Board and setup
Nine files and ten ranks; Red moves first. Pieces sit on intersections.
Traditional / XIANGQI
Xiangqi
Guard your general and command rooks, horses and cannons across the river.
Also known as: Chinese Chess
A two-player strategy game built around protecting your general. Read the board, manoeuvre your pieces, and look for the chance to strike.
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XIANGQIABOUT THE GAME
About the game
Xiangqi builds a distinctly Chinese board-game culture around the river boundary, the general and the soldiers. Its early origins are told several different ways; the World Xiangqi Federation’s own introductory material notes that the game’s modern form had taken shape by the Song dynasty at the latest.
Pieces move along the lines of the board, and attack and defence revolve around the general; the river boundary also makes the two opposing armies especially easy to read at a glance. Today xiangqi is both a widely played traditional game and a recognised international mind sport.
Reference：www.wxf-xiangqi.org ↗
Rules
Xiangqi — How to play
Youzai Board Game Club — The server implementation governs play here; tournament and other site rules may differ.
Making a move
Rooks move straight, horses move in an L, and cannons jump exactly one screen to capture. Soldiers may move sideways after crossing the river.
Winning and draws
Checkmate or leave the opponent with no legal move to win.
Rules on this site
Your general may not remain in check or face the enemy general directly. Repetition and 120 half-moves without a capture follow this server’s rules.
Helpful examples
- The general moves one point orthogonally inside the palace; the advisor moves one point diagonally inside the palace; the elephant moves two points diagonally, cannot cross the river, and is blocked whenever its eye point is occupied.
- The horse makes an L-shaped move and is blocked if its leg point is occupied; the chariot slides orthogonally and stops when it meets a piece.
- The cannon slides orthogonally like a chariot when not capturing; to capture, exactly one piece must sit between it and the target. A soldier can only advance before crossing the river; after crossing it may also move sideways, but never backward.
Complete beginner guide
Playing Xiangqi for the first time? Start here
Read these steps in order to complete your first game. This guide combines public rules with this site’s server implementation; where versions differ, this site’s ruling applies.
Know the board
The board has nine files and ten ranks, and pieces sit on intersections. The open centre is the river; each end has a 3×3 palace marked by diagonals. Red starts at the bottom and moves first.
Set up the pieces
Each side has 16 pieces: one general, two advisors, two elephants, two horses, two chariots, two cannons and five soldiers. The back rank is chariot, horse, elephant, advisor and general, mirrored on the other side. The site sets them up automatically.
Move and capture
Select one of your pieces, then a legal destination. An empty point means a move; an opposing piece is captured and removed. Except for a capturing cannon, pieces cannot pass through blockers, and no move may leave your general under attack.
General and advisors
The general moves one point orthogonally inside the palace. Advisors move one point diagonally and also stay inside it. The two generals may never face each other on the same file without a piece between them.
Elephants and horses
An elephant moves exactly two points diagonally, cannot cross the river and is blocked when its intermediate “eye” is occupied. A horse makes an L-shaped move, but cannot move in a direction when its adjacent “leg” point is blocked.
Chariots and cannons
A chariot slides any distance horizontally or vertically without jumping. A cannon moves the same way when not capturing; to capture, exactly one piece—the screen—must stand between the cannon and its target.
Soldiers
A soldier moves one point. Before crossing the river it only moves forward; afterward it may move forward or sideways. It never moves backward or diagonally and does not promote on the last rank.
What check means
You give check when your move leaves a piece able to capture the enemy general next. The defender must move the general, capture the attacker or block its line. If every reply is illegal, it is checkmate.
Winning and drawing
Checkmate wins. This site also treats stalemate as a loss: a player with no legal move loses even when not in check. Resignation, timeout or abandonment can end the game, while an agreed draw is a draw.
Repetition on this site
On the third occurrence of a position, the server checks whether only one side has continually checked or chased. That side may lose; other repetitions are normally drawn. A draw also occurs after 120 half-moves without a capture.
Advice for your first game
Develop horses and cannons, then bring the chariots out of the corners. Before every move, check whether your general is safe, what the opponent can capture next, and whether you can check or capture. A highlighted legal move is not necessarily strategically safe.
Common mistakes
A cannon needs a screen only when capturing. A blocked horse leg or elephant eye stops that move. Elephants cannot cross the river, soldiers cannot retreat, check must be answered, and moving a blocker may not expose the two generals to each other.
General rules reference：www.wxf-xiangqi.org ↗