Xiangqi (#46; Topic I)

About 10 days ago, a faculty member at Howard University called me to talk about Xiangqi (on which I have written 5 books); he got my telephone number from the internet. He informed me that he was a master in western chess as well as in Shogi, that he had downloaded some games from the 9th World Xiangqi Championship [held in Paris in July 2005], and that he was able to follow these games despite his having no knowledge in Chinese. I complimented him for his industry and for his dual mastery of western chess and Shogi (a rare combination). I mentioned that I was in Paris for WXC9, and that the 6th and final volume in my series on Xiangqi, reflecting games from that championship, will be published in 2006. The purpose of his call was to find out contents of my books, and I promised him some information, but, being away at the beach, forgot to do so in time. This prompted him to call me again two days ago; this time, he added that he preferred Xiangqi to western chess. This assessment is to be expected; still, it is good to hear from a western-chess master. As noted earlier (#45), proto-Xiangqi, the forerunner of all war-simulation games, was a Chinese invention -- by Han Xin, the all-winning commander-in-chief in 203 BCE, during the Chu-Han Conflict period. A good friend of mine, a European Xiangqi Champion in the 1990s, has initiated a blog, Xiangqi en blog, http://www.elephantchess.blogspot.com, a week or so earlier than mine; it is excellently done. The latest entry (dated 1/21/06) is on Astonishing memory of Liu Dahua, a grandmaster whose amazing ability I first witnessed in Singapore in 1995.
Posted at 11:56 am, Sunday, January 22, 2006