texts: Yeah , and though the king in chess doesn't have bodyguards , he has a queen who is the most powerful piece . I think this demonstrates the relatively higher social status of aristocratic women in medieval Europe than in China .
labels: There's another distinctive contrast . Both board games use a total of 32 pieces , but xiangqi is played on a 9 - by - 9 board , bigger than the 8 - by - 8 board used in chess .