Xiangqi (Chinese Chess)

Play xiangqi online with a friend on one phone, or against a computer — every illegal move explains itself

👥 1-2 players🎲 Board & Puzzle⚡ No download · No sign-up

🕹️ How to play

How to start a game of xiangqi: The page opens on game 1 with the pieces already set up, Red at the bottom and to move. Tap a red piece: it lifts and every legal destination gets a dot, every capturable enemy piece a ring. Tap a dot to move there — landing on an enemy piece captures it. There is no start button and no account; tap the “vs CPU” chip to play the computer instead.
Why a move is refused: An illegal tap never moves anything or passes the turn. Instead the river band tells you why — the horse's leg is blocked, the elephant's eye is blocked, elephants cannot cross the river, the general must stay in the palace, a cannon needs exactly one piece to jump when capturing, the generals would face each other, or you are in check — and the piece in the way is circled. Each piece also carries a corner letter (K A E H R C P) so you can learn the characters.
Playing face to face on one phone: Lay the phone flat between you. The far player's pieces and panel face them, and the panel of whoever is to move lights up. Undo, hint, draw and resign sit on each player's own panel; undo and draw offers need the other player to press Accept. You can turn the far-side facing off in Settings if you prefer to pass the phone.
How a game is won: Checkmate the opposing general to win. A player who is not in check but has no legal move also loses (stalemate is a loss in xiangqi, unlike chess). The result card shows the winner, how the game ended and the mating pattern, the move count and captures, and the match score; you can replay the game move by move or undo and continue. Play again swaps colours.

📖 Rules & variants

Board and setup: the board has 9 files and 10 ranks and pieces stand on the intersections. The river divides the two halves and each side has a palace marked with diagonals. Red's back rank holds chariot, horse, elephant, advisor, general, advisor, elephant, horse, chariot; the cannons stand on the third rank and five soldiers on the fourth. Black mirrors this. Red moves first. Coordinates use ICCS notation: files a–i from Red's left, ranks 0–9 from Red's side.

How the pieces move: the General (K) steps one point orthogonally inside the palace; Advisors (A) step one point diagonally inside the palace; Elephants (E) move exactly two points diagonally, cannot jump the middle point and never cross the river; the Horse (H) moves one point straight then one diagonally, and is blocked if the adjacent point is occupied; the Chariot (R) moves any distance in a straight line; the Cannon (C) moves like a chariot but captures only by jumping exactly one piece; Soldiers (P) move one point forward and may also move sideways after crossing the river.

Check and the flying general: a move may never leave your own general attacked, and when you are in check only moves that answer it are allowed. The two generals may never face each other on an open file — so the last piece between them is pinned. This page simply refuses such moves and names the reason.

Winning, losing and draws: checkmate wins, and so does leaving the opponent with no legal move (stalemate). Resigning concedes. Draws happen by agreement, or automatically after 400 plies. Perpetual check loses: if the same position repeats with one side checking on every move, that side is warned on the second repetition and loses on the third. Other repetitions, and 60 moves without a capture, only suggest offering a draw. Formal tournament rules on perpetual chasing are not enforced here.

Take-backs, hints and handicaps: in two-player mode a take-back needs the opponent's consent (switchable for teaching); against the computer take-backs are unlimited. Hint suggests one move. For uneven players you can remove one or two of a side's horses; Red still moves first. There is no clock.

Notation: the move list uses WXF notation — piece letter, file counted from the mover's right, then + (forward), - (backward) or = (sideways) and the steps or destination file, e.g. C2=5 or H8+7. When two identical pieces share a file they are written +C and -C (front and rear).

Three diagrams for the key rules

Hobbling the horse: from b0 the horse cannot reach d1 because c0 (its leg) is occupied; it can only go to a2 or c2.

Flying general: only the soldier on e5 separates the two generals, so it may not step sideways — that move is simply not allowed.

Double-cannon mate: Red stacks both cannons on the centre file; the rear cannon jumps the front one and Black's general has nowhere to go.

❓ FAQ

How do you play xiangqi for beginners?

Xiangqi is won by checkmating the enemy general, with Red moving first and each piece following its own rule. Generals and advisors stay in the palace, elephants never cross the river, horses can be blocked, cannons jump to capture and soldiers go sideways only after the river. This board marks every legal move and explains any refused one, so you can learn while you play.

What are the xiangqi pieces and how do they move?

There are seven xiangqi pieces: general, advisor, elephant, horse, chariot, cannon and soldier. The chariot is the strongest, moving like a rook; the horse moves like a knight but can be blocked at its first step; the cannon moves like a rook yet captures by jumping exactly one piece. Each disc here keeps its Chinese character plus a letter mark K A E H R C P.

What is the flying general rule in Chinese chess?

The flying general rule says the two generals may never face each other on the same file with nothing between them. Any move that would open that line is illegal, which makes the last piece between them pinned. This page blocks such a move and shows “The two generals would face each other”.

Is stalemate a win or a draw in xiangqi?

Stalemate is a win in xiangqi: the player who has no legal move loses, even when not in check. That is the biggest difference from western chess, where stalemate is a draw. This board stamps a stalemate seal and awards the win to the player who made the last move.

Does perpetual check lose in xiangqi?

Yes, perpetual check loses in xiangqi: a player who keeps checking so that the same position repeats is not allowed to force a draw that way. Here the checking side is warned on the second repetition and loses on the third; ordinary repetitions only suggest a draw offer.

Can I play Chinese chess against the computer on easy?

Yes — pick the Rookie level, which grabs pieces greedily and often misses your reply, so a new player can win. Club looks two or three moves ahead and Master searches deeper for mates. Hints and unlimited take-backs are available against the computer, and the computer can give horse odds.

Last updated: 2026-09-29 · Saved on this device only