The Rules for Korean Chess
by Roleigh Martin
Copyright 1995
All Rights Reserved
2-16-95
INTRO: TO THE READER
My wife is Chinese and after playing Chinese Chess and falling in
love with the game, I learned about Korean Chess which is
virtually identical in board and piece lay-out but different in
move-rules. There is very little English literature on Korean
Chess–I’ve found 2 chapters in English on the game. If anyone
reading this can verify–or correct me if not–if I have the
complete rules to Korean Chess. Please reply if I have made any
mistakes or if you know that my rules are correct and complete.
I also wish to find out if there is any other software: public
domain, freeware, shareware, or commercial ware on Korean Chess
for MS-DOS computers. I know about JANGKI.ZIP. Can you please
inform me of any such software and how I may obtain it (BBS phone
numbers, FTP site names/directory/filename, or ordering address)?
Thanks!
Last, is there any internet mailing list groups on Korean Chess?
Is there any English language books or magazines on Korean Chess?
Thanks again!
DISTRIBUTION POLICY
This document is copyrighted. It can be distributed
electronically for non-commercial use as long as nothing is
altered in this document. I am working on a book on Chinese and
Korean Chess and intend to build upon this document for the
chapter on Korean Chess.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Young Won, Compuserve ID 75541,2100 for his FLEFO forum
message who confirmed this document with his message “It has been
10 years since I have played my last Korean Chess game. I
briefly read the rules you posted (not line-by-line, though), and
they seem to be in line with what I remember.” In addition, he
provided the Korean names and meanings of each piece which I’ve
incorporated in this updated version of this document.
Thanks to J. Kim of HANAnet Operating Center (KTRC) (Internet
address: jskim1@soback.hana.nm.kr) who pointed me to a public
domain Korean Chess game, JANGKI.ZIP (Jang-gi V1.0, 1991.1.26) by
Hak Jong Lee of Daejon, Korea, from kids.kotel.co.kr. There is a
tiny README file but no copyright or distribution restrictions
documented with the ZIP file–hence by inference it is in the
public domain. (My FTP program could not access this using this
hostname, but J. Kim informed me correctly of it’s IP address:
128.134.2.51.) This file is in the directory, /pub/games. I got
this feedback via the USENET group, soc.culture.korean.
JANGKI is a great DOS-based Korean Chess game. It supports CGA
through VGA and works on a HP100/200 palmtop (but not under HP’s
System Manager; one must terminate that program and at the DOS
level, play the game). To run the program, at the DOS prompt,
move to the directory where you have installed these files and
type: JT and press ENTER.
This program (JT.EXE) is quite nice as it allows human to play
human or against the computer.
BACKGROUND COMMENTARY & RESOURCE
Korean Chess can be played with a Chinese Chess Set — same
pieces and board — but different rules. Actually quite fun!
Very few Chinese people know this game — if you find yourself
loosing to Chinese friends in Chinese Chess, play them a game of
Korean Chess — you might win!
The below resource is still in print and has an entire chapter on
Korean Chess — with rules, commentary and a sample game, on
Korean Chess.
The shipping and handling fee is $3.00. Send check for $12.95
(if you live in the USA) and order to Mail Order Department,
Dover Publications, 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014.
TITLE: Korean Games: With Notes on the Corresponding
Games of China & Japan
AUTHOR: Culin, Stewart
SERIES: Puzzles Ser.
PUBLISHER: Dover PUBLICATION DATE: 02/1991 (910201)
EDITION: Repr. of 1895 ed. NO. OF PAGES: 256p.
LCCN: N/A
BINDING: pap. – $9.95
ISBN: 0-486-26593-5
VOLUME(S): N/A
ORDER NO.: N/A
IMPRINT: N/A
STATUS IN FILE: New (91-04)
NOTE(S): Illustrated
SUBFILE: PB (Paperbound Books in Print)
The below resource is out of print and also has an entire chapter
on Korean Chess — with rules, commentary and a sample game, on
Korean Chess.
TITLE: Chess Variations: Ancient, Regional & Modern
AUTHOR: Gollon, John E.
PUBLISHER: C E Tuttle PUBLICATION DATE: 1973 (730101)
BINDING: pap. – $6.25
ISBN: 0-8048-1122-9
STATUS: Out of print (11-90)
Your library should be able to get the above through interlibrary
loan. Also, I have been suggested to try (but did not, as the
library succeeded): Howard Frisch, New and Antiguarian Books, Box
128, Village Station, New York City, NY 10014. The library
actually got me the hard cover book, which was published in 1968.
Instead of an ISBN number, it had only a Library of Congress
Catalog Card Number, No. 68-11975.
NAMING CONVENTION
Korean Chess derives, historically, from Chinese Chess. Since
the pieces in Chinese Chess have been given official English
names by the international Chinese Chess Association, I will use
the same English names for the Korean Chess pieces.
BOARD LAYOUT
The pieces are placed on the board gridlines not inside the
squares as in Western Chess. The board has 9 columns (also
called files or aisles) and 10 rows. The 9 columns are labeled
A-I. The 10 rows are labeled 0-9.
Left to right on the rear row, the pieces are called:
Rook, Knight, Bishop, Guard, [empty], Guard, Bishop, Knight, Rook
(r) (n) (b) (g) (g) (b) (n) (r)
Note: the Knight and Bishop can, as a setup option (not a move),
be transposed on either or both sides or neither side. (The game
JANGKI calls this a Pozin change and the default setup shown is
to have the bottom side’s righthand Bishop and Knight transposed
and the top side’s lefthand Bishop and Knight transposed.)
The second row only initially holds the king, abbreviated as (k),
in the center of the row.
The third row only initially holds the two cannons, abbreviated
as (c), each cannon being in the 2nd column from the edge.
The fourth row only initially holds the five pawns, abbreviated
as (p), starting with a pawn on each edge column and then every
OTHER column.
The initial board looks like the below (remember the knight and
bishop can be transposed as a setup option). If you transpose
the knight and bishop to just one side of the lineup, then the
four pieces (your 2 knights and 2 bishops) can theoretically hit
every spot on the board (not each piece but together the 4 pieces
can “hit” every spot on the board granted enough moves are made).
This setup transposition option doesn’t count as a move.
In real life, the colors of the two pieces are either Black and
Red, Green and Red, or Blue and Red.
(FIG 1: Knight and Bishop are not transposed.)
9 [r][n][b][g]-+-[g][b][n][r]
. | | | | |/ | | | |
8 +–+–+–+-[k]-+–+–+–+ Note: the pieces are put
. | | | | /| | | | | down on the gridpoints of
7 +-[c]-+–+–+–+–+-[c]-+ board — not inside the
. | | | | | | | | | squares as in Western Chess.
6 [p]-+-[p]-+-[p]-+-[p]-+-[p]
. | | | | | | | | |
5 +–+–+–+–+–+–+–+–+
. | | | | | | | | |
4 +–+–+–+–+–+–+–+–+
. | | | | | | | | |
3 (P)-+-(P)-+-(P)-+-(P)-+-(P)
. | | | | | | | | |
2 +-(C)-+–+–+–+–+-(C)-+
. | | | | |/ | | | |
1 +–+–+–+-[K]-+–+–+–+
. | | | | /| | | | |
0 (R)(N)(B)(G)-+-(G)(B)(N)(R)
. A B C D E F G H I
(FIG 2: One Knight and Bishop are transposed — this is the
default setup shown in the JANGKI software version of Korean
Chess; one is allowed to change this setup, but this is the
default setup.)
9 [r][n][b][g]-+-[g][n][b][r]
. | | | | |/ | | | |
8 +–+–+–+-[k]-+–+–+–+
. | | | | /| | | | |
7 +-[c]-+–+–+–+–+-[c]-+
. | | | | | | | | |
6 [p]-+-[p]-+-[p]-+-[p]-+-[p]
. | | | | | | | | |
5 +–+–+–+–+–+–+–+–+ Note:
. | | | | | | | | | <-This row is the "river"
4 +–+–+–+–+–+–+–+–+ in Chinese Chess and on
. | | | | | | | | | a Chinese Chess board,
3 (P)-+-(P)-+-(P)-+-(P)-+-(P) the middle 7 vertical
. | | | | | | | | | lines of this single row
2 +-(C)-+–+–+–+–+-(C)-+ are not painted on a
. | | | | |/ | | | | Chinese Chess board.
1 +–+–+–+-[K]-+–+–+–+
. | | | | /| | | | |
0 (R)(N)(B)(G)-+-(G)(N)(B)(R)
. A B C D E F G H I
I do not know the answer to the inevitable question: "If your
opponent transposes the knight and bishop on his left side, do
you normally transpose your bishop and knight on your right side
or left side? (I know it is legal to do either, neither or both;
but I am asking this from a sound strategy basis.)" I assume one
would transpose on the same aisle as the opponent, as that is how
the software program, JANGKI defaults to doing–even though the
user has the choice to do otherwise.
On the board are two fortresses (also called castles) which is a
3×3 grid in the center of the 1st 3 rows of both sides, in which
the king and his two guards must remain–they can not leave the
fortress–however, as will be explained below, the king can
perform a check against the other king from within the fortress.
Inside the fortress, there are diagonal lines that form a big "X"
inside the fortress.
On a Chinese Chess Board, there is a river that "exists" in the
middle row of the board; it does not exist in Korean Chess. If
one plays Korean Chess with a Chinese Chess board, one ignores
the "river" of the Chinese Chess board. In both Korean and
Chinese Chess, one has to move a full step to move across the
center row, regardless of whether it's called a "river" or not
(as in Korean Chess). Bottom line: in Korean Chess and Chinese
Chess, there are 10 rows. In Chinese Chess, moving from the 5th
to the 6th row is "moving across the river" where the pawns gain
the power to move one step sideways–and where the Bishops can
not move across. In Korean Chess, the pawns can move sideways
one step immediately and the Bishops can move anywhere on the
board that is legal for a given move.
Actually, the real Korean Chess set uses 8-sided pieces not round
pieces as in Chinese Chess. Also not all the pieces are the same
diameter as they are in Chinese Chess. The red pieces are 100%
identical but the blue have four pieces that use brush/script
style Chinese calligraphy and the pieces are difficult to
translate — I had to ask a Korean shopper in the Korean Grocery
store that I found the set at to identify the blue pieces. (My
Chinese Chess friends recognize these four different charactered
Blue pieces.) The board doesn't have a blank (no vertical lines)
river across the middle of the board as in Chinese Chess —
that's because there is no promotion or barrier concept in Korean
Chess as there is in Chinese Chess. Again, you can play Korean
and/or Chinese Chess with either country's pieces/board. One
thing nice, the Korean Grocery store had the pieces for only $4
and a nice wooden board for only $10.
Each piece is inscribed with a corresponding Chinese character.
However, on the King pieces, "Han" is inscribed on the red team,
and "Cho" is described on the blue (or green) team. Han and Cho
are names of two dynasties (or kingdoms) that were at war with
each other. (Note: "Han" and "Cho" is not what you call the
individual King pieces — these names refer to the "team names"
–the actual King piece names are shown below.)
I do not know the OFFICIAL conventional English spellings of the
Korean names for these pieces. Below I redescribe these pieces
per their Chinese names as well as the Korean spellings I've been
given by one Korean Chess player who has not played in 10 years
(see Acknowledgement section above).
QUESTION TO ANY EXPERIENCED KOREAN CHESS PLAYER:
Can anyone in this group provide me with confirmation or
correction of the below Korean names as they are spelled out in
English? Thanks! In particular, are the Korean names for the
Red and Blue King correct or should they be transposed (if so,
the Korean Jang would be very close to the Pinyin Jiang).
CANTO-
COORDINATES COLOR ENGLISH PINYIN NESE KOREAN
A0,I0,A9,I9 both Rook Ju Kui Cha or Tcha
B0,H0,B9,H9 both Knight Ma Ma Ma
C0,G0 Red Bishop Xiang Sheung Sang or Syang
C9,G9 Blue Bishop Xiang Cheung Sang or Syang
D0,F0,D9,F9 both Guard Shi See Sa
E1 Red King Shuai Sui Jang*
E8 Blue King Jiang Cheung Wang*
B2,H2,B7,H7 both Cannon Pao Pow Po or Hpo
A3,C3,E3,G3,I3 Red Pawn Bing Ping Byung or Pyeng**
A6,C6,E6,G6,I6 Blue Pawn Zu Tsut Jol or Tjol**
Note: the Korean names first spelled out are those obtained from
Korean Chess player whom I've corresponded with on Compuserve,
Young Won. The two chapters on Korean Chess, cited above,
provide the "or…" variation. For the King (*), they provide
two alternate names, neither depicting color specific names.
Koung or Tyang is what John Gollon provides; Tjyang or Koung is
what Stewart Culin provides. The Koung, Culin, explains is the
generic term for both–as it is similarly pronounced in Chinese
Chess by the Cantonese–meaning "general." For the Pawn (**),
Culin provides the Pyeng to be the Red, and Tjol to be the Blue.
Gollon provides the same two spellings but does not tie them to a
color.
Sometimes you'll hear Chinese Chess players translate the chess
pieces to different English names — the ones above are the
"official" English names — the ones below are others you might
hear and they are presented here for you to maintain
understanding in real life play:
OFFICIAL
ENGLISH ALTERNATE ENGLISH NAMES GIVEN THESE PIECES
Rook Car Chariot Tank
Knight Horse
Bishop Prime Minister Elephant Minister
Guard Counsellor Advisor
King General Emperor
Cannon Catapult
Pawn Soldier Foot Soldier
TRANSLATION TIDBITS
The Arabic name for "Chariot" is pronounced "Rook." The Chinese
symbol for Chariot is now used for the symbol for a car.
In the traditional Chinese Character for the Knight, the "Ma" —
which means "horse, you'll note the four depicted legs in the red
character (the pieces in real life are like Checkers but with the
Chinese character written on top of the piece) — these are the
horse's legs.
The historical reason the pieces are depicted differently for
both sides (although modern sets use the same depiction for the
Rook, Knight and sometimes the Cannon), is that players could
tell whose piece was whose even if the colors wore out. For
instance, Red has as it's bishop the Chinese Character for Prime
Minister, while Blue (or Green or Black) has as it's bishop the
Chinese Character for Elephant. They both have identical powers
however.
THE OBJECT OF THE GAME
The object of the game is identical to Western and Chinese Chess:
to checkmate the enemy king–that is, to place the enemy king in
a position of entrapment from which it can not save itself. A
stalemate is possible where neither side recognizes that neither
side can win by checkmate.
THE PIECE MOVEMENT RULES
1. The rook moves identical to the Western Chess and Chinese
Chess rook, with one exception:
a. for movement, it can move as far horizontally or
vertically as it has clear passage to move. The movement
for one move must be that of one single straight line.
b. in addition, for movement, the rook can move as far down
a fortress single diagonal line as long as there is clear
passage and the movement remains that of a single
straight line (this means the starting position has to be
in one of the corners or the center of the fortress).
c. for capture, the rook during it's normal movement, can
take any enemy piece that it first bumps into (there must
not be any intervening same-side piece).
2. The knight ends up moving identically to the western knight,
and it moves identical to the Chinese Chess knight. The
knight however must make its move by first moving one step
vertically or horizontally and then one outward diagonal step
and in this movement, there must be clear passage. Thus, the
initial two places that the knight at B0 can move to are A2
or C2. It can not initially move to D1 because the Bishop at
C0 is in the way.
3. The bishop, unlike its Chinese Chess "cousin", is like a
giant knight. It moves 3 positions away from itself: first
by going one step horizontally or vertically and then TWO
outward diagonal steps and there must be clear passage. Thus
in Figure 2 above, the Bishop at C0 can not move as it is
blocked, but it does protect the center Pawn. The Bishop at
H0 can move to F3.
As mentioned above, unlike Chinese Chess, the Bishop is not
only a defensive piece, it can move onto the enemy's side of
the board and be an offensive piece (as is true for both
Chinese and Korean Chess for all other pieces but the King
and Guards).
(For the curious, the Chinese Chess Bishop is a defensive
piece, and can only move two diagonal places at a time (not
any more nor less; and the passage must be clear) and the
Chinese Chess Bishop can not cross the "river"–it must stay
within the 1st 4 rows of it's home side.)
4. The Guard and King move identical to each other. They are
both limited to the center 3×3 fortress that resides in the
1st 3 rows of one's home side. Each piece can only move 1
step down any painted straight line whether or not the line
is a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line. This is
different than Chinese Chess wherein the Guard can only move
diagonally and the King can only move horizontally or
vertically.
5. The cannon, with several restrictions named below, moves and
captures by making one jump during a single straight line
move. The straight line move can be down a single vertical
line, a single horizontal line, or a single diagonal line in
either fortress (provided the cannon's starting position is
on a fortress border gridpoint).
Note: a fortress canon diagonal move can't start from the
dead center of the fortress but a canon can land in the
fortress dead center from a normal vertical or horizontal
move or jump. But once inside the center of the fortress, the
canon can make a move or jump away by going horizontally or
vertically.
The canon, when it moves, has to jump over a single non-canon
piece, regardless whether the jumped-over piece belongs to
his side or the enemy side. When making a move (not a
capture), the canon can land on any empty gridpoint that
exists on the other side of the jumped-over piece. That
landed-onto (previously) empty gridpoint can be immediately
on the other side of the jumped-over piece or several
gridpoints beyond that jumped-over piece.
The canon, when it captures, has to jump as in a normal move,
but instead of landing onto an empty gridpoint, it has to
land onto an enemy piece that it encounters in, what would
otherwise be a normal jump-type-move. The jumped-over piece
is not captured–it is that second piece encountered in the
jump that is captured. Remember, the 1st piece can be of
either color; the 2nd piece–that is jumped-onto (not over)
has to be that of the enemy.
The cannon can't jump over a cannon (either color).
The cannon can't capture a cannon.
The cannon can not make the first move in a game (unlike
Chinese Chess).
Note: the Korean canon is very different than the Chinese
Chess canon wherein the Chinese Chess canon moves like a rook
but jumps like a Korean Chess canon (but unlike the Korean
canon, the Chinese Chess canon can jump over or jump onto
another canon).
6. The pawn moves the same way it captures: it can move either
one step forward or one step sideways. It can never move
backward. It can move forward down a diagonal line in the
enemy's fortress. If during that one step move, it moves onto
an enemy's occupied, position, it is a capture of that enemy
piece.
If the pawn makes it to the last row, it can only move
sideways then.
For the curious, the Chinese Chess pawn is different; it
can't move sideways until after getting to it's 6th row
(called after crossing the river) and it can't move down the
diagonal line in the enemy's fortress.
7. Special end game notes:
a. Neither side ordinarily want to allow the two kings to
face each other naked (in Chinese Chess but not Korean
Chess, the side that causes this to happens loses the
game). Facing each other "naked," means that there are
no intervening chess pieces.
If you cause this to happen in Korean Chess, you are
placing the other King in check in a desparate last-
chance move on your part for you irreversably foresake
the right to checkmate the other side–you are hoping for
a stalemate, which would be the case if the other side
can not get out of that desparate check.
This is the case even if the game continues for many
moves and even if otherwise the game could have gone into
a good checkmate, the side that initially caused the two
kings to be naked can at best only obtain a stalemate.
I call this (I do not claim originality though) the
"Kings Naked Rule."
b. Gollon adds the rule (page 159, hardbound edition) that
"If in mating, the mating piece is defended by only the
allied 'king'–i.e., if the piece is on an open file
occupied by its 'king' and therefore cannot be captured
by the checked king because of the above rules, the game
is only drawn."
This is the different in Chinese Chess; for there one
frequently will use one's King to protect a piece who is
making check and who otherwise would be captured by the
King being checked–in Chinese Chess, that is considered
successful checkmate–it is a win, not a draw.
c. Unlike Chinese Chess, if you have no other move to make,
except to put your King in check or checkmate, you can
"pass." In other words, your King can stand still, if it
stays in safety and there are no other pieces it can move
at all (regardless if those other pieces would be
captured or not) and if it would otherwise (if a move had
to be made) cause the king to move into check or
checkmate. Gollon states that one declares his pass by
turning his King over, upside down, on the same spot.
8. As a reminder, the pawn, cannon, and rook get to treat the
diagonal lines in either fortress (except the pawn can only
get to the enemy fortress) as ordinary straight lines that
they can move on — except the pawn can only move to the side
or forward — but the pawn can move forward to the rear line
down the diagonal.
9. Unlike Chinese Chess, the double cannon lineup against a king
poses no immediate threat — the rear cannon can't jump over
the front cannon, remember. (In Chinese Chess, if the
farthest away canon from the enemy king is safe and if no
opponent's piece can intervene between the two canons, the
game is over if the King is unable to move sideways, which
can often be the case.)
[End of Document]
