How to Play Xiangqi

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Xiangqi, widely known in English as Chinese Chess, is a two-player strategy board game played on a grid of 9 columns and 10 rows. Each player controls 16 pieces of distinct types, each with its own movement rules, and the goal is to trap the opponent's General beyond any means of escape. The game rewards both tactical sharpness and long-range positional thinking.

Xiangqi is one of the most widely played board games in the world, with a particularly strong following across China, Vietnam, and South-East Asian communities globally. It is commonly played in parks, community centres, and online, attracting players of all ages. Its relatively simple equipment and fast-moving middle game make it accessible to newcomers while offering serious depth to experienced players.

A little history

Xiangqi is documented in Chinese texts from at least the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 CE), and references to pieces resembling those used today appear in sources from the Song dynasty (960 to 1279 CE). Its precise origins are unclear, and whether it developed independently or shares a common ancestor with chess and chaturanga remains a matter of scholarly debate. What is well established is that the game's rules had broadly stabilised into their current form by the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644 CE), and it has been played in recognisably its present form ever since.

Setting up

1. Place the board between both players so that each faces a 9-column side. The board's central horizontal gap is the River; each player owns the 5 rows on their side.
2. Each player's back rank (row 1) is set up left to right as: Chariot, Horse, Elephant, Advisor, General, Advisor, Elephant, Horse, Chariot.
3. Place one Cannon on each side in row 3, on the second and eighth columns (two squares in from each edge).
4. Place five Soldiers in row 4 on columns 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.
5. Red traditionally moves first. If playing casually, players may draw lots or agree who goes first.
6. Confirm that each player's General sits inside its own Palace, the 3x3 grid formed by the intersections with diagonal lines marked in the corner of each half of the board.

How to play

1. Players alternate turns. On your turn you must move exactly one of your pieces.
2. A piece moves to an empty intersection or captures an enemy piece by moving onto its intersection. Captured pieces are removed from the board.
3. GENERAL (Jiang/Shuai): moves one step at a time, horizontally or vertically. Must remain inside its own Palace at all times. The two Generals may never face each other along an open column with no intervening piece; this is called the Flying General rule and such a move is illegal.
4. ADVISOR (Shi): moves one step diagonally and must stay within the Palace at all times.
5. ELEPHANT (Xiang/Xiang): moves exactly two steps diagonally (in a pattern like the letter X). It cannot cross the River. Its path is blocked if an enemy or friendly piece occupies the midpoint of its move, called blocking the Elephant's eye.
6. HORSE (Ma): moves one step orthogonally then one step diagonally outward, for a total of two steps in an L-shape. The first step can be blocked: if a piece occupies the orthogonal square adjacent to the Horse, the move in that direction is illegal.
7. CHARIOT (Ju): moves any number of steps in a straight horizontal or vertical line, like the Rook in international chess. It cannot jump over pieces.
8. CANNON (Pao): moves like the Chariot when not capturing (any number of steps orthogonally with no pieces in the way). To capture, it must jump over exactly one intervening piece, called the platform or screen, regardless of whose piece that is. There must be exactly one piece between the Cannon and its target.
9. SOLDIER (Bing/Zu): before crossing the River, a Soldier moves exactly one step forward only. After crossing the River it may also move one step horizontally (left or right) but still cannot move backward.
10. You may not make a move that leaves your own General in check.
11. If your move places the opponent's General in check, you must say 'check' or make it clear; the opponent must resolve the check on their next turn by moving the General, blocking the attack, or capturing the attacking piece.
12. If the opponent's General is in check and no legal move resolves it, the position is checkmate and the game ends immediately.

Winning and scoring

The game is won by checkmate: you place your opponent's General in check and they have no legal move that removes the threat. The player delivering checkmate wins. A player who has no legal moves available on their turn but is not in check loses by stalemate under most standard rulesets, unlike in international chess where stalemate is a draw. If the same board position with the same player to move repeats three times, the player causing the repetition is typically required to vary their move; perpetual check is not allowed and the player delivering it must break the pattern or lose.

The fine points

The perpetual check rule is the source of the most common disputes. Standard rules prohibit one player from repeatedly checking the opponent's General with the same piece or sequence of moves. If a player delivers check on three consecutive occasions using the same move, they are required to change their approach; if they refuse or cannot, they lose. Similarly, perpetual chasing, repeatedly threatening to capture the same undefended piece, is also prohibited for the pursuing player under most tournament rules, and they must vary their play.

The Flying General rule catches new players out regularly. No move is legal if it results in the two Generals facing each other on the same open column with no piece between them, even if the player making the move is not the one whose General would be exposed. Elephant-blocking and Horse-leg blocking are also frequently overlooked: always check whether the relevant intermediate square is occupied before declaring a move valid. In casual play, simply replay any illegal move; in competitive play, illegal moves typically carry a penalty under the applicable ruleset.

How to win more often

• Control the centre columns early. Your Chariots are your most powerful pieces; activate them quickly by clearing the central files.
• Protect your General by keeping at least one Advisor and one Elephant in defensive positions. An exposed General invites swift attacks.
• Use your Cannons aggressively in the opening, but remember they need a platform to capture. Removing your opponent's pieces can strand their Cannons.
• Soldiers that have crossed the River become significantly stronger. Push a Soldier across early to create long-term pressure and force your opponent to react.
• Watch for Horse-Cannon and Chariot-Cannon combinations. A Chariot pinning a piece while a Cannon uses it as a platform, or a Horse forking two pieces, are among the most decisive tactical patterns in Xiangqi.

Variations

Blind Xiangqi

Played without a board or pieces in view: both players announce their moves verbally and track the position from memory. This is a recognised test of skill among advanced players and is sometimes used in training, though it is not a formalised competitive format.

Minxiangqi (Mini Xiangqi)

A condensed variant played on a 7x7 board with a reduced set of pieces, removing Elephants and one Advisor per side. The smaller board produces faster games and is sometimes used to introduce younger players or beginners to the core mechanics before moving to the full game.

International Xiangqi

Some governing bodies have promoted a version using standardised Western-style pictorial pieces rather than traditional Chinese character discs, intended to make the game more accessible to players unfamiliar with Chinese script. The rules remain identical to standard Xiangqi; only the piece representation changes.

Manchu Chess (Yasheng Qi)

A historical asymmetric variant in which one side plays with a reduced set of powerful pieces, traditionally representing a Manchu army, against the full standard Xiangqi set on the other side. The imbalanced forces and modified movement rules make this a notably different strategic experience and it is rarely played today, though it is documented in older Chinese game texts.

Xiangqi: frequently asked questions