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How to play Chinese chess on your computer

Chinese chess has a great history and is a game full of wisdoms and funs .DO YOU ever want to experience leading your army to fight in the ancient battlefield? If yes, Chinese chess soul can offer the platform for you and you can enjoy being a mandarin by mastering your chesses on the chess board!
Whoever you are, a beginner or expert, you will have FUN and EXCITING playing with her. You and your family can enjoy by beating computer and improving chess level; Arena match game model, Computer adjusts its level to meet your level and record your scores.

If you want to learn more about Chinese chess,check out http://www.chesssoul.com/index.html . You can have a try and download on it.

Follows are quick guide for you :
Step 1: Free Download on the website,then install Chinese Chess Soul.
If you haven’t registered yet, simply click here to get the full version now.
Step2: Launch the game now, and you can see the first screen. Now, you can let the computer play red or black chess by clicking (red side) or (black side) , once your finish your round, you can click ” move now” button: so it will start to play.
Click at “game”, choose “new game” so that you can start a new game.
Step3: Also you can play arena match mode by selecting ”start” in the arena match option.
In this mode ,the computer will adjusts its level to meet your level and record your scores.
Note: If you quit in the middle of the game, you still can continue to play your last game by logging in your user name next time you start your arena mode

you can have seven day of trial period for trial product. You can get its full version now Here at a very competitive price, or see more details http://www.chesssoul.com/index.html .
Purchase Chinese Chess Soul and enjoy playing it NOW!!

Chinese Chess (Xiàngqí) is a game for two people playing in opposition. Both players start with 16 pieces depicting various Chinese characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Play is turn-based, with Red starting.
Anciently China had 4 traditional arts: music, painting, calligraphy, and strategy games. The second syllable of Xiangqi, "qi" is the Chinese word for strategy games. The first syllable, "xiang" is the word for elephant. This spelling is Mandarin, in Cantonese the game is called Jeuhng Keih.
Like Western chess, Chinese chess descends from the game of Chaturanga, from India. From India it spread throughout Asia and also to Medieval. In China, the game reached its current form during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD).

The Board
The Chinese chess board is made up of 10 horizontal lines (ranks) and 9 vertical lines (files). The pieces are placed on the lines rather than in the squares as in Western chess. The lines are broken by the blank space that runs horizontally through the middle of the board. The blank space is the river. At each end there is a square with intersecting diagonals. These are the palaces, one for red, and one for black. The other markings are for aids in placement of the pieces at the beginning of the game.
If you want to learn more about Chinese chess,check out http://www.chesssoul.com/index.html . You can have a try and download on it.
The Pieces
The Pieces are round disks made of plastic, wood, etc. Usually the colors are red and black, and the pieces are identified by the Chinese character written on them.
Image Name (Western Equivalant) Pronuciation (Mandarin) Number On Each Side Abbreviation
? or ? General (King) jiang1/ shuai 1 K
?or ? Mandarin or Assistant (Queen) shi4 2 M or A
? or ? Elephant (Bishop) xiang4 2 E
? Horse (Knight) ma3 2 H or N
? Chariot (Rook) che1 2 R
? Cannon pao4 2 C
? or ? Soldier (Pawn) zu2/bing1 5 P

Movement of Pieces

Except the cannon, all pieces capture in the same manner that they move.

? or ? General (King)
Any 1 point on the grid in an orthogonal (non-diagonal) direction within the palace. It cannot leave the palace except in a theoretical move when it moves along a file from its own palace to the enemy's palace thus capturing the enemy's general. Therefore it is illegal to make any move that leaves your own general in an open file opposite the enemy's general because it places your general in check.

?or ? Mandarin or Assistant (Queen)
1 point diagonally within the palace, i.e. it cannot leave the palace.

? or ? Elephant (Bishop)
2 points in any diagonal direction. Cannot leap over any piece. Also it cannot cross the river.

? Horse (Knight)
1 point in an orthogonal (non-diagonal) direction followed by one point in a diagonal point thus ending two points away from starting position. It may not leap over other pieces (i.e. if there is a piece of either color at the elbow point then it cannot move in that direction).

? Chariot (Rook)
Moves any number of points either horizontally or vertically but not diagonally; it cannot leap other pieces (same as a rook).

? Cannon
When not capturing a piece it moves exactly as a chariot. In order to capture a piece it must leap another piece of either color before landing on the point of the captured piece. It cannot leap over more than one piece but it can leap the river when capturing.

? or ? Soldier (Pawn)
1 point forward. After it crosses the river it can move 1 point forward or 1 point sideways. It never moves backwards or diagonally. Unlike Western chess it captures the same as it moves, either forward or after crossing the river sideways, never diagonally. Pawns do not promote; when they reach the end of the board they can then either move right or left (sideways).

Rules
1. Red moves first.
2. The game is won by either checkmating or stalemating the enemy General.
3. You cannot perpetual check. For example you cannot check the opponent more than 3 times in a row with the same piece or the same board position.
4. You cannot force an enemy piece to move perpetually between two points to avoid capture. If this occurs then the person attacking must withdraw the attack.
5. The game is a draw when neither side can force either checkmate or stalemate.

On September 27, 1982, Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He spent his early years growing up in the tough Hollygrove district. He started rapping at a very young age at local block parties, where he was heard by a group signed by Cash Money Records.

Cash Money's CEO, Brian "Baby" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams was giving Wayne some consideration. After Wayne learned the phone number and location of their office, he practically haunted them day and night. He would even leave daily rap messages on their answering machine. They were so impressed with the 12 year olds dedication they decided to give in and sign him, pairing him up with another young rapper, Big Goochie, who they had also just signed.

The duo released an album, "True Story" under the "The B.G.'s" and right from day one his style was a true gangsta rap. He was unlike most young rappers who usually start off with "bubble gum rap," and do not make the change over until they are well out of their teen years.

Wayne's mother became worried about her son's actions and the company he kept when he began wearing gang affiliation clothing. Knowing the street reputation the Williams brothers had, she decided it was best to remove Lil Wayne from the Cash Money Company. In retaliation, he ran away from home for a week and during that time managed to convince his Mom that the records company owners were not to blame for any of his actions or choices.

In 1995, he along with B.G., and two other young rappers, Young Turk and Juvenile, formed the group Hot Boys. The first album, "Get it How you Live" in 1997 was followed up with "Guerilla Warfare" in 1999, shortly before his first solo effort. Wayne's first solo album was a great success; "Tha Block is Hot" (title track) became a top ten hit.

The second album, "Lights Out" and the third,"500 Degreez", did not fair as well and lead him to take a brief break from solo efforts to collaborate with others. Also, by this time he was the last of the Hot Boys; the others having gone their own way and retreating from what seemed to be a failing record company.

During the early 2000's, Lil Wayne was a prolific contributor to others rap lyrics and made numerous guest appearances on other rapper's recordings. At this time, he also made several mix tapes that received critical acclaim within the music industry. He even offered a few mixes online for free. In 2004 he released a new album, "Tha Carter" which introduced the public to a more defined and crisper performance from the young rapper. The single, "Go D.J.", hit the top 20, and the album, the top five. In December 2005, he released "Tha Carter II", which arrived on the charts at number two and produced a hit single, "Fireman."

"Tha Carter III" was released in June 2008 and sold one million copies within the first week, and another million within the month. Two big hit singles from this album were "Lollipop" and "A Milli."

Wayne's style has become refined and improves as time progresses and with his talent for writing lyrics, record sales for him come with great ease. If his work is followed, and especially from such a young age, it may be easy to agree with his self proclaimed statement, that he is "the best rapper alive."

No doubt Michael Jackson is the King of Pop. This is not a title that he gave himself. It was given to him by his millions of fans around the world and by his peers, among whom he has no equal. How did he get the title, you ask? He came by it the old fashioned way. He earn it! No other performer in history has generated the massive sales that he has. No other performer in history has received as many awards and accolades as he has. No other performer in history draws the kind of excitement and mass hysteria that he does. And no other performer in history has done so much in the way of humanitarian efforts than he has. There has never been one like him before, and there will never be one like him again. He is in a class all by himself.

Michael became a superstar at an age when most other children are learning things like the alphabet and how to count to 20. Born on August 29, 1958 he was the seventh child in a family of nine. Michael and his older brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon) were thrust into the spotlight when their father, Joseph Jackson, a steel mill worker in Gary, Indiana, formed a singing group out of his sons and called them The Jackson 5. Even though Michael was the youngest, it became immediately obvious that he had something special. Armed with a magical voice mature beyond its tender years and a crowd-charming charisma that rivaled any seasoned entertainer, little Michael lead his brothers from winning local talent contests to a recording contract with Motown Records in the late 1960's. The group quickly began turning out hit after hit for their new record label and remained a hit-making machine throughout the '70's. During their time at Motown, Michael also began a successful solo recording career that would run parallel to his work with his brothers.

In 1976, the Jacksons left Motown and signed with Epic Records where they continued to crank out one hit after another.

In 1978 Michael ventured into film when he starred opposite Diana Ross in The Wiz, an African-American remake of the Wizard of Oz. The film itself was unexceptional but it did put Michael on a collision course with destiny because it introduced him to legendary producer Quincy Jones who arranged the film's score.

Michael and Quincy collaborated on his next solo project, 'Off The Wall.' And with that album Michael was immediately transformed from a cute little kid act into an adult superstar. The album was released in 1979 to critical praise for its crossover blending of soul and rock and its non-stop boogie grove. With the help of number one hits "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You", the album sold 10 million copies and went multiplatinum. It's hard to believe that any artist could top a success like that.

But in 1982, that's just what Michael did with the release of a monster of an album called 'Thriller.' 'Thriller' broke all kinds of records. To date, it has sold more than 108 million copies worldwide (that's more than any other album before it or since). The album spawned a record six top ten singles and spent a record breaking 37 weeks at number one. It remains the best selling album of all time. That year Michael also won an unprecedented eight Grammy Awards - 7 for 'Thriller' and 1 for 'E.T.-The Storybook Album.' Much of Thriller's success was due, in part, to a new thing called music videos. Hits like "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Thriller" came alive before our very eyes when paired with a cool story line and Michael's amazing dancing ability. Michael's short films not only helped pioneer the video medium but also broke MTV's color barrier in the process. 'Thriller' made Michael Jackson an American pop icon.

The whole world were shocke at his death. It ‘s a great loss to mankind. He has passed away, however his undenying influence reigns supreme. Jackson was a worldwide phenomenon who broke race, gender, culture and age barriers, and was regarded as arguably the greatest entertainer in any genre. In mourning Michael Jackson, we should learn from his noble quality of the contribution of music to the people all over the world. Michael Jackson has forever left us. We should turn our grief into strength and keep him within our hearts.

Most of the people are confuse between what to scan? Negative or Photos? Photos are just a copy of original negative. Original film negative provides you better detail and contrast. So scanning originals gives you better result.

Simple process of developing negative is to invert colors in the image removing the orange shed from the negative. You can do it automatically with the help of scanning film negatives . It helps you to ease your work. You can get various benefit of scanning film negatives. Before that we move to benefits, let’s check out some important points. These concepts help you to have good scanned images.

• There is a simple rule that ‘higher the resolution, better the detail’. You can’t scan your print image with higher result. It doesn’t provide you better result. You can get the detail information by scanning negatives at higher resolution.

• “User the original”, it is wise that use only original for scanning. Negative film contains more contrast and detail compared to images/photo. Because of exposure, sunlight and other reasons, photos lighten over time. If negative are placed at dry and safe place, it doesn’t get affected by such complexity.

• For better result just use film scanner. A regular scanner can’t offer you a result that film scanner offers. You can’t scan at higher resolution in regular scanner. This will leads to poor quality of scanned photo. You can scan film negative at higher quality with film scanner. This scanner can cost you a lot so it is better to outsource your film scanning requirements.

Benefits of scanning film negatives are as under:

• Scanned image is highly immune from sunlight and environmental changes which affect paper images.

• You can get organize the photos very easily. Today’s software can help you to organize photos by date, size or special tags. This helps you to find the picture very easily.

• You can share the image with family and friends. Scanning make it easier for you to share.

• You can edit the digital image as per your requirements. You can resize and modify the photo as you want.

• You can also do processing over scanned photo. You can give the better look to your photo. You can correct color, remove scratch and dust, crop, rotate and sharpen in digital image.

An automated scanning system helps you to save time. It also helps you to get the high quality output after scanning film negatives.