Xiangqi or Chinese Chess as it may be more familiar to the Westerner, is an ancient Chinese game that has been played for centuries. There are millions of estimated Xiangqi players, who are mostly concentrated in China and South-east Asia. However, in non-Chinese speaking regions in the world, the game is relatively unknown. The game is intellectually demanding, easy to learn, very exciting, and not too time demanding, which would be a perfect fit for the hectic lifestyles that most people have. Www.xqinenglish.com was formed in 2011 with the main aim of promoting Xiangqi to non-Chinese speaking people. There have been over 2300 pages to date, covering most, if not all aspects of Xiangqi. One of the features provided on the site was a collection of well over 3000 puzzles that have been published over the years. This book is a selection of the those puzzles which has been organized into different levels of difficulty. Detailed explanations of the puzzles have been added with additional diagrams to aid the reader should you get lost. A chapter has also been added to instruct complete new beginners who may not know how to play the game or read notation. An appendix has also been added with detailed biographies of some of the grandmasters and masters whose actual games were used in the book. For complete beginners, the puzzles in Chapter Two would be suitable and amateurs with a slight background in Xiangqi would find Chapter Three a challenge. To facilitate the Westerner who may not know Chinese, a legend has been added at the bottom of each page to show the Chinese characters and their respective pieces. Have Fun! Be a Xiangqi Assassin!

The ancient Chinese board game of Xiangqi, or Chinese Chess, has been played for over 1,500 years. However, few books have been published in the English language on the strategy of Chinese Chess. Now, this new Xiangqi book demonstrates optimal strategies, verified by modern computer analysis. The book is heavily illustrated with pictographic chess board diagrams, similar to diagrams in international chess books. These picture pieces are easier to visualize than classical Xiangqi Chinese character piece labels. Excessive use of algebraic notation is avoided, making it easier to follow game annotations, and to evaluate positions. This Chinese Chess book is an easier way for English speakers to learn this complex, baffling and counter-intuitive board game, that has a tactical language quite different from that of international chess. Various topics are covered: ● Xiangqi Rules ● Opening Game Theory ● Middle Game and End Game Tactics ● Beginning, Intermediate and Expert Strategies ● Fully Annotated Games with Play-by-play analysis ● Hundreds of Illustrations - An Actual Board is Not Needed to Follow Annotated games!

Learn the ancient and fascinating game of Chinese Chess with this expert guide. Chinese chess, or "elephant chess," has intrigued the powerful and the quizzical for centuries. Although its rules are similar to the well-known Western game, subtle and fascinating variations must be mastered in order to understand the strategies it requires. A great way to learn Chinese Chess, this book is simple enough for Chess beginners but contains a wealth of information and tips that experienced players will find useful as well. In Chinese Chess, author H.T. Lau explains the game's fundamentals--the rules, the board, and the basics with dozens of insightful diagrams. With the aid of 170 diagrams, Chinese Chess walks players through the board, the movement and values of the pieces, basic rules for capturing and defeating an opponent, techniques and game-winning tactics. Once he's covered the basics, Lau introduces advanced tactics, methods for escaping difficult positions, and cunning strategies for winning. This book includes eighty mid- and end-game exercises designed to sharpen playing skills and strategy and concludes with two appendices devoted to the elegantly constructed games found in The Secret Inside the Orange and The Plum-Blossom Meter, two classic seventeenth-century works on Chinese chess.

An original novel set in the universe of Star Trek: Enterprise! The United Federation of Planets has weathered its first major crisis, but its growing pains are just beginning. Admiral Jonathan Archer hopes to bring the diverse inhabitants of the powerful and prosperous Rigel system into the Federation, jump-starting the young nation’s growth and stabilizing a key sector of space. Archer and the Federation’s top diplomats journey to the planetoid Babel to debate Rigel’s admission . . . but a looming presidential race heats up the ideological divide within the young nation, jeopardizing the talks and threatening to undo the fragile unity Archer has worked so hard to preserve. Meanwhile, the sinister Orion Syndicate recruits new allies of its own, seeking to beat the Federation at its own game. Determined to keep Rigel out of the union, they help a hostile Rigelian faction capture sensitive state secrets along with Starfleet hostages, including a young officer with a vital destiny. Captain Malcolm Reed, Captain T’Pol, and their courageous crews must now brave the wonders and dangers of Rigel’s many worlds to track down the captives before the system is plunged into all-out war.

The Samurai Mind is a collection of five seminal Japanese texts that convey the essence of traditional samurai philosophy and ethics from very different, but complementary points of view. These texts range from the ferocious to the esoteric--with their common thread being the importance of mastering one's own mind as the key to overcoming opponents. They were written from the mid-18th to early 19th century, The authors were acknowledged master samurai warriors keen to address a broader audience beyond their circle of students and acolytes. Their aim was to explain their craft to the outside world, and they do so with great insight. The classic Japanese texts are: The Mysterious Skills of the Old Cat Sword Theory A Treatise on the Sword Joseishi's Discussions on the Sword Ignorance in Swordsmanship Four of the five texts presented here are translated into English for the first time making The Samurai Mind an important addition to the literature on Japanese martial arts and a valuable resource for all martial artists. This samurai philosophy book is an informative look at the samurai of Japan with particular emphasis on the warrior's relationship with his samurai sword--the most fabled weapon in history--and on his need to cultivate mental discipline to achieve his goals.