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《适情雅趣》 is an ancient xiangqi manual. The phonetic representation of the title is “shì qíng yǎ qù”。For want of better words, I translate the title into English as “Comforting Delights”. Published in 1570 during the Ming Dynasty, it is a huge collection of Checkmate Combinations, Practical Endgames, Full Games and Popular Openings in its time….

Qi Tun Guan You [001] 气吞关右 Red sacrifices two Chariots and a Pawn to open an avenue for attack. The final checkmate position has a Cannon and two Horses lined up at Black’s bottom rank. Amazing pattern! Notes: ① On the first move if Black answers with A6+5, Red wins as follows: P6=5  A4+5,  R7+9 …