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Rules

Xiangqi rules

Xiangqi is played on the intersections of nine files and ten ranks. Red moves first. The river separates ranks 5 and 6; each general remains in its 3×3 palace.

Pieces move according to standard Xiangqi rules: chariots move along clear ranks or files; cannons need exactly one screen to capture; horses are blocked by a leg; elephants are blocked by an eye and cannot cross the river; advisors remain in their palace; soldiers gain sideways movement after crossing the river and never retreat. Generals may not face each other on an open file. There is no castling, en-passant capture, or promotion.

A move that leaves your general in check is illegal. The general is never captured: checkmate wins. In Xiangqi, stalemate (having no legal move) also loses. A repeated complete cycle is a draw unless exactly one side gave check on every move in that cycle; that side loses for perpetual check. A game is also drawn after 120 consecutive individual moves without a capture (60 moves by each side). Tournament perpetual-chase rulings depend on the protection and escape status of the chased piece and should be resolved under the event rules; they are not approximated as an automatic threefold draw.

Moves are stored as coordinates (for example h3-e3) and the match view supplies Chinese and international notation generated from the position. Traditional notation uses Chinese numerals for Red and Arabic digits for Black; international notation uses letters and Arabic digits. Traditional character discs are the default; a learner symbol set is available in match settings.