10 Ways to Improve Chinese Chess (Xiangqi) Skills
Like every other sport, Chinese chess requires systematic training methods and persistent effort. Here are the 10 ways that beginners can follow to improve their skills and become Chinese chess masters.
Author: Johnny Chen (Former Professional Chinese Chess Player, achieved third place in youth team chess in the China National Intellectual Games and second place in the U14 Group of the National Junior Chess Tournament)
The article will be divided into the following sections:
1. Learn the theories
For beginners, it is essential to acquire a certain level of theoretical knowledge as it can help you get started and master the rules more quickly. When a player becomes more experienced and has a deeper understanding on Chinese chess, he/she will be able to integrate the theories with his/her own experience and apply the knowledge during the game. Beginners can refer to the previous articles on the principles of opening/mid-game/endgame for more information.
2. Study different games
Whether you are a professional player or an amateur, studying games is necessary to improve your Chinese chess skills. Keep in mind the following when studying:
(1) Choose games with higher quality, such as games from famous players, AI games, etc.
(2) Think more. Instead of merely replaying the game once, you should try to figure out the intention for each move and think: ‘If it were my turn to play, what would I do?’ Then compare your ideas with the actual game. It does not mean the moves from the game are always the best, therefore beginners can try to see if there are better alternatives.
(3) Summarize. Rushing to study one game after another is not helpful in the process of learning. You can make a summary after studying each game: What did both players do well that you should learn from? What could both players improve on? What are the moves or patterns that should be learned? Beginners can even study high-quality games for more than once to form a deeper understanding.
3. Play
Only through continuous practice can a beginner apply his/her theoretical knowledge and gain more experience. Beginners should pay attention to the following issues:
1) The number of games should be arranged reasonably; too few or too many will affect your improvement. If you rarely play, the knowledge and theories learned cannot not be applied timely, and your interest in learning Chinese chess may be reduced. More importantly, experience can hardly be accumulated. On the other hand, playing too many games are often based only on interest and desire; however, playing fast without thinking is unhelpful to improvement.
2) The quality of the game is critical. The level of the opponent should be similar to, or a little bit higher than your own, so interaction and communication could be made easier. Avoid playing against people who are much stronger since such games will be ineffective and will likely ruin your mood as well as interest. On Xiangqi.com, you could search for players who are of similar level to you. In addition, every game and every move should be played seriously; only by doing so can the knowledge learned be tested.
3) Review should be carried out after every game. This will be further illustrated in the next section.
4. Do post-game analysis
Reviewing the game promptly and summarizing the insights are essential to both beginners and experts. After a win, one should take a look at the experience and try to explore the areas of improvement; after a loss, one should reflect on the lessons learned while acknowledging the progress. Instead of focusing only on the pros and cons of each single move, the analysis should concentrate more on the theory, thinking style and calculation, therefore regular faults can be found out. If possible, you could even invite professionals to help assess and point out the strengths and the shortcomings. After each game, the AI analysis function on xiangqi.com could also lend you a helping hand.
5. Solve puzzles
One should begin with checkmate puzzles, starting with simple one-move, two-move, to the more complicated multi-move checkmates. This can help you understand the characteristics and ways to attack for each piece as soon as possible, while drilling your responsiveness and calculation ability. Xiangqi.com offers a puzzle bank so that you can get familiar with various checkmate methods and tactics.
6. Watch games
Exchange of thoughts between players takes place in every game. As a spectator, beginners should put themselves into the perspective of both sides, think about the best move in the current situation, and compare their own ideas with the players' choices. Both daily games and tournaments are open for anyone to watch on xiangqi.com.
7. Seek advice from high-level players
Apart from studying and playing actual games, it is also important to ask experts for their advice. They could help beginners avoid detours in the process of learning Chinese chess with their knowledge and experience. You can make friends on Xiangqi.com and chat with them freely.
8. Participate in competitions
The desire to win usually drive players to make better moves than usual, which is a good training for beginners. Drawbacks that are not easy to be discovered in daily practice might be seen; the reasons of lagging behind could also be explored; and the chance for coming up with ingenious moves is higher as well. Moreover, players can meet new friends who share the same interests. You can organize and participate in competitions using the ‘tournament’ feature on xiangqi.com.
9. Memorize opening patterns
It is beneficial to master a certain number of the many systematic openings in Chinese chess. In games between top players, where the levels of both sides are similar, the key to win or lose often lies on an extraordinary opening. For beginners, it is vital to memorize the opening patterns based on quality rather than quantity; choose the openings that suit your style and study them thoroughly. It is better to specialize in a certain opening system rather than switching between them. After becoming more competent in one system and being able to deal with its variations, you can then expand your ’library’ of openings gradually.
10. Learn endgame theories
Indeed, most games end at the mid-game stage so that endgame theories and patterns can seldom be applied. Be that as it may, it is still crucial to study them in order to become a Chinese chess master. On the one hand, these theories and patterns directly determine the result once they can be executed in a real game; on the other hand, they are an important guide to help you direct the game to your favor. A number of these theories and patterns have been listed out in the article ‘10 Most Important Chinese Chess Endgame Principles’ for your reference.
Want to practice in the real game?