Chess in the Far East

By which I mean mainly China, Japan and Korea. I know China is definitely a rising star in world chess, but I see few highly-ranked players from Japan or Korea. People from these countries are typically considered to do well at intellectual pursuits such as chess, and they have large populations, so one might expect there to be a decent amount of high-ranking players on the international scene. But chess still seems to be dominated by Europeans (looking aside from Anand, and of course India is another eastern country with massive potential for good representation among the world's elite), that is, if you consider Russians, Ukranians etc. as Europeans.

So what I'm wondering is how chess is seen in China, Japan and Korea? Is chess mainly seen as a Western or even European game? And its oriental enthusiasts as some kind of novelties? How does chess fare against the native chess-like games of Xiangqi and Shogi?

Would be interesting to get some viewpoints on these questions. Cheers :-)

go china! i think people in china or asian countries play chinese chess.

I once played a tournament in Tokyo (I was there for other reasons), it was an interesting expierence to say the least. There was a field of about 30 players (I believe this was billed as a sort of city championship), the majority of the native players ranged from U1000 to around 1700, I finished second behind an expert from Germany. It seemed to me that most of the adult Japanese players took the game as kind of a lark, laughing and talking throughout they're tournament games but in the makeshift skittles room I found a few teenagers (who spoke very good english) playing some exteremaly competitive blitz (as you would see at any major tournament in the states). During my visit I also stopped by Tokyo's only chess club; situated in a small building in a residential district the club was quite hard to find but worth the trouble. It consisted of a well decorated (and lit) room with chessboards and clocks provided and a suprisingly extensive library of chess books for sale (in many languages) along with clocks and sets. Although the skill level of the players seemed rather low (an average of around 1200 i'd say) the club had a great atmosphere, many players there also brought along Shogi sets and I learned what a fun interesting game it was. In conclusion I think that (as has been said before) Japan and other Asian countrys have a lot of potenial to become powers in the chess world although this would only be possible with a bit more public marketing of the game.

I think the Chinese Chess (Xiangqi) in China, Japanese Chess (Shogi) and GO in Japan, and GO in Korea have a huge numbers of players, this is part of our history, and our culture, too, so chess is hard to compete with them in these countries, and I do not expect it could be changed in the coming 200 years.

and the No. of chess players are not too much, there is only one chess magzine in China (bimonthly), last month I went to bookshop and found there are 5-10 chess books, 20-50 Xiangqi books, and 30-100 GO books.

thoses chess books are for beginners only.

Firstly,I can't deny Xiangqi has a  very large its population,so I guess Shogi has the same  phenomenon in Japan.

However,as far as I am concerned,I like chess(I like it when I am very young,from beginning to now,I like it consistently)

I don't think chess is regarded as a Western game in  China.It's a common game!Although still not very much people play it,more and more people especially youngs start to learn it!Many people regard it as a hobby!

As China has large population,so some super players occur is normally!I think chess will be  popularized among Asia sooner or later!

Hi

Chinese chess (Xiangqi) is a fascinating variant of chess, just as demanding, and just as old, stemming from the same game in India (circa 600 AD) that gave rise to  western (often called "international") chess.

Xiangqi is more popular among Chinese than chess is here or even in Russia. In China, weiqui (go) was the game of the elite, Xiangqi the game of commoners.

I've been playing it for about six months — I picked it up in Boston's Chinatown — and enjoy it.

According to my native Japanese tomodachi, roughly 50% of the Japanese population plays Shougi. When he came to the US in the fall of 2008 he had never seen or heard of chess. After teaching him he was hooked. It was interesting to watch him using Shougi tactics in chess, even if they weren't entirely sound. I certainly know how that feels when trying to break chess habits while playing Shougi!

The popularity of Shougi in Japan is further proven by the number of Japanese Shougi video games available on the NintendoDS alone (at least 5 that I can think of, with one tailored for children and another for hardcore players). There's even a Japanese game called "Chess Games of the World" where you can play Western chess, Chaturanga, Xiangqi, a variant of Xiangqi, and Shougi. As far as I know it's the only Japanese NintendoDS game with a Western chess game.

As an aside, among US releases there is one - ONE - fully-devoted-to-chess game for the NintendoDS called "Chessmaster - The Art of Learning" (hosted by our friend Josh Waitzkin). "Club House Games" contains a basic chess and Shougi computer, but aren't great. To me this is evidence of the intellectual differences between the US and Japan and other parts of the world, or rather a lack of intellectuality in the US. Yes, I'm a bit pessimistic.

you can get a free Xiangqi program for the mac at:

http://328113.googlepages.com/ixiangqi

What's really interesting about this is that even though the majority of top players are European, possibly the 2 most naturally talented players ever in this game were born in the American continent, i.e. Capablanca and Fischer.

I forgot to mention Paul Morphy.

Very interesting, guys! So it sounds like Xiangq, Shogi and GO remain extremely popular and well-known in the Far East, but it also sounds like "international" chess is starting to make some inroads, especially in China. I wonder if chess is better known in these 3 Far Eastern countries than Chinese Chess and GO are known in the West?

i'm from soko, and i'm pretty badass. so if you're making a list, put me on it.

Hi, hblumeI am wondering :there's a Chinatown in Boston!Are most chinese living in this area?

You say you have learnt what for six months,Weiqi or Xiangqi?

IF possible,would you like to play with me,for my skill is not good,only at a beginner level!