Korean Chess? Why Not! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Janggi

Janggi (two syllables) is the common name for the game of Korean chess. You may recognize kimchi as the popular spicy cabbage which is a traditional side dish. Taekwondo is a form of Korean martial arts. Jjajangmyeon is a thick noodle dish served with a black bean paste.

Answer: on the points or intersections

Korean chess is played on a board with 9 files and 10 ranks of lines. The pieces are placed on the intersections of these lines. Thus, there are 90 points on the board. The pieces are placed upon and move along the points on the board.

Answer: Horse

Some beginning players of Western chess refer to the knight as a horse. The horse in Korean chess moves in a similar way to the knight in Western chess. That is, one point forward and one point diagonally. Since the knight in Western chess moves on squares, the move is not precisely the same, but it is similar. Of course, the knight in Western chess may move two squares horizontally or vertically, then one square horizontally or vertically.

In other words, it is an "L" shaped movement. The horse in Korean chess (pronounced "mah") also moves in an "L" shape.

Answer: General

In Korean chess, there are two opposing generals. The generals have limited powers of mobility and must remain confined to their respective "castles" on the board. The castle is 3x3 grid which contains 9 points. The general and two advisors must remain within the castle throughout the game.

Answer: Octopus

There are seven different types of pieces in the game of Korean chess. The most commonly used English language names are as follows: soldier, elephant, advisor, horse, cannon, chariot and general.

Answer: Janggun

One may announce "check" by exclaiming the word, "janggun." The same word also means, "general." When you escape from check, you may announce, "meonggun." As in Western chess, the declaration of check is not obligatory. It is common in computer versions of the game.

Answer: the chariot

The Chariot has the greatest degree of mobility and has a commonly accepted relative value of 13 points. Its movement is very similar to the rook in Western chess. The Korean name for this piece is, "Cha."

Answer: soldier

The soldier is Korean chess is similar to the pawn in Western chess. The soldier is called "byeong" in Korean. It has somewhat limited mobility and has an assigned relative value of 2 points. Similar to Western chess, soldiers are more effective when they are adjacent to each other. Soldiers do not have the ability to promote or move backwards, so they actually lose strength upon reaching the 10th rank.

Answer: a river

There are many similarities between Chinese chess and Korean chess as they have the same derivative. There are some minor differences in piece mobility and rules. The game is played on the same board, but there is a river in the middle of the board in the game of Chinese chess. The game of Chinese chess is commonly called Xiangqi.

Answer: 16

Each side in Korean chess begins with 16 pieces. The pieces are distributed as follows: 5 soldiers, 2 elephants, 2 advisors, 2 horses, 2 chariots, 2 cannons and 1 general.