How to read xiangqi notation

The site's coordinates

A coordinate is the file letter followed by the rank number, so every point of the board has a short name of its own. The nine files are lettered a to i from Red's left, and the ten ranks are numbered 0 to 9 from Red's back rank. Red's general therefore starts on e0 and Black's general on e9. The river runs between ranks 4 and 5, and each palace covers files d to f, on ranks 0 to 2 for Red and on ranks 7 to 9 for Black.

The board below labels both back ranks, a0 to i0 for Red and a9 to i9 for Black. It then finds e4: follow file e up from the bottom edge and rank 4 across from the left edge, and e4 is the point where they meet. Both sides use the same coordinates, so Black's pieces start on the high ranks, from 6 to 9. The numbering is the site's own: a similar system counts the ranks from 1 to 10, so a point written e1 there is e0 here.

How is a move written?

In coordinates, a move is two points: the point where it starts and the point where it ends. The piece is not named, because the starting point already tells you which piece moved. On the first board, Red's cannon goes from h2 to e2, written h2e2, and Black's cannon goes from b7 to e7, written b7e7. A capture or a check adds no sign to the move.

The letter form, which the World Xiangqi Federation (WXF) uses, names the piece as well. A move has four parts: the piece's letter, the file where the piece stands, a sign and a number, and each player counts the files from their own right. The sign is a plus (+) for forward, a minus (-) for backward and an equals sign (=) for sideways. On the second board, the cannon on Red's file 2 moves sideways to file 5, so the move is C2=5.

The number is the new file, or the number of ranks for a straight move forward or backward. A piece that moves diagonally, such as the horse or the elephant, takes a plus or a minus sign followed by its new file. The letters include R for the chariot, H for the horse, C for the cannon, A for the advisor and E for the elephant, and the soldier is S or P.

When three or more soldiers stand on one file, the WXF leaves out the soldier's letter and numbers the soldiers from the front. Moving the middle one of three soldiers on file 5 to file 4 is then written 25=4.

The Chinese form

The Chinese form is the original of the letter form and follows the same pattern, with the piece's name written in Chinese characters. Three words give the direction, 進 (jin) for forward, 退 (tui) for backward and 平 (ping) for sideways, so 炮二平五 on the first board reads "cannon, file two, sideways to file five". Red's numbers are written as Chinese numerals and Black's as Arabic numerals, as in 炮二平五 馬8進7, the central cannon and the horse's reply. In simplified characters, 進 is written 进 and 馬 is written 马.

Two identical pieces on one file need one more rule, because the file number no longer tells them apart. In place of the file number, the letter form then writes a plus sign (+) for the front piece and a minus sign (-) for the rear piece. The Chinese form uses the words 前 (qian, front) and 後 (hou, rear; 后 in simplified characters). On the second board, Red's two chariots on the i-file each move two points forward, so the front one's move is +R+2 and the rear one's is -R+2.

Reading a game record

In a record, each number covers a pair of moves: Red's move, then Black's reply. Writing each pair on its own line is clearer, although it is not required. One move can also have several names, and the board shows two of them: Red's cannon going from h2 to e2 is h2e2 in coordinates and C2=5 in the letter form.

A very short game makes a good first exercise. This one lasts three moves, and it is one of several games that tie for the shortest possible game. In the letter form it is written 1. C8=7 C8=3 2. C7+4 A6+5 3. C7+3, and in the Chinese form 1. 炮八平七 砲8平3 2. 炮七進四 士6進5 3. 炮七進三. In the site's coordinates, the same game is 1. b2c2 h7c7 2. c2c6 f9e8 3. c6c9.

Red's cannon takes the soldier on c6 and then the elephant on c9, and Black is mated. The cannon cannot be captured, and the advisor that moved to e8 blocks the general's escape there and keeps the other advisor on d9 in place as the cannon's screen.

To practise, replay a game from the archive and follow its moves one numbered pair at a time. Notation will not make you a stronger player by itself, but it lets you replay any game that someone has written down.