How to play xiangqi
This page teaches xiangqi, also called Chinese chess, to new players, one idea at a time. You will learn the board and the seven kinds of piece, how each piece moves, how a game is won or drawn, the rules on repeated moves, and how moves are written down. The aim of every game is to trap the other side's general so that it cannot escape. The rules here are the ones used in tournaments. Where the Chinese competition rules and the Asian Chinese Chess Rules judge a repetition differently, the page gives both rulings, and it notes the few places where Xiangqi Arena's own games differ.
The board, the river and the palace
The board is made of nine vertical lines and ten horizontal lines. The vertical lines are called files. Each player numbers the files from 1 to 9, starting from the file on their own right. That is why numbers are printed along both edges of the board, and the file you call 1 is the file your opponent calls 9.
The horizontal lines are called ranks. Xiangqi Arena numbers the ranks from 0 to 9, starting at the bottom edge of the board, so the bottom rank is rank 0 and the top rank is rank 9.
Two players sit on opposite sides of the board. Red plays from the bottom half and Black from the top half, and each half belongs to the player on that side. Red moves first, and then the players take turns, one move each. You may not pass a turn.
The pieces stand on the ninety points where the lines cross, never inside the squares. Each side has sixteen pieces of seven kinds: Red's pieces are red and Black's are black. The board shows the seven kinds one at a time, in this order: the general, the advisors, the elephants, the horses, the chariots, the cannons and the soldiers. The next section explains each kind in turn.
This site also gives every point a name, called a coordinate, so that both players name a point in the same way. A coordinate gives the file letter first, from a to i counted from Red's left, and then the rank number. Red's back rank therefore runs from a0 to i0, and Black's back rank from a9 to i9. To find e4, follow file e up from the bottom edge and rank 4 across from the left edge: e4 is where the two lines meet. From here on, every board on this page shows the file letters and the rank numbers.
Between rank 4 and rank 5 lies the river, marked 楚河 漢界 on the board. It divides the board into Red's half and Black's half. The two outer files run straight across it, while the seven inner files stop at its banks. A point on either bank is an ordinary point, and most pieces cross the river freely. Two kinds of piece are limited by it, as the next section shows.
At each end of the board is a palace, a square three files wide and three ranks deep, crossed by two diagonal lines. Red's palace covers files d to f on ranks 0 to 2, and Black's palace covers the same files on ranks 7 to 9. Two kinds of piece must always stay inside their own palace. The other pieces may pass through it freely.
Members can learn these rules step by step, with quick checks, in the first-steps lessons: The board
The seven pieces
This section takes the seven kinds of piece one at a time: where each one starts, how it moves, how it captures and which rules limit it. On your turn you move one piece, either to an empty point or onto a point where an enemy piece stands. Moving onto an enemy piece captures it, and the captured piece leaves the board for the rest of the game. You may not capture your own pieces, and you are never forced to capture.
General帥 / 將×1
Where it starts
Each side has one general. Red's general starts on e0, in the middle of Red's back rank, and Black's general starts on e9. Red's general carries the character 帥, and Black's carries 將.
How it moves
The general moves one point at a time along a file or a rank, never diagonally. It must also stay inside its palace, so it can use only nine points in the whole game. The board draws every move the general can make, then walks it through all nine points.
How it captures
The general captures the same way it moves. It takes an enemy piece on a point next to it inside the palace, as it takes the horse on e1 here.
Its limits
The general may never leave its palace. From d2, for example, it may step to d1 or e2, but a step to c2 or d3 would take it out of the palace. Because it can never leave, the general relies on the pieces around it for its defence.
The two generals may never face each other on the same file with no piece between them, and any move that would leave them facing is illegal. Here, Red's general on d0 cannot step to e0, because it would then face Black's general on file e. Its only move is d1.
Advisor仕 / 士×2
Where it starts
Each side has two advisors, one on each side of the general. Red's advisors start on d0 and f0, and Black's start on d9 and f9. Red's advisors carry the character 仕, and Black's carry 士.
How it moves
The advisor moves one point at a time along the diagonal lines of the palace. That leaves it only five points: the four corners of the palace and its centre. The board draws the four diagonal steps, then walks the advisor through all five points.
How it captures
The advisor captures the same way it moves. It takes an enemy piece on the next point along a palace diagonal, as the advisor on d0 takes the horse on e1.
Its limits
Like the general, the advisor may never leave its palace. From d2, its only move is back to e1, because the diagonal steps to c1, c3 and e3 would take it out of the palace. The two advisors are the general's closest defenders: together they guard the centre and the four corners of the palace.
Elephant相 / 象×2
Where it starts
Each side has two elephants, which start next to the advisors. Red's elephants start on c0 and g0, and Black's start on c9 and g9. Red's elephants carry the character 相, and Black's carry 象.
How it moves
The elephant moves exactly two points diagonally, from one corner of a block of four squares to the opposite corner, a shape players often compare with the character 田. Because the elephant stays on its own side, it can reach only seven points. The board draws all eight of its paths, then walks the elephant along each of them.
How it captures
The elephant captures the same way it moves. It takes an enemy piece at the end of its two-point diagonal, as the elephant on e2 takes the horse on c4.
Its limits
The point in the middle of the elephant's path is called the elephant's eye. When any piece stands on the eye, the elephant cannot move that way, and players call this blocking the elephant's eye (塞象眼). Here, the horse on d3 blocks the way from e2 to c4.
The elephant may never cross the river. From c4, it may move back to a2 or e2, but it may not go on to a6 or e6. So elephants, like advisors, defend the general, and a side that has lost both elephants is open to attacks along the ranks in front of its palace.
Horse傌 / 馬×2
Where it starts
Each side has two horses, which start between the chariots and the elephants. Red's horses start on b0 and h0, and Black's start on b9 and h9. Red's horses carry the character 傌, and Black's carry 馬.
How it moves
The horse moves one point along a file or a rank, then one point diagonally outward, so its path has the shape of the character 日. If you play chess, you know this shape from the knight. From the middle of the board a horse can reach eight points, and the board draws all eight paths before the horse makes four jumps.
How it captures
The horse captures the same way it moves. It takes an enemy piece at the end of its path, as the horse on e3 takes the chariot on f5.
Its limits
Unlike the knight in chess, the horse cannot jump over pieces. The first point of its path is called the horse's leg, and when any piece stands on the leg, the horse cannot move that way (蹩马腿, blocking the horse's leg). Here, the soldier on e4 blocks the two forward jumps. Blocking a horse is one of the first defensive ideas you will learn.
Chariot俥 / 車×2
Where it starts
Each side has two chariots, which start in the corners of the back rank. Red's chariots start on a0 and i0, and Black's start on a9 and i9. Red's chariots carry the character 俥, and Black's carry 車.
How it moves
The chariot moves any number of points along a file or a rank, as long as no piece stands in its way, like the rook in chess. It is the strongest piece on the board, so most openings try to bring a chariot into play early. The board draws the chariot's lines, then moves it around the board in five slides.
How it captures
The chariot captures the first enemy piece on its line by moving onto it, as the chariot on d4 takes the horse on d7.
Its limits
The chariot cannot jump over any piece. It stops in front of its own pieces, and it cannot go past the first enemy piece on its line. Here, the soldier on g4 keeps the chariot away from h4 and i4, and the horse on d7 keeps it away from d8 and d9.
Cannon炮 / 砲×2
Where it starts
Each side has two cannons, which start two ranks in front of the horses. Red's cannons start on b2 and h2, and Black's start on b7 and h7. Red's cannons carry the character 炮, and Black's carry 砲.
How it moves
When it is not capturing, the cannon moves like the chariot: any number of points along a file or a rank, as long as no piece stands in its way. The board shows four such moves.
How it captures
The cannon captures differently from every other piece. It must jump over exactly one piece, called the screen, and it can then capture only the next piece beyond the screen, and only if that piece is an enemy. The screen may belong to either side, and any number of empty points may lie on either side of it. Here, the cannon jumps over the soldier on b5 and takes the horse on b7.
Its limits
A cannon can capture only when exactly one piece stands between it and the target. With no piece in between, or with two or more, it cannot capture. On the board, the cannon on b2 can take the horse on b6, but it cannot take the chariot on b8 or the soldier on g2. For the same reason, cannons are strong in the crowded opening and weaker in the ending, when few screens are left. If one of your pieces stands between an enemy cannon and another of your pieces, it gives the cannon a screen and exposes that other piece. In the same way, an advisor on the centre of its own palace can give an enemy cannon on the centre file the screen it needs, when nothing else stands between that cannon and the general. While the centre file is open, a defender therefore keeps that point clear.
Soldier兵 / 卒×5
Where it starts
Each side has five soldiers, which stand on every other file. Red's soldiers start on a3, c3, e3, g3 and i3, and Black's start on a6, c6, e6, g6 and i6. Red's soldiers carry the character 兵, and Black's carry 卒.
How it moves
Before it crosses the river, the soldier moves one point straight forward. Once it has crossed, it may also move one point to the left or to the right. The board shows a soldier stepping forward, crossing the river, then moving sideways and forward.
From e5, for example, a soldier that has crossed the river can move forward to e6 or sideways to d5 or f5.
How it captures
The soldier captures the same way it moves. Before the river it can take only a piece straight in front of it, and after the river it can also take a piece beside it, as the soldier on e5 takes the horse on f5.
Its limits
A soldier may never move backward, and before it crosses the river it may not move sideways either. So from e3, its only move is forward to e4.
A soldier never changes into another piece. On the last rank it can no longer move forward, so it can only move sideways, as the soldier on b9 shows. A soldier that advances too early can therefore end up with little to do. Two soldiers that have crossed the river together, on the other hand, make a strong attacking force, because each one protects the other's side.
The rule on facing generals affects every other piece as well. A piece that stands between the generals on an otherwise open file may not leave that file, because the generals would then face each other. On the board, the horse on e4 cannot move at all, since every one of its jumps would leave the generals facing. For the same reason, when one general stands on an open file, the other general may not step onto that file.
Members can learn these rules step by step, with quick checks, in the first-steps lessons: The pieces · How the pieces move
Check and checkmate
When a piece attacks the enemy general, that general is in check, and its player must answer the check at once. You may not make a move that leaves your own general under attack, or a move that leaves the two generals facing each other on an open file. Over the board, players say "check" as a courtesy; online, the position shows the check.
There are five ways to answer a check. The first is to move the general to a point that is not attacked.
The second way is to capture the piece that gives check.
The third way is to put one of your own pieces between the piece that gives check and your general.
The fourth way works only against a cannon. A cannon gives check through exactly one screen, so when that screen is one of your own pieces, you can end the check by moving it off the line.
The fifth way works only against a horse. Put a piece on the horse's leg, the first point of its path, and the horse can no longer reach your general.
When a player is in check and no move answers it, the position is checkmate, and that player loses the game. Checkmate is the aim of every game of xiangqi. On the board, one chariot gives check along the back rank, and the other chariot covers the only point where the general could escape.
Members can learn these rules step by step, with quick checks, in the first-steps lessons: Check, checkmate and draws
Winning and losing
A player who has no legal move on their turn loses the game. In international chess this position is called stalemate and counts as a draw, but in xiangqi the player who cannot move loses. The board shows the case that surprises chess players most: Black's general is not in check, yet Black has no legal move and therefore loses.
A game also ends when a player resigns, or when a player runs out of time in a timed game. A repeated sequence of moves can decide a game too, under the rules in the next section, and those rules settle many games between experienced players.
Perpetual check and perpetual chase
In international chess, a repeated position leads to a draw. Xiangqi treats a repeated sequence differently, because its rules ask which side is forcing the repetition and with which moves. Giving check again and again in a repeating sequence is called perpetual check, and the player who does it loses the game.
Attacking the same unprotected piece again and again in a repeating sequence is called a perpetual chase, and it also loses. The board shows the most common case, a chariot that chases an unprotected horse back and forth. Once the sequence repeats, the side with the chariot must play a different move, or it loses the game.
The rules on repetition use these terms:
- Check
- A check is a move after which the enemy general could be captured on the next move.
- Chase
- A chase is a move after which a piece other than the general could be captured on the next move, although that piece was safe before.
- Threat to mate
- A threat to mate is a move that sets up a forced checkmate on the next move.
- Exchange
- An exchange is a move that offers a piece for an enemy piece of about the same strength.
- Idle
- An idle move is a move that does none of the above.
- Protected
- A piece is protected when it can be recaptured after it is taken. If the recapture would be illegal, the protector is a false protector, and the piece counts as unprotected.
- Perpetual
- A perpetual check, chase or threat is one that is repeated until both sides' moves form a cycle. The Chinese rules count three cycles.
With these terms, the main rules are short. Perpetual check loses, and so does a perpetual chase of an unprotected piece. When both sides give check perpetually, the game is a draw, and a perpetual threat to mate is also a draw.
The rules on chasing have several exceptions. A general may chase perpetually, and so may a soldier, and a soldier that has not crossed the river may be chased perpetually. A perpetual chase of a protected piece is a draw when the protection is real, with one exception: a horse or a cannon may never perpetually chase a chariot, whether the chariot is protected or not. One piece that chases two pieces in turn also produces a draw.
The Chinese competition rules and the Asian rules judge some cases differently, and one example is a sequence that alternates one check with one chase. Under the Asian rules, such a sequence is a draw. The Chinese competition rules list it among the forbidden sequences, so the side that plays it must change its moves or lose.
When is a game drawn?
A game is drawn when both players agree to a draw, or when neither side has enough pieces to force checkmate. It is also drawn when a position repeats, neither side breaks a rule and neither side is willing to change its moves. In tournaments, the Chinese competition rules also draw a game after sixty consecutive moves by each side without a capture, and organisers may shorten this limit for lower-level events.
The same rules forbid a draw offer during the first twenty-five moves. If a repetition without a violation occurs within those twenty-five moves, Red must change its moves, and Red loses if it does not.
How much is each piece worth?
Piece values help you judge an exchange, but they are only a guide. The table measures each piece in soldiers. The values also change during a game: a cannon is worth more while there are many pieces to use as screens, and a horse is worth more once the board has emptied and its legs are free.
| Piece | Value | What changes it |
|---|---|---|
| Chariot 車 | 9 | It is the strongest piece, and two chariots can force checkmate against a general without defenders. |
| Cannon 砲 | 4 | It is stronger early in the game, when many pieces stand on the board to serve as screens, and weaker as the board empties. |
| Horse 馬 | 4 | It is stronger late in the game, when open points leave its legs free. |
| Advisor 士 | 2 | It is a defender, and two advisors together stop most checkmates by cannons. |
| Elephant 象 | 2 | It is a defender, and two elephants together stop most attacks by horses and soldiers. |
| Soldier 兵 | 1, and 2 after crossing the river | On the enemy's palace rank, it is worth almost as much as a horse. |
Two practical points follow from the table. First, trading your horse for an enemy cannon usually helps early in the game, and trading your cannon for an enemy horse usually helps late in the game. Second, count the defenders before you count material, because a lone chariot normally cannot win against a full set of two advisors and two elephants.
Reading move notation
The simplest way to write a move gives the point where it starts and the point where it ends. In this coordinate form, which game files use, h2e2 means that the piece on h2 moves to e2. From the starting position, h2e2 moves Red's right-hand cannon to the centre file. The coordinate form names neither the piece nor the direction, and it reads the same for both players.
The letter form, which the move lists on this site use, gives each piece a letter. K stands for the general, A for the advisor, E for the elephant, H for the horse, R for the chariot, C for the cannon and P for the soldier. Red's letters are capitals and Black's are lower case, so a move list shows at a glance which side made each move. You may also see G used for the general and S for the soldier.
A move in the letter form has four parts: the piece's letter, the file where the piece stands (counted from the right of the player who moves), a sign and a number. For example, C2=5 means that the cannon on file 2 moves sideways to file 5.
The sign + means forward, - means back and = means sideways. After =, the number is the file where the piece arrives. After + or -, the number is how many points a piece that moves in a straight line travels, or the arrival file of a horse, an elephant or an advisor, which move diagonally. For example, H2+3 means that the horse on file 2 moves forward to file 3.
Black also counts the files from its own right, and it writes its moves in lower case. For example, Black's cannon that moves from b7 to e7 stands on Black's file 2, so the move is written c2=5.
When two identical pieces stand on the same file, the sign + marks the front piece and - marks the rear piece, in place of the file number. For two chariots on one file, the moves are written +R+2 and -R+2.
When three or more soldiers stand on the same file, the World Xiangqi Federation's notation numbers them from the front, and the number takes the place of the letter. For example, 15+1 means that the front soldier on file 5 steps forward.
Traditional notation writes the same moves in characters: the piece, the file where it stands, an action and a number. For example, 炮二平五 reads "the cannon on file 2 moves sideways to file 5". The actions are advance (进), retreat (退) and sideways (平), and the numbers work as in the letter form. Two identical pieces on one file are told apart as front (前) and rear (后). Red counts the files with Chinese numerals, and Black counts them with Arabic numerals.
One move can therefore have several names. Red's cannon move from h2 to e2 is h2e2 in coordinates, C2=5 in the letter form and 炮二平五 in Chinese. Game records on this site show every move on the board and in the notation of the language you choose, so reading notation helps but is not required. The notation guide explains the same forms in more detail.
Members can learn these rules step by step, with quick checks, in the first-steps lessons: Writing moves
How does a game usually begin?
Most games open with 炮二平五 (C2=5 in the letter form that this site uses). Red's cannon moves to the centre file to aim at the soldier in front of the enemy general, which no black piece defends at the start of the game. The usual reply is 馬8進7 (h8+7), in which a horse moves up to protect that soldier. These two moves show how an opening works: one side attacks a point that is hard to defend, and the other side brings out the pieces that defend it.
After these moves the same pattern continues. Each side develops a horse, and moving the horse opens the back rank so that the chariot beside it can come into play. The side whose chariot reaches an open file first usually takes the initiative. If you want to see more, the Central Cannon guide plays the first twelve moves on an animated board, and the notation guide shows how to read them.
Over the board
Three conventions of over-the-board play do not apply online, but every club player is expected to know them. First, if you touch one of your own pieces you must move it, and if you touch an enemy piece you must capture it, whenever the move is legal. Second, formal play allows no takebacks. Third, you announce check as a courtesy.
Start a game
The board highlights the legal moves, so you cannot make an illegal move. Members also get the five first-steps lessons and the drills. The lessons teach the board, the pieces and their moves, check and how a game ends, and notation, one board at a time, and each lesson ends with quick checks. In the drills, members practise each piece on a live board.