Dice Xiangqi

This Xiangqi dice variant is my response to the claim of some of my chess player friends that, unlike regular Chess, it is impossible to play Xiangqi with a six-sided die.

I want to dissuade such skeptics and show them that this kind of game is not only possible, but it is interesting, fun and exciting.

To play the game we will need a standard Xiangqi set plus a regular six-sided die.

The game uses all the basic rules of Xiangqi, concerning the check, checkmate, movement of pieces, and so on.

Note that an important difference from all forms of chess with dice is that the concept of checkmate is fully preserved in this game. That is, the goal of the game is not to capture the opponent's king, but to checkmate.

The following rules help us achieve this main condition when playing Dice Xiangqi:

Players alternate rolling a six-sided die and making a move according to its reading. Each number on the face of the die corresponds to a specific piece:

1 - Advisor (士, 仕)
2 - Pawn (卒, 兵)
3 - Elephant (象, 相)
4 - Cannon (砲, 炮)
5 - Horse (馬, 傌)
6 - Chariot (車,  俥)

The King or General (將,帥) is not represented by any number because THE KING CAN BE MOVED REGARDLESS OF THE RESULT OF THE DICE ROLL.

In other words, after rolling the die, the player can play his King, and not the piece indicated by the die.

This gives us the following rule:

If a player cannot play a piece because it is not on the board or cannot make a legal move with it, then he must play the King but if and the King cannot make a move according to the rules, then such a player can make any legal move with one of his pieces.

To illustrate this important and, I would even say, revolutionary concept in dice chess, look at the following diagram:

Red have just declared check to the black king.

Black roll the dice and get a 1. They cannot play one of their Advisors - such a move is illegal, since after it the black king remains under attack, and they also cannot make a move with their king - it is impossible to move under check. In this case, Black can play with any of their pieces to protect the king from the check. There is only one such piece - the rook.

If in this position Black had not had the opportunity to defend their king with the rook against Red's check, they would have been checkmated.

This important rule makes the game as close to Xiangqi standards as possible.

The concept of checkmate is fully preserved, allowing the game to be played according to the rules of Xiangqi without any of the exceptions typical of any variation of Dice Chess.

So we play regular Xiangqi with the only difference being that the dice is used to generate a random move.

To add dynamism to the game, you can use two dice.

The moves available to each player are determined by rolling a pair of ordinary six-sided dice. In this case, the player may move either of the pieces indicated on the two dice. For example, a player rolling a 1 and a 2 may move either an advisor or a pawn. Also, as before, he can simply play the king, ignoring the readings of the dice.

A player who rolls doubles (the same number on both dice) may play any legal move. 

Dice Xiangqi is ideal for those who are just beginning to get acquainted with the basics of the game, and for all fans and masters of Chinese Chess.

This version of Xiangqi will give all its participants fun, joy and healthy excitement. Here you will not have to remember a lot of opening schemes and fill your head with their various branches. Here you will simply play, enjoying the process of the game itself and get pleasure from it.

As I mentioned earlier, Dice Xiangqi is an ideal tool for a beginner.

The speed with which you will master the basics of Chinese Chess will amaze you.

The game with two dice is more exciting and dynamic.