What is xiangqi?
Xiangqi is the game most people mean by “Chinese chess”. It is the most popular board game in China, with clubs and leagues around the world.
It will feel familiar if you play chess: two armies, a king-like piece to trap, rooks and knights. But several things are different. The pieces stand on the points where lines cross, not inside squares. A river runs across the middle of the board. The general cannot leave a small “palace”. And there is a piece chess doesn’t have at all: the cannon, which captures by jumping.
Most historians think xiangqi and chess share a common ancestor; see history below.
The board and starting position
Red (bottom) and Black (top). Pieces are traditional discs marked with Chinese characters.
- 9 files and 10 ranks of lines, giving 90 points. Pieces stand on the points.
- The river runs between the fifth and sixth ranks. It is usually labelled 楚河 漢界.
- Two palaces: the 3×3 boxes marked with diagonals at each end. The general and advisors must stay inside.
- Set-up: chariots, horses, elephants, advisors and the general along the back line; cannons on the third line; five soldiers on alternate points of the fourth.
The two sides are usually red and black. In modern tournaments Red moves first. From the starting position, Red has exactly 44 legal moves, more than double the 20 available in chess; we counted them with the move generator built for this page.
How the pieces move
Pick a piece to see where it can go. Dots mark the points it can move to; a ring marks a capture; a cross marks a point it is blocked from reaching.
General 帥 / 將
One point up, down, left or right, and never out of the palace (the 3×3 box marked with diagonals).
From the palace centre: 4 moves. In a whole game it can only ever stand on 9 points.
Advisor 仕 / 士
One point diagonally, and also confined to the palace. Advisors guard the general and never leave home.
From the centre: 4 moves. It can only ever use 5 points.
Elephant 相 / 象
Exactly two points diagonally. It cannot jump: a piece on the point in between (“the elephant’s eye”) blocks it. It can never cross the river.
4 moves. It can only ever reach 7 points.
A soldier on f3 blocks the way to g4: 3 moves.
Horse 傌 / 馬
One point straight, then one point diagonally outward. Unlike a chess knight it can be blocked: a piece next to it on the first step “hobbles the horse’s leg”.
8 moves, like a knight.
A piece on e5 blocks both forward moves: 6 left.
Chariot 俥 / 車
Any distance along a line, exactly like a rook. It is the strongest piece in xiangqi.
17 moves on an empty board (8 + 9 lines).
Cannon 炮 / 砲
Moves like a chariot, but to capture it must jump over exactly one piece (the “screen”), of either colour.
It captures the horse on b8 by jumping its own soldier on b5. The black soldier on e2 is safe: there is no screen.
Soldier 兵 / 卒
One point forward. Once it has crossed the river it may also move one point sideways. It never moves backward and never promotes.
At home (c3): 1 move. Across the river (g6): 3.
| Piece | Per side | How it moves |
|---|---|---|
| General 帥 / 將 | 1 | One point up, down, left or right, and never out of the palace (the 3×3 box marked with diagonals). |
| Advisor 仕 / 士 | 2 | One point diagonally, and also confined to the palace. Advisors guard the general and never leave home. |
| Elephant 相 / 象 | 2 | Exactly two points diagonally. It cannot jump: a piece on the point in between (“the elephant’s eye”) blocks it. It can never cross the river. |
| Horse 傌 / 馬 | 2 | One point straight, then one point diagonally outward. Unlike a chess knight it can be blocked: a piece next to it on the first step “hobbles the horse’s leg”. |
| Chariot 俥 / 車 | 2 | Any distance along a line, exactly like a rook. It is the strongest piece in xiangqi. |
| Cannon 炮 / 砲 | 2 | Moves like a chariot, but to capture it must jump over exactly one piece (the “screen”), of either colour. |
| Soldier 兵 / 卒 | 5 | One point forward. Once it has crossed the river it may also move one point sideways. It never moves backward and never promotes. |
Characters: Red / Black. Many sets use the same character for both sides of some pieces. Moves follow the rules summarised by Wikipedia and World Mind Games (World Xiangqi Federation rule set); every diagram was generated by our move generator and checked.
Special rules that make xiangqi different
The flying general
The horse on e5 is the only thing between the generals. Every one of its moves would leave them facing, so it cannot move.
The two generals may never face each other on the same file with nothing between them. Any move that would leave them facing is illegal, just like moving into check. In effect each general “attacks” straight down the file.
This creates a kind of pin. In the diagram, the red horse is the only piece between the generals. It would normally have 8 moves, but every one of them leaves the e-file and exposes the generals, so it has 0 legal moves. Strong players use the rule actively, for example to stop the enemy general from stepping onto a file.
No perpetual check or perpetual chase
In chess, giving check forever is a way to force a draw. In xiangqi it is forbidden: the player who keeps checking must change their move or lose. Perpetually chasing an unprotected piece is also forbidden (Wikipedia; WXF rules summary). The full repetition rules are notoriously detailed: the World Xiangqi Federation’s manual spends four pages on the rules and about 60 pages on example diagrams.
No promotion, castling or en passant
Soldiers never turn into other pieces; instead, they become more mobile after crossing the river. There is no castling, because the general lives in the palace, and no double-step pawn move.
How to win: checkmate or stalemate
Black’s general is not in check but every move is illegal. In chess this is a draw; in xiangqi, Black loses.
You win by checkmate, as in chess: the enemy general is attacked and cannot escape.
You also win if your opponent has no legal move, even if their general is not in check. Stalemate, a draw in chess, is a loss for the stalemated side in xiangqi (World Mind Games). In the diagram, Black’s general could only go to d9, f9 or e8: the chariots on d6 and f6 cover d9 and f9, and the soldier on e7 covers e8. We checked the position with our move generator: Black has 0 legal moves and is not in check.
Games can also end by resignation or by agreement, and the repetition rules above can decide a game.
How to play Chinese chess: first steps
- Learn the board. Remember that pieces sit on points, and find the river and the two palaces.
- Learn the pieces in this order: chariot (easy, it’s a rook), soldier, horse (watch the blocking rule), cannon (the screen rule), then the defensive trio: elephant, advisor, general.
- Play a few games. A classic first move for Red is moving a cannon to the central file, aiming at the enemy palace.
- Guard the centre file. Many quick wins in xiangqi come from cannons and chariots on the central file attacking the general.
- Keep your defenders. Advisors and elephants look weak, but losing them leaves your general exposed.
Xiangqi vs chess: the key differences
| Chess | Xiangqi | |
|---|---|---|
| Board | 8×8 squares (64) | 9×10 points (90), with a river and two palaces |
| Pieces per side | 16 | 16 |
| Who moves first | White | Red |
| King | Moves anywhere, one square | General is confined to its 3×3 palace |
| Kings facing | Allowed | Forbidden (“flying general”) |
| Queen | Yes, the strongest piece | None |
| Unique pieces | — | Cannon (captures by jumping), advisor |
| Knight / horse | Jumps, cannot be blocked | Can be blocked |
| Pawn promotion | Yes | No; soldiers gain a sideways move after the river |
| Stalemate | Draw | Loss for the stalemated side |
| Perpetual check | Draw | Loss for the checking side |
| Castling, en passant | Yes | No |
For chess players, the hardest adjustments are usually the cannon, which captures in a way no chess piece does, and the fact that a blocked horse can’t jump. Learning one game helps with the other: calculation, tactics and endgame technique all carry over. More chess relatives: chess variants.
A short history of xiangqi
- The name xiangqi appears in Chinese texts from the first century BC, but those texts don’t describe the rules, so it is unclear whether it was the same game.
- The earliest description of rules recognisably like the modern game comes from the Tang dynasty, and by the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) the game was described as essentially the same as today.
- Historians debate its origin. The predominant view, argued by H. J. R. Murray, is that xiangqi developed from the Indian game chaturanga, like chess; some Chinese historians hold that it originated in China (Wikipedia). See who invented chess for the chess side of the story.
- Today it is played competitively under bodies including the World Xiangqi Federation, the Asian Xiangqi Federation, which awards grandmaster titles, and the Chinese Xiangqi Association.
FAQ
What is Chinese chess?
Chinese chess, or xiangqi, is a two-player strategy game from China. It is played on a 9×10 grid of points with a “river” across the middle, and each side has 16 pieces: a general, two advisors, two elephants, two horses, two chariots, two cannons and five soldiers. You win by checkmating or stalemating the enemy general.
What is Chinese chess called?
In Chinese it is called xiangqi (象棋; in pinyin, xiàngqí). In English it is usually just called Chinese chess.
How do you play Chinese chess?
Red moves first and the players alternate, moving one piece per turn along the lines of the board. Each piece has its own move: the chariot moves like a rook, the horse like a blockable knight, the cannon captures by jumping a screen, and the general and advisors stay in their palace. Checkmate or stalemate the enemy general to win.
Is Chinese chess the same as chess?
No. Both descend from an ancient common ancestor, most historians believe, but xiangqi has a different board, no queen, a cannon, a palace for the general, and different rules for stalemate and perpetual check.
Is xiangqi harder than chess?
Neither is simply harder. Xiangqi games tend to be more open and tactical early, because the board has fewer pieces blocking lines, while chess has more complex pawn structures. Both take years to master.
Why is stalemate a loss in xiangqi?
The rule is simply defined that way: the side that cannot move loses. It makes cornering a lone general a standard winning technique.
What does the river do?
Elephants cannot cross it, and soldiers gain the ability to move sideways once they have crossed it. Other pieces ignore it.
Where can I play xiangqi online?
Several free sites and apps offer xiangqi against people and computers, including PyChess, which supports xiangqi alongside other variants.
Sources and how we checked
- Xiangqi, Wikipedia: board, pieces, moves, perpetual-check rules, history and governing bodies.
- World Mind Games, Xiangqi: how to play Chinese chess, summarising the World Xiangqi Federation rule set.
- “Complete Implementation of WXF Chinese Chess Rules” (arXiv, 2024), on the WXF repetition rules; PyChess xiangqi guide.
- How we checked: we wrote a xiangqi move generator for this page (palace, river, elephant eye, horse leg, cannon screen, flying general). It confirms 32 pieces and 44 legal first moves for each side in the starting position, the general/advisor/elephant ranges (9, 5 and 7 points), and every move shown in the diagrams, including the stalemate and flying-general positions.