning with A on the left and following through the alphabet. The sixth column from the left is F. The third space from the bottom of this file is F3. This is the second empty space in front of the Advisor on the Emperor's right. (If you want the notation to match from side to side, call the 4th file on the Chinese side D, the 6th file E, and the 5th file something else. By this notation, the move in question is Cannon to E3). From this position, it checks the Chess King down the Chess side's E file. The King can't escape by moving, because it can't move. It can't stop the check by capturing the Cannon, because nothing can capture it. It can't block the check, because it can't move anything to the King's file. And it can't eliminate the check by moving the screen out of the way, because the King's Pawn can't move to another column. That exhausts the ways the King can get out of check, which implies that it is checkmate.