Chinese chess, known as Xiangqi, is a strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games. In ancient China, Chinese chess used to be listed as a way for scholar-officials to cultivate their moral characters, while now it's regarded as a kind of activities to develop intelligence. The two players move by turn in the game with the objective of checkmating the opponent's general or king. The board itself has 64 squares and has a “river” in the middle that divides the board into two opposing parts. Each player has 16 pieces, including 1 general (king), 2 horses, 2 chariots, 2 elephants (bishops), 2 guards, 2 cannons and 5 pawns. Generally speaking, the player with the red pieces moves first.