A rainy night. A rundown chess hall.
Chen Yiqiu clutches half of his family’s Five Elements Secret Manual and squats by the door, gnawing on a cold steamed bun. To the neighbors, he’s a “chess idiot.” Three years ago, Zhao Tieshan beat him with a double-rook assault on the king, and he hasn’t won a single decent game since.
Then an old chess fanatic from the bridge south of town kicks the door open and throws down a challenge: “Got the guts to stake that secret manual?” At last, Chen Yiqiu wakes up to the truth:
The rook is metal, the knight is wood, the cannon is water, the pawn is fire, and the guards and bishops are earth!
The generating and overcoming cycles of the Five Elements aren’t just theory. They’re killer moves that can turn a game around!
When metal grows too strong, it breaks? He reinforces his guards to strengthen the earth, letting the earth support the metal before tearing apart the double-rook formation with a counterattack.
Water and wood in harmony? He links cannon and knight in a fluid combination, toying with the leading masters of Jiangnan chess.
Wood overcomes earth? He sacrifices his knight to enter the fray, using softness to overcome strength and making a provincial champion bow in defeat!
From street-corner chess stalls to national tournaments, from a down-and-out chess boy to a generation’s Chess Saint,
Chen Yiqiu has just one thing to tell you:
Don’t talk to me about chess skill. My Five Elements chess principles can defeat anything!
