Xiangqi and chess, compared
If you play chess and are learning xiangqi, this page is for you. It compares the two games piece by piece, explains how a game ends and points out the chess habits that cost newcomers games. Most historians trace both games to the Indian game chaturanga, so several pieces will look familiar. The chariot moves exactly as the rook does, and the horse, the elephant and the soldier resemble the knight, the bishop and the pawn, although each has limits that its chess counterpart lacks. The cannon captures by jumping over exactly one piece, which no chess piece does. The games also end differently: in xiangqi, a player who has no legal move loses.
How is the board different?
A chess board has sixty-four squares in eight files and eight ranks, and each piece stands inside a square. A xiangqi board has nine vertical lines, called files, and ten horizontal lines, called ranks. Its pieces stand on the ninety points where these lines cross.
Two markings on the xiangqi board have no counterpart in chess. A river runs across the middle: the elephants may never cross it, and a soldier that has crossed it may also move sideways. At each end there is a palace, a square three files wide and three ranks deep, marked with two diagonal lines. The general and its two advisors may never leave it.
Each side starts with sixteen pieces, of seven kinds in xiangqi and six in chess. From each corner of the back rank inward, the chariot, the horse and the elephant stand in the same order as the rook, the knight and the bishop. In the middle, where chess puts its king and queen, the general stands between its two advisors. The two cannons stand two points in front of the horses, and the five soldiers stand on alternate files, one rank further forward.
The diagram shows the chess starting position, with no arrows or marks. White's rooks stand on a1 and h1, its knights on b1 and g1, its bishops on c1 and f1, its queen on d1, its king on e1 and its eight pawns on the second rank. Black's pieces stand on the same files of the eighth and seventh ranks.
The chariot and the rook
You already know this piece. The chariot moves any number of points along a file or a rank, as long as no piece stands in its way, exactly as the rook does. Both pieces capture by moving onto an enemy piece.
The chariot is the strongest piece in xiangqi, so the usual advice for the opening is to bring at least one chariot into play early and to place it on an open file or rank. Players count xiangqi material on a scale of approximate values, with the soldier as the unit, and on that scale the chariot is worth 9 points. A chariot is generally stronger than any two of the minor pieces, which are the horses and the cannons. The best-known chess scale counts in pawns and gives the rook 5 points and the queen 9.
A white rook stands on d4, and arrows run from it to d8, d1, a4 and h4. The arrows show that the rook can move any distance along the d-file and along the fourth rank.
The horse and the knight
The horse moves in the same shape as the knight: one point along a file or a rank, then one point diagonally outward. The difference is that a horse can be blocked. The first point of its path is called the horse's leg, and when any piece stands on it, the horse cannot move in that direction. The knight jumps over the pieces next to it, so nothing can block it in this way.
In the chess diagram, pawns stand on the four squares directly in front of, beside and behind the knight, and the knight can still reach all eight of its squares. Surround a horse in the same way, with a piece on each of the four points next to it, and it cannot move at all.
The horse is worth 4 points on the xiangqi scale, and the knight is worth 3 on the chess scale. Early in the game the cannon is usually the stronger of the two, because the many pieces on the board often block the horse. In the endgame, the horse becomes the stronger attacker.
A white knight stands on d4, with white pawns on d5, c4, e4 and d3 directly in front of, beside and behind it. Dots mark the knight's eight squares, b3, b5, c2, c6, e2, e6, f3 and f5, and an arrow from d4 to e6 shows the knight jumping over the pawns.
The elephant and the bishop
The elephant moves exactly two points diagonally, and it may never cross the river. When any piece stands on the point in the middle of its path, called the elephant's eye, the elephant cannot move in that direction. With its fixed step and the river, an elephant can reach only seven points on the whole board. The bishop moves any distance along a diagonal while no piece stands in its way, so one move can take it from one side of the board to the other.
Both pieces are thought to descend from the elephant of early Indian chess, which also moved two squares diagonally, and the bishop gained its longer move later. In xiangqi the elephant is a defender, worth 2 points on the xiangqi scale, while the bishop is worth 3 on the chess scale.
A white bishop stands on d4, and arrows run from it to h8, a1, a7 and g1. The arrows show that the bishop can move any distance along both diagonals through d4.
The general, the advisors, the king and the queen
The general moves one point along a file or a rank, and each advisor moves one point along a diagonal line of the palace. Neither may leave the palace, so the general can use only nine points and an advisor only five. The chess king steps to any adjoining square, diagonals included, and it may go anywhere on the board. It can also castle with a rook, and xiangqi has no such move.
Xiangqi has no queen. In chess the queen is the strongest piece: it moves any distance along a file, a rank or a diagonal, and it is worth 9 points on the chess scale. The advisor and the queen probably descend from the same piece of chaturanga, the mantri. The advisor, though, moves only one point at a time, never leaves the palace and is worth 2 points on the xiangqi scale.
The two generals may never face each other on the same file with no piece between them, and a move that leaves them facing is illegal. So when a general stands on an open file, the other general may not step onto that file, and a piece that stands alone between the two generals may not leave it. You know the opposition of the kings from chess endgames, but the two generals can never come close enough to each other for it. In the xiangqi endgame, the rule against facing generals does the same job, because it lets one general restrict the other.
A white queen stands on d4, with arrows to d8, h8, h4 and a1, and a white king stands on g1, with dots on f1, f2, g2, h2 and h1. The arrows show that the queen moves any distance along a file, a rank or a diagonal, and the dots show the squares that the king can reach in one step.
The soldier and the pawn
A soldier moves one point straight forward, and it captures the same way, by moving onto an enemy piece on the point in front of it. Your pawn moves forward like this too, and it has three moves that the soldier lacks: the double step on its first move, the diagonal capture and the en passant capture.
Once a soldier has crossed the river, it may also step one point sideways, but it may never move backwards. A soldier never promotes, so one that reaches the last rank can only move sideways along it. A pawn that reaches the last rank must at once become a queen, a rook, a bishop or a knight.
The five soldiers start two files apart, so they rarely protect one another before the endgame, while chess pawns often protect each other in chains. Crossing the river raises a soldier's value: on the xiangqi scale it is worth 1 point before it crosses and 2 after. A pawn is worth 1 on the chess scale.
White pawns stand on e2, d5 and g7, and a black pawn stands on e6. An arrow from e2 to e4 shows the double step, and a dot on e3 marks the single step. An arrow from d5 to e6 shows the diagonal capture, and an arrow from g7 to g8 shows promotion, with rings marking e6 and g8.
How does the cannon capture?
No chess piece captures the way the cannon does. 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. To capture, it must jump over exactly one piece, called the screen, and take the first piece beyond it, provided that this piece is an enemy piece. The screen may belong to either side.
The chess diagram shows the difference. The rook on a4 can capture the knight on d4, but it cannot reach the bishop on f4, because the knight stands in its way. A cannon on a4 could not capture the knight, since no piece stands between them, but it could capture the bishop by jumping over the knight.
A check from a cannon gives you one more answer than chess does: when the screen is one of your own pieces, moving that piece off the line ends the check. On the xiangqi scale the cannon is worth 4 points, the same as the horse. It is usually the stronger of the two early in the game, when there are many pieces to use as screens, and in the endgame it is generally the better defender.
A white rook stands on a4, with a black knight on d4 and a black bishop on f4 on the same rank. An arrow from a4 to d4 shows that the rook can capture the knight, and dots on b4 and c4 mark empty squares that it can reach. A cross on f4 shows that it cannot reach the bishop, which a cannon on a4 could capture by jumping over the knight.
How does a game end?
Checkmate wins in both games. The two games differ when the player to move is not in check and has no legal move. In chess this is stalemate, and the game is drawn; in xiangqi, the player who cannot move loses. Because a stalemate wins for the side that gives it, most of the known drawn endgames in xiangqi are fortresses, positions that the stronger side cannot break into.
In the chess diagram, the black king on h8 is not in check, but the white king and queen cover g8, g7 and h7. Black has no legal move, so the game is drawn. On the xiangqi board, Black's general is not in check either, but Black cannot move and so loses.
Repetition is treated differently too. In xiangqi the player who gives perpetual check loses, and so does a player who keeps chasing an unprotected piece, unless the chasing piece is the general or a soldier. In chess, perpetual check leads to a draw, since a player may claim one when the same position occurs for the third time. Chess also has the fifty-move rule: a player may claim a draw after 50 moves by each player without a capture or a pawn move.
Black is to move, with the black king on h8, the white king on f7 and the white queen on g6. Crosses on g8, g7 and h7 mark the squares that the black king cannot enter. The king is not in check and has no legal move, so the position is stalemate, which is a draw in chess.
What the archive shows
The archive on Xiangqi Arena holds 29,164 games between human players. Of these, 12,003 are dated games from Chinese national events held between 1990 and 2008, and the others are undated master games.
Red, who moves first, wins 37% of these games, Black wins 26%, and 36% are drawn. The average game lasts about 43 moves by each side. These are games between strong players, so the figures describe play at a high level, and your casual games may give different figures. Once you know the rules, replaying a few of these games is a good next step.
Advice for chess players
Much of what you know from chess carries over to xiangqi, for example the value of open files and of the initiative. Forks, pins and discovered attacks all occur in xiangqi as well. Some xiangqi pins have no equivalent in chess: a cannon can pin two pieces at once, and a horse or a general can also pin.
Three chess habits cost newcomers games. The first is counting material without the advisors and the elephants: they are worth only 2 points each, but a side that has lost them is open to attack, and a lone chariot generally cannot win against two advisors and two elephants. The second is forgetting that a cannon attacks only through a screen, which makes you misjudge which pieces are safe. The third is looking for stalemate or perpetual check to save a lost position, since in xiangqi both of them lead to a loss.
The rules in one table
The table sets out the main rules of both games side by side. Where the site's rules differ from the official ones, as they do for the no-capture draw, it gives the site's rule. It will not make you a strong player, but it is a quick place to check a rule during your first games.
| Aspect | Xiangqi | International chess |
|---|---|---|
| The board | 90 points where 9 files and 10 ranks cross | 64 squares, 8 files by 8 ranks |
| Pieces per side | 16, of 7 kinds | 16, of 6 kinds |
| The general and the king | Stays inside a palace of 3 by 3 points; the two generals may never face each other on an open file | Moves one square in any direction, may go anywhere on the board and can castle with a rook |
| Promotion | None; a soldier that has crossed the river may also move sideways | A pawn on the last rank becomes a queen, a rook, a bishop or a knight |
| Jumping | The cannon jumps over exactly one piece to capture; a piece on the horse's leg blocks the horse | The knight jumps, and nothing can block it |
| No legal move | The player who cannot move loses | Stalemate, which is a draw |
| Perpetual check | The player who gives it loses | A draw by repetition, which a player may claim |
| Answering a check | Move the general, capture, block, move the cannon's screen away or block the horse's leg | Move the king, capture or block |
| No-capture draw | On this site, 30 moves by each side (60 in all) without a capture | A draw may be claimed after 50 moves by each player without a capture or a pawn move |
| Notation | Piece, file, direction and a number, as in 炮二平五 | Piece and destination square, as in Nf3 |
Your first game of xiangqi
An account is free, and with one you can play a rated game against another player or a game against the computer. A few games against the computer are a good way to get used to the cannon and to the new ways a game can end. If you want to learn the rules first, the how-to-play page explains them one at a time, each with its own board.