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Trending in China | Tibetan chess: one board, many moves

(People's Daily App) 14:26, January 13, 2026

People in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region play a traditional board game often referred to in English as "Tibetan chess," using different boards and pieces that reflect regional variations across the Himalayas in China. The board and stones resemble Go at first glance, but the rules emphasize alignment and movement rather than territory. There is no standardized rule set. Variations reflect how the game has been passed down through everyday play across the Xizang Plateau.

(Web editor: Wang Xiaoping, Liang Jun)

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