How to read xiangqi notation

The board’s coordinates

Xiangqi is played on the points of a 9×10 grid. In coordinate notation the nine files are lettered a to i from red’s left, and the ten ranks are numbered 0 to 9 starting from red’s back rank. Every point has a two-character name: red’s left chariot starts on a0, the general on e0, and black’s general faces it from e9. The river flows between ranks 4 and 5; each palace is the 3×3 box of files d-f on ranks 0-2 and 7-9.

The diagram shows the starting position with this grid in mind. One orientation habit saves endless confusion: coordinates never flip - black’s pieces simply live on the high-numbered ranks.

Writing a move

A move is the origin point followed by the destination point: h2e2 means the piece on h2 travels to e2 - the Central Cannon’s famous first move. Captures are written identically (the destination happens to be occupied), checks carry no special mark, and because every square name is unambiguous there is never a need for the piece’s name in the record. Our archive stores games exactly this way, which is why an entire master game fits in a line of text.

In the opening walkthroughs you will also meet the international letter style: C2=5 means the cannon on file 2 traverses to file 5, H8+7 the horse on file 8 advances to file 7. The letters are K, A, E, H, R, C, P for general, advisor, elephant, horse, chariot, cannon and soldier; files count 1-9 from each player’s own right; = traverses, + advances, - retreats. It is the traditional Chinese system wearing Latin letters, and the next section decodes the original.

The traditional Chinese style

Traditional notation names the piece, its file counted from each player’s own right in Chinese numerals, and a movement word: 炮二平五 reads "cannon, file two, traverses to file five" - the same h2e2. The three movement words are 进 (advance, toward the enemy), 退 (retreat), and 平 (traverse sideways); for straight-moving pieces the final number is a distance when advancing or retreating and a destination file when traversing, while for horses, elephants and advisors it is always the destination file.

When two identical pieces stand on one file, 前 (front) or 后 (rear) replaces the file number. That is the entire system - four movement words, two disambiguators - and with it every classical manual ever printed becomes readable.

Reading a game record

Game records list red’s and black’s moves in numbered pairs, exactly like the model lines in our opening guides. When replaying one, keep two habits: locate the moving piece before reading the destination (mis-locating the origin is the classic transcription error), and pause at every capture to update your mental board. On Xiangqi Arena you can paste or replay archive games move by move, with the board doing the bookkeeping - the fastest way to make either notation automatic is to follow ten master games with your finger on the moves.