Chapter 7: Opening Set-up Positions

There are many opening setup positions created by Myanmar Traditional Chess experts in the past.

Among these, there are eight fundamental and earliest positions for the red and the black. Even though no records and evidences were found, it is believed that they are created by U Pe Hsaung, traditional chess teacher of PANN TA NAW U Maung Kalay.

They were shown in the earliest book on Myanmar Traditional Chess “Myanmar Sitbayin Lam

Nyun Sar Oak Gyi by Shwe Kyin U Ba ” as below.

1. Mingyi Pone Opening

2. Myinn Hsett Opening

3. Myinn Shin Opening

4. Myinn Chate Opening

5. Myinn Htup Opening

6. Myinn Khwa Opening

7. Ah Twinn Sit Ke Paut Opening

8. Hsin Shin Myinn Khwa Opening

1. Mingyi Pone Opening

Main Idea - Hiding king.

Strategy - Hide the king in the safe place in order to avoid the early counter attack.

- Place two elephants beside the king to guard front squares as well as the king.

- Control the opening square for the general with two knights.

- Put two rooks in adjoining squares to get the advantages on two connecting files.

2. Myinn Hsett Opening

Main Idea - Linking knights.

Strategy - Place the king at the strategic square close to the general to support the attack.

- Place two elephants balancing for attack and defence.

- Link two knights for better mobility in attacking.

- Put two rooks in adjoining squares to get the advantages on two connecting files.

3. Myinn Shin Opening

Main Idea - Parallel knights.

Strategy - Place the king at the strategic square close to the general to support the attack.

- Place two elephants balancing for attack and defence.

- Place two knights in two connecting-squares of second rank to control centre.

- Put one rook to be ready for opening file while placing another at centre.

4. Myinn Chate Opening

Main Idea - Knights on adjoining diagonal squares.

Strategy - Place the king near the right corner to make more space for the power pieces.

- Place two elephants balancing for attack and defence.

- Control the opening square for the general with two knights.

- Place the rooks fairly to control the most area of the board.

5. Myinn Htup Opening

Main Idea - Double knights.

Strategy - Place the king near the right corner to make more space for the power pieces.

- Place two elephants balancing for attack and defence.

- Place two knights in same file for guarding the king as well as attacking.

- Put the rooks in important centre squares

6. Myinn Khwa Opening

Main Idea - Fork knights.

Strategy - Place the king at the strategic square close to the general to support the attack.

- Place two elephants balancing for attack and defence.

- Place two knights in centre squares for better mobility.

- Put one rook to be ready for opening file while placing another at centre.

7. Ah Twinn Sit Ke Paut Opening

Main Idea - Keeping the general inside.

Strategy - Place the general at another square adjoining to the opening square for safety.

- Place the king in the back rank to create more space for the pieces.

- Place two elephants fairly for attack and defence.

- Place two knights in double position at the centre file to control the centre.

8. Hsin Shin Myinn Khwa Opening

Main Idea - Parallel elephants and fork knights.

Strategy - Place the king near the right corner to make more space for the power pieces. - Place two elephants at two connecting squares of third rank for attacking.

- Place two knights in centre squares for better mobility.

- Put the rooks in centre to be ready for attacking.

In addition, there are many famous opening setup positions frequently used by the players. Since there are 519,792 positions to be set up, it is almost impossible to show all of them here. A few positions are mentioned below just to introduce some opening ideas.

9. Hsin Kyell Myinn Kyell Opening [ Opening of U Maung Kalay ]