The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-02-14
CHESS in The EAST.
Each Country Has It's own Way Of PlayE
the Game

the Game.
Indian chess or s'chaturanea, il
played with rajah, an elephant,
horse and a ship and four foot
soldiers, corresponding to a king, a
castle, knight and bishop, and four
pawns and there are four players
Each player faces his partner and
places his pieces in the order of ship,
horse, elephant and rajah. beginning
at the left-hand corner, the four foot
soldiers being Of course in front. PART
ners are thus on the opposite diagonals.
The players move in the order Of the
sun The tactics of the game, appar-
emily from the ''Bhaviahya Purana,
are not to attack your opponent, who
has just played, as would be done in
double chess, but to obstruct the oppo-
nent who has to play next The game
is distinguished from double chess by
marked variations There is no queen.
and the ship or bishop is '.lame"-caEl
only move two squares at time. though
he can hop over an intervening piece il
he likes Moreover, a player can take
his partners rajah if things are not GO
ing we'll, and to assume command OF
both armies; and if both sides have lost
rajah they can be restored by mutual
consent
The game is thus pervaded by mill
tary spirit, though not so stiff but that
the opening moves are made by the aid
of dice. In this early game the rajah
could be taken, but he can always, If
all the other pieces are taken, retire
with the honors of war and draw
Chinese chess must claim orr admira-
ton by the manner in which the con-
ception of a military game has been
elaborated SO as to conform with the
realities of warfare The board is
divided by an imaginary river. which
the elephant and the king may not
cross The pieces are placed ON the in
tersections of the lines, not on the
spaces. The king or general, with his
two guards, must kerp to a square Of
nine points in the center of his side,
with diagonal lines from corner to cor
ner, along which the guards may move,
the king moving only forward or side
ways or backward; the other pieces
may enter this fortress and pass
through it.
The most characteristic piece of Chi
nese chess, however, is the cannon,
which, like our castle, cannot move
without jumping over a piece, so that
not only is the attack most formidable
and unexpected but 1t must be resisted.
else it is helpless. The prettiest
checkmate, says Mr.. Falkener.
sis with two cannons In line" Here
the second cannon gives check. and the
king must move, for If another piece be
inserted the first cannon gives check
Now, we may allow that if the elephant
is not supposed to cross the river no
more should the cannon, for the hrst
named is really the most capable of the
feat; but the genius of the piece lies in
the imitation of cannon in warfare
its range, the firing over bodies of
troops and its liability to capture.
Japanese chess is too complicated for
us to describe Not only are there
great number Of pieces and moves, but
their value changes: for instance, on
reaching the enemy's camp promotion
ensues and captured pieces are re-en-
tered under various conditions. In
fact, the game demands, if that were
possible, more undivided attention than
European chess and in its provisions
and contingencies. especially the last,
is strictly military. The pieces, agree
able to the enrolling of prisoners, are
all of one color Chess has always held
considerable position in Japan It
Hourished during the Shogunate and
again, after the revolution. is being re-
vived. A grand tourney was held last
year at Toxic
= heavy variety Of chess, the peculiart-
ty of it being that a pawn queens"
when it strikes an imaginary diagonal
line drawn from the players leftrhand
corner to the right-hand corner In front
Of him This opponents left-hand corner).
The pieces are massed on the players
right hand, but the three privileged
are only three allowed to
'tqueen"-can only queen" when the
queen has been taken. We should say
here that no piece equivalent to our
queen really exists in eastern chess, the
most powerful piece being equivalent
TO our rock or castle In the Burmese
game the psivilege of translation con-
fers no higher rank on a piece than
that of "chekoy" queen in Eu-
ropean equivalence by virtue of its be-
ing unique-a piece having scarcely
more power than pawn. The usual
move of the piece called queen" In all
oriental varieties of chess is one square
and it is never one of the
,niaoaa II .ondan cr,acta tor