Xiangqi Endgames Vol 2

PRACTICAL XIANGQI ENDGAMES, VOLUME 2

The second half of Tu Jingming's classic, complete: 300 endgames in real tournament shapes, 1,192 notes, a Learn mode and a neural network engine, entirely offline.

Shanghai, 1978. Red takes an Advisor with the Cannon, and twenty rounds later the game is drawn. In this book it is position 74, and the note says what every tournament player dreads: the Pawn should have taken the central Advisor, and Red wins. Volume 1 laid down the textbook verdicts. Volume 2 takes them into the tournament hall, where one capture with the wrong piece turns a win into half a point.

胜负间不容发，着法别具巧思。
Win and loss separated by a hair, and moves of particular ingenuity.

THE BOOK

The second volume of 象棋实用残局 by Tu Jingming, Shanghai Culture Publishing House: 200 positions in 1961, enlarged to 300 in 1980, the edition here, and past 234,500 copies by 1983. Its notes keep sending you back to the verdicts of Volume 1, six hundred endgames in all. In Vietnam it is known as Co Tan Thuc Dung.

Position 280 is the compiler's own game, Beijing 1955, printed as played.

RULES IN VERSE

• 炮作掩护将后跟，马跳两肋不离中: Cannon behind the King, Horse never leaving the centre, and a lone Chariot cannot win.

• 有炮须留他家士: with a Cannon, leave the enemy Advisors on the board as screens.

• 残局炮归家: in the endgame the Cannon comes home.

FROM THE TOURNAMENT HALL

Endgames from the Third National Games, the 1978 national championships and Shanghai events, including a 1976 game that ran to 270 moves. Plus 15 finesse draws, 135 finesse wins, and old manual positions kept because they are very practical.

Some lessons are paradoxes. In position 57 Cannon, Elephant and bottom Pawn beat two Advisors, and would only draw against one Advisor or none, because the two Advisors block each other. In position 130 the material is exactly level, and better placed Pawns are enough to win.

WHAT IS INSIDE

• 300 endgames in 13 classes, numbered as in the book: 240 wins, 60 draws.

• 41 positions with Horse and Cannon together, 46 Chariot and Pawn endings.

• 6,924 main line half moves plus 701 side variations.

• 1,192 notes in the original Chinese, with English and Vietnamese alongside.

HOW YOU STUDY IT

• Browse and replay. Four dropdowns put you on the board; variations and notes appear where the book puts them.

• Learn. Nothing moves by itself. You play both sides by hand and find the book move, with optional arrows.

• Go off book. Try the move the book skipped, then return to the point of departure with one button.

• Ask the engine. A full strength NNUE neural network engine runs on your device and answers in seconds.

LANGUAGES AND BOARD

• Language. English, Vietnamese or Chinese for titles and all notes, falling back to the original rather than a blank.

• 13 board sizes, from 1.0x (500x350) to 2.2x (1100x770).

• 35 board themes, plus 6 study board themes, 5 highlight colours, 5 board fonts and a light or dark interface.

PRIVACY

Genuinely offline. No account, no ads, no tracking, no analytics, no permissions.

Three hundred endgames and the moment one capture decides everything. Find the move the player missed.

Recent changes:

First release.

- The complete Volume 2 of Tu Jingming's Practical Xiangqi Endgames: 300 endgames, all 13 classes, 1980 edition.
- 240 wins and 60 draws; 6,924 half moves and 701 side variations.
- Many positions from real tournaments, including the compiler's own game.
- 1,192 notes in the original Chinese, with English and Vietnamese.
- Replay, Learn and off-book modes; built-in NNUE engine.
- 35 board themes, 13 board sizes, light or dark interface.
- Fully offline, no ads, no tracking.