Chinese Chess Pack (Hardcover)

~ James Palmer (Author) "Xiangqi is, in essence, a model of a small war..." (more)
Key Phrases: cannon attack, enemy piece, Blue Pawn, Red Horse, Blue Horse (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This pack contains a detailed play guide and strategic hints and tips for the game, along with a colorful board and the 32 pieces used in play.

About the Author

James Palmer is a graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge. He has worked part-time for the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture for several years. He has written several books on Chinese religion, astrology and mythology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Carlton Publishing Group; Book and Access edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185868997X
• ISBN-13: 978-1858689975
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #894,711 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice set poor book, February 4, 2001

By	K. Braithwaite (inkster, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The set is rather attractive. Plastic pieces alas and thin, but with pictures on one side and Chinese characters on the other which is a plus. Non-magnetic. The book though is quite poor, with little content, diagramming errors, and few actual moves given. The single example game is a series of positions, with no moves given!

Over priced for just a set.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It was a nice introduction, September 23, 2000

By	Jake Xiangqi (California) - See all my reviews

Well, I have been a go (Weiqi or Baduk) player for a while and I was at a book store and found this book, and since I had heard it was similar to go I decided to give it a try and read it, just to try my luck at the game. I looked through the table of contents, Xiangqi, The Rules, The Diffrences between Xiangqi and chess, Troops and Terrain, Opening the game, Tactics, Endgame, Dirty Tricks, Sample Game, Cultural Background, Further Information, so far so good. Well I learned the rules of the game in the first chapter, though there was an error about how to block the elephants eye. I read through the parts on strategy which were very helpful. Then a page in the book fell out, then another and another. It seemed that the pages in the book had been poorly put together. Besides this though it is a great book if you want to learn about chinese chess strategy, and it is small enough to keep in your coat pocket (like I do), even though I need to keep stapling back the pages that fall out. So because of this book I have won the few Xiangqi games I have played in person, and plan to go to China Town too so I can play alot more! I now plan to be an Xiangqi player instead of a go player.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nice presentation, but the book is appalling, December 29, 2003

By	SkookumPete (United States) - See all my reviews

The text and diagrams contain a multitude of errors. To point out just a few:

On p. 14, the author states that the advisor can move to E3, which is of course nonsense.

On p. 39, diagram 12 purports to show the dangers of a premature attack, but does so by placing the elephant on a point it cannot reach!

On p. 50, diagram 5 is supposed to show the filed chariot opening, but in fact red has failed to move his screening cannon and therefore is about to lose his chariot.

On p. 66, both diagrams show a blue soldier at the center of its own fortress, which is impossible. (Evidently this piece was intended to be an adviser.)

On p. 100, it is impossible to tell what the sequence of moves is that supposedly leads to mate in diagram 30. The only combination I can see in the previous diagram begins with chariot x adviser check, but diagram 30 shows both blue advisers still surviving.

I found all these mistakes in a few minutes, so I dread to think how many other serious errors the book contains. It is bound to be more of a hindrance than a help to anyone trying to learn the game.

Moreover, the sample game does not even give the complete sequence of moves, so you are left to "reverse-engineer" the diagrammed positions.