Xiangqi 42

Overview

Xiangqi 42 is a compact Xiangqi variant designed by Robert Price and entered in the Chess Variant Pages 42-Squares Contest (2001). The board has exactly 42 occupiable positions — 7 files × 6 ranks = 42 intersections — giving the game its name.

All standard Xiangqi rules apply with the modifications listed below.

Board and Setup

Played on a 7-line × 6-line grid (files a–g, ranks 1–6). Pieces are placed on intersections. There is no river (the board is too small to include one). Each player controls 3 ranks of home territory.

White (ranks 1–3):

• Rank 1: Chariot(a1) Horse(b1) Guard(c1) General(d1) Guard(e1) Horse(f1) Chariot(g1)
• Rank 2: Cannon(b2) Cannon(f2)
• Rank 3: Soldier(a3) Soldier(d3) Soldier(g3)

Black (ranks 4–6):

• Rank 6: Chariot(a6) Horse(b6) Guard(c6) General(d6) Guard(e6) Horse(f6) Chariot(g6)
• Rank 5: Cannon(b5) Cannon(f5)
• Rank 4: Soldier(a4) Soldier(d4) Soldier(g4)

Elephants (Ministers) are not used. The back rank is Chariot–Horse–Guard–General–Guard–Horse–Chariot across all 7 files. Cannons are placed directly in front of the Horses. Soldiers occupy the leftmost, rightmost, and center files.

Rules

All standard Xiangqi rules apply:

• Piece movement: Chariot, Horse, Cannon, Soldier, Guard, and General all move exactly as in standard Xiangqi.
• Palace: The General and Guards are confined to the 3×2 palace — files c–e, ranks 1–2 for White; files c–e, ranks 5–6 for Black.
• Flying General rule: Generals may not face each other along an open file with no intervening piece.
• No river: All river-based restrictions are removed. Soldiers may move sideways from rank 1 (their starting rank); Horses and Chariots have no river-crossing restrictions; Cannons work identically regardless of position on the board.
• No Elephant: Elephants (Ministers) are absent from the game.
• Stalemate: The stalemated player loses (standard Xiangqi rule).

Special opening rule: Red (White) may not capture Black’s central Soldier (d4) on the first move.

Win Condition

Checkmate the opponent’s General. Standard Xiangqi win and draw conditions apply.

Attribution

Xiangqi 42 was invented by Robert Price as an entry in the Chess Variant Pages 42-squares contest. WWW page created October 17, 2001. Rules documented from chessvariants.com/42.dir/xiangqi42.html.