LEARN THE BOARD
Seven pieces.
A whole new way to think.
Xiangqi is played on 90 intersections, not inside the squares. Red moves first. Your goal is to leave the opposing general with no legal escape.
General
One step horizontally or vertically, always inside the nine-point palace.
The two generals may never face each other along an empty file.Advisor
One diagonal step within the palace. Your general’s close companion.
An advisor can reach only five points in its palace.Elephant
Exactly two diagonal steps. It stays on its own side of the river.
A piece in the middle—the elephant’s eye—blocks the move.Horse
One straight step, then one diagonal step outward. Think of an L.
Unlike a chess knight, the horse cannot jump an occupied first step.Chariot
Any distance horizontally or vertically, along an unobstructed line.
It captures the first opposing piece in its path.Cannon
Moves like a chariot when it is not capturing. To capture, jump exactly one piece.
The screen may be either color. Zero or two screens makes a capture illegal.Soldier
One step forward. After crossing the river, it may also step sideways.
Never backward. It captures the same way it moves and never promotes.The rules that change the game.
- You may never leave your general in check.
- Checkmate wins. Stalemate also wins for the player who leaves the opponent without a legal move.
- There is no castling, pawn promotion, or en passant.
- Perpetual checking is not a way to force a draw.
A clear prototype boundary.
This prototype enforces piece movement, check, mate, stalemate, and unilateral perpetual check. Repeated positions that require complex chase adjudication are stopped for review, with no winner or rating awarded. The same applies at 120 non-capture plies.
Ruleset: xiangqi-casual-v1. This is not a WXF-certified competition ruleset. Rated play stays locked until its full adjudication suite is verified.