Meet Knight's Family! (plus 60+ New Knight Pix)
Family is important. So, it's time for you to get acquainted with other family members.
With an extra bonus of sixty-plus new Knight's paintings, cartoons, posters, book covers, photographs on top of what you've seen in Parts 1-2.
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CHINESE CHESS/XIANGQI: MA
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象棋入门, Introduction to XiangQi
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The Chinese chess, or XiangQi 象棋 is a close relative of Western chess. It is extremely popular in the Eastern Hemisphere, played by hundreds of millions in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and other Asian countries. It is commonly believed that it has originated (like the Orthodox chess) from the ancient Indian strategy game Chaturanga. But some, like David Li, maintain that Chess is Chinese in origin. In his book The Genealogy of Chess (won the 'Book of the Year' 1998 award from the editors of GAMES Magazine), Li surveys evidence regarding the origins of chess and concludes that an early version of chess called Xiangqi was invented in China in 203 BC, by General Han Xin, who supposedly drew on the earlier game Liubo, as well as on the teachings of The Art of War.
Whatever origins, XiangQi, like all other chess variants, represents a battle between two armies, with the object of capturing the enemy's General (or King). Distinctive features of XiangQi include the Cannon (pao), which must jump to capture; a rule prohibiting the Generals from facing each other directly; areas on the board called the River and Palace, which restrict the movement of some pieces (but enhance that of others).
Chinese chess pieces are Black and Red. Different books advise either that the Black or Red side moves first. Some other books refer to the two sides as North and South.
Pieces are flat circular disks labeled or engraved with a Chinese character identifying the piece type, and in a color indicating which player has ownership. The black pieces are marked with somewhat different characters from the corresponding red pieces.
Chinese chess book of the Northern Song Dynasty (ruled from 960-1279)
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The Knight mǎ disk is labelled 馬 for Black and 傌 for Red in sets marked with traditional Chinese characters and 马 for both Black and Red in sets marked with simplified Chinese characters. I have learned to recognize them easily as Knight's character displays "four marks, sort of legs, and a horsetail."
The Horse moves first one point along a horizontal or vertical line, and then one point outward-diagonally. This is similar to the Knight in Western chess. Unlike most other forms of chess, the Chinese chess is played on the points of intersecting lines, rather than on the squares of the board.
Human XiangQi, by Le Quoc Viet
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There is a significant difference between western chess and Xiangqi though. The XiangQi Knight cannot jump over occupied intersection points. In the following two positions, the Horse can be blocked by an intervening piece.
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JAPANESE CHESS/SHOGI: KEIMA
The Japanese form of chess, called Shōgi, has the same object, to capture the opponent's King. Shogi is played on a 9x9 board.
Unlike other chess variants, Shogi pieces are not differentiated by color to indicate side, though opposing players are known as White and Black, with Black moving first. The pieces are flat and printed with Japanese characters that indicate rank and are pointed at one end, with the pointed ends oriented toward the opponent.
Shogi is unique among chess variants in that captured pieces are not dead but may be pointed in the opposite direction and replayed (“dropped”) as part of the captor’s forces in place of making a move with other pieces already on the chessboard. (Britannica)
I love Shogi. The chocolate version pleases me most!
What's the story about our cult piece, the Knight?
The Shogi Knight 桂馬 keima moves like his Western relative, in a “big L” or "big Г" shape, but can only move forward. It is also the only piece that ignores intervening pieces on the way to its destination. It is not blocked, like in XiangQi, from moving if the next square vertically or horizontally of it is occupied.
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But unlike other kinship, Japanese Knight can promote!
The last 3 rows on the game board are called the "promotion zone”. When a piece is moved and part of a piece's path lies within the promotion zone, then such piece can be promoted at the end of the turn. Promotion is an option. However, promotion is mandatory for knights in the last two rows. In Shogi, promoting a piece is done by turning this piece upside down. When the piece is turned over, it is revealing its different, so called red character. The Shogi Knight is therefore a sort of chameleon beast. It loses its ability to move as it normally does and gains properties of Gold General (one step in any direction except diagonally backward). It is often useful to leave a knight unpromoted at the far side of the board.
Human Shogi game
Funny, a promoted Knight is demoted when they are captured. What difference does it make if it's going out of game, I hear you ask? Well, the captured pieces in Shogi become part of the capturer's force. As mentioned before, on a later turn, instead of moving a piece on the board, a player may put a piece that he has captured from his opponent back onto the board, on an empty square. This is called dropping a piece.
To me, this all seems like sort of some parachuting troops that shift their allegiance from their original loyalty, switching to the opposing side in the war.
Central Asian soldiers who either voluntarily joined the Nazi Wehrmacht or defected after being taken prisoner, playing chess
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60+ NEW KNIGHT"S PICTURES
Okay. In Part 1 and 2 you had 27 + 45 images of Knight. Today there is some more, more than 60. Increasing progressively!
Before we get started, I'd first like to show you the cartoon that organically accompanies the header one of the previous post. It's about the never-ending debate on which chessman is stronger. Both are both part of the French digital cartoon LMEP, a polito-social saga in noir.
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Here are the other contestants of Part 3. Let's take a look.
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Perhaps not a chess horsey, but looks like one And reminds of the one we saw last time
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Roman Urbinsky (Russian), Zebra is also a Horse
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Chess graffiti
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Graffiti, Knight Chess wall by Wiz
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The old Knight-Bishop debate, Melbourne Chess Club mural
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Perec’s knight’s tour throughout the 10 × 10 apartment block
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Life: A User's Manual (the original title La Vie mode d'emploi) is famous piece of literature by the French Georges Perec, published in 1978, that used knight's tour to structure the novel.
Knight's tour as a means of generating a novel was a long-standing idea of the Oulipo group. Perec devises the elevation of the building as a 10×10 grid: 10 storeys, including basements and attics and 10 rooms across, including two for the stairwell. Each room is assigned to a chapter, and the order of the chapters is given by the knight's moves on the grid.(Wiki)
Murillo Fuentes Ferreol (Costarica), 2013
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Ivan Anchukov (Russian)
Miro Georgievski (North Macedonian)
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Valentin Dubinin (Russian)
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Olivier Chaos, 2016
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Unknown (we could give it a title like, A Knight Outpost, no pawn support though)
Urzica Magazine, 1972
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Jake Baddeley (British)
WGM Almira Skripchenko (Moldovan French) is pretty skillful with horseys
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Unknown
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Agnès Boulloche (French)
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Russian chess fashion
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Now something from the science of chess, Objects Come Alive, the Main Principle of chess - ACTIVITY!
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Tomek Setowski (Polish)
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Purling London chess set
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Jose Andres Ortega
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Samuel Bak, Chessboard
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Bak, Across
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Samuel Bak, New Figure, 1990
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Karolina Gmiterek (Polish)
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André Martins Barros (French), Echec et mat III/Checkmate 3
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Painting by Jacqueline Robin (French). Only three strokes of brush are enough for us to recognize a Horsey
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Margo Selski (American)
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A Knight in a Luxury Chess Restaurant
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Follow a few of chess cartoons by Zygmunt Nasiolkowski of Poland.
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Nasiolkowski, Scandinavian
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Enki Bilal (French), La Cavaliere
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Enki Bilalovic, Chess Boxer 2012
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Enki Bilal, The end of game
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Knigt from a Purling London chess set
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Purling's Knight. Chess is many a time a quick sand game
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Le Duel, diptych photography Nicolas Roger (French)
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Roger Morin (American)
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V. Vladov (Russian), The 64 Magazine, No3 1987
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B. Leonov, The 64, No15 1982
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Yu. Maruskin, The 64, No14 1984
Юрий ШИПИЛОВ, 64 No20, 1985
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V. Vladov, The 64, No18 1991
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Moon Knight
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Batman Legends of the Dark Knight 126 was published by DC in February 2000. The cover was penciled by Alex Maleev and inked by Wayne Faucher
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Iron Man163 was published by Marvel in October 1982. The cover was penciled and inked by Jim Starlin
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Checkmate No33, cover, 1991.01, by Steve Erwin and Al Vey. Checkmate created by Paul Kupperberg, Steve Erwin and John Byrne. 1990 DC Comics Inc
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Unknown
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Elke Rehder (German), Under guidance of the Knight
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The Flanders Panel book cover
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Another Flanders Panel
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Irving_Amen (American), Chessmen
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Gennady Nazarov, The 64 Magazine, No24, 1987
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Thanks for watching!
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