Chinese Chess (Xiangqi)

How to play Chinese Chess

Chinese Chess, or Xiangqi, is played on a board of 9 lines by 10 lines. The pieces stand on the points where lines cross, not inside the squares. A river splits the board in the middle, and each side has a palace: the 3×3 box marked with an X. Red moves first, then the players take turns.

Goal

Trap the enemy general so it cannot escape attack. This is checkmate and wins the game. In Chinese Chess you also win if your opponent has no legal move at all, even when the general is not attacked.

How the pieces move

• General (K): one point up, down, left or right, and it must stay inside the palace. The two generals may never face each other on the same line with nothing between them.
• Advisor (A): one point diagonally, inside the palace only.
• Elephant (E): exactly two points diagonally. It cannot cross the river, and it is blocked if the point in between is taken.
• Horse (H): one point straight, then one point diagonally outward. If the first point is taken, the horse is blocked.
• Chariot (R): any number of points in a straight line, like a rook in chess. It is the strongest piece.
• Cannon (C): moves like a chariot, but to capture it must jump over exactly one piece of any colour.
• Soldier (P): one point forward. After crossing the river it may also step left or right. It never moves back.

Turn by turn

1. Tap one of your pieces. Glowing dots show where it can go.
2. Tap a dot to move. If an enemy piece is there, it is captured and leaves the board.
3. You may never make a move that leaves your own general in check.

End of the game

The game ends with checkmate, or when the player to move has no legal move. On this site the game is a draw if the same position appears three times, or after 60 moves by each side with no capture. Can't read the Chinese characters? Press Letters to show K, A, E, H, R, C and P instead. You may also like Chess.

Strategy tips

• Get your chariots out early. Chariots are worth about as much as a horse and a cannon together. Open a file for them in the first few moves.
• Use the central cannon. Moving a cannon to the middle file at once is the most popular opening. It aims straight at the enemy general.
• Watch the horse's leg. Place a piece next to an enemy horse to block it. Keep your own horses on open points.
• Cannons need screens. A cannon is strong when the board is full and weak in the endgame. Trade cannons late and keep horses.
• Guard the palace. Keep both advisors and elephants as long as you can. Without them, a lone chariot or horse can quickly checkmate your general.
• Use the facing-generals rule. Your general can pin enemy pieces on its file, because the generals may not see each other.