Classic Chinese Translations from C. K. Lai

Bill Brydon explains why these books matter

The World Xiangqi Federation has long been criticized for not doing enough to promote the game. The China-based body organizes the World Cup every two years, and sends out teams of famous players to tour member clubs. But many want it to address the urgent need for English-language literature by translating much-needed Chinese books.

Promises have been piling up for 10 years. Great frustration is pent-up behind the scenes, a frustration that extends even to WXF officials. At the 1999 World Cup in Shanghai, an insider told me that things would now be different, that I should "expect to see a lot happen". Many would respond: "We'll see."

Two humble-looking WXF publications were handed out at the World Cup. They fit the mandate perfectly: despite some flaws, both are essential learning sources. Both are translations by former European champion, writer, and organizer, C. K. LAI, one of Xiangqi's great contributors. The manuscripts are dated 1990 and 1991: they lost a decade.

I have no idea how the WXF plans to distribute these books. They can probably be had for free. People who want them, should contact their nearest WXF club (The Xiangqi Home Page, look under "clubs"). Or you can send email to me, through the Mindzine, or at bibrydo@my-Deja.com. I'll see what I can do.

While I'm on the subject: the next World Cup is scheduled for Paris, in the Fall of 2001. Even beginners should write this in their calendars. This tournament is open to "non-Asian" players at all levels: all you need is affiliation with a WXF club, about six months study, and good nerves.

Now for the books:

"Victories all the Way"

"Victories all the Way" is one of a handful of Xiangqi manuscripts that survived the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644. The material was no doubt already old at this time. Xiangqi oral tradition is very strong, and the basic techniques have been passed down for uncounted generations.

The most famous Ming text is "The Secret of the Orange", which is available as an appendix to H. T. LAU's "Chinese Chess" (you can get this from Amazon.com). This has flaws: LAU uses an obscure notational system that many beginners will hate, and the scores are riddled with errors. Also, there are no annotations. Nevertheless, the games are worth the effort. One of the great pleasures of starting Xiangqi is reading these ancient, lovely games, and imagining the settings that produced them.

"Victories all the Way" is every bit as good as "Secret of the Orange", and its 35 games are far better presented. Each game is given in both Chinese characters and WXF notation . This gives readers a double-check on the moves, and a chance to practice reading games in Chinese.

The book has light explanatory notes by the master, Jingming TU. His authoritative touch adds value. Each game is a win by Red, and TU shows Black's losing error, and also gives improvements on Black's early line of play. This means that students can use the book to learn reliable early move sequences. Click here to read a beautiful game, with notes by TU.

The value of these games goes far beyond this. The focus on quick kills against poor defenses is neither primitive nor out-dated, but corresponds to master-level teaching methods that are still widely used. Students are encouraged to attack from the basic positions that arise after 1. C2=5 (Che3), and normally play Red in every game. The teacher responds with "soft moves", and often uses the same flawed defenses found in the Ming dynasty tests. Once in trouble, the teacher uses full strength.

I once asked Tan Tho NGUYEN, one of Vietnam's greatest players, what I should do to improve. Mr. Tho (as he's widely known; his given name is pronounced "Taw"), who had few books when he was young, said: "Learn to carry the advantage of the first move". This is a classic expression of basic Xiangqi theory. It corresponds to, but is somewhat different from, the early emphasis that chess teachers give to rapid development and control of the centre.

Masters say that the Ming dynasty attacks still work, and are sometimes essential. But they also say that few opponents give you a chance to use them. Even humble street players know the counter-measures. So students must learn to counter these counters. You can try this on the Internet game servers.

Ming dynasty theory can be modernized, but only with extensive supporting analysis. Do strong players consider it worth doing? You bet! Vietnam's national chess magazine, "Nguoi Choi Co" spent much of 1999 presenting an in-depth dissection of "The Secret of the Orange". And throughout the country, teachers will show these stories to students, and say: "Play like this!"

"Victories all the Way" has some drawbacks. Only a few openings are covered, and many of the games reach early positions that rarely occur. Almost every one begins with 1. C8=5 (Cbe3), the mirror to the more common 1. C2=5 (Che3). The theory is the same, but students may be confused. Also, TU's comments are sometimes too cryptic for easy understanding.

"The End Game Technique"

"The End Game Technique" is part one of a three volume set by the Chinese masters, Ligao MENG and Zhongjian LI. Hopefully volumes two and three are in the works.

This book opens a subject that is larger, and even more essential than the Ming dynasty texts. Practical end-games are the life-blood of xiangqi expertise. My own teacher, former Hanoi champion, Ban LO, told me at the outset that serious players must "memorize" about 200 positions and solutions. These include both end and middle-games, the end games being more difficult and numerous. At this time, one of Toronto's strong club players told me: "You have to learn a bunch of end-games, but these make you better in the middle-game". This is one of the best pieces of advice I've received.

The book translated by Lai is a good introduction to this challenge -- good, but not excellent. Its three sections show how the chariot (rook) is used in conjunction with horse (knight), cannon, and pawn. Many of the positions have fantasy elements, and are not game situations. By contrast, every position Ban LO has ever shown me has been grimly practical.

"The End Game Technique" also has some shocking typographical errors, and these will stop some readers from understanding the solutions. If the book is well-distributed, an errata sheet may be needed. For the record, I strongly suspect that these mistakes date from after Mr. Lai submitted the manuscript.

Do you need this book? English-language information about the Xiangqi end-game is widely scattered. Beginners are likely not to know where to start.

If you need the absolute fundamentals: Jouni has given some very basic endings, and others can be found in Lau's book, in the books of David Li (also available from Amazon.com), and in back issues of the Xiangqi Review (along with many valuable middle-game studies).

Some people will want to jump to practical end-games at the intermediate level. Lau gives some such endings, but starts with positions that are close to the solution, so the basic dynamics cannot be learned. Probably the best comprehensive source at this time is in the instructional section of The XiangQi Journal.

"The End Game Technique", due to its fantasy elements, is probably best studied in conjunction with intermediate practical end-games. To go beyond this, students must seek out books in Chinese or Vietnamese.