About This Site

Start with the mode that fits how you want to play

• Practice at your own pace: choose Play AI. Four levels, hints, undo, and replay let you compare candidate moves, while AI search runs locally in your browser.
• Teach a friend or play face to face: choose Two Players. Share one device and take turns without creating accounts or a room.
• Arrange a game with someone elsewhere: choose Play Online. Create a room and share its link; both players see the same board, and synced moves cannot be undone by one side.

New to xiangqi? Begin with the Rules Guide. If you know the moves but are unsure how to choose between them, start with Practical Tips.

No account also means no cloud game library

AI and local two-player games are stored in the browser on the current device and can usually continue after a refresh. They do not automatically appear on another phone or computer, and clearing site data removes information we cannot recover through an account.

Online rooms temporarily store the board, seats, and moves so both players can sync and reconnect. A room is not a permanent game archive, so save an important position yourself. See the Privacy Policy for details.

We do not present practice as a rank exam

• This site has no rating ladder, rank certification, or automatic matchmaking with strangers.
• AI levels represent different search strengths, not real-world player ranks.
• A hint is one candidate move to compare, not the only correct answer.
• The rules and tips help you understand positions; they do not promise quick mastery or guaranteed wins.

Useful practice does not have to end in victory. If you can say, "The cannon had no screen," or "That move opened the two generals," you already have a clear goal for the next game.

Our content standard is simple: can you use it immediately?

The Rules Guide should let a complete beginner finish a game independently. Practical Tips should turn vague instinct into checks you can perform, such as seeing who covers an advisor's old square or confirming a cannon screen before you fire.

These methods have conditions and are not winning formulas. A soldier that crosses the river can move sideways, but it does not gain extra cover. If the explanation disagrees with the board, the page or program needs fixing; the reader should not have to guess at an exception.

If something is wrong, tell us exactly where you got stuck

Unclear rules, a legal move that the board will not accept, or a failed room connection all deserve feedback. A full-board screenshot, the previous move, and the names of your device and browser are usually more useful than a general report that something does not work.

Use the Contact page for the most helpful details. We correct reproducible rule and connection problems as well as wording that misleads new players.

Open-source piece artwork

The red and black discs on the board are the hnz SVG set from the open-source pychess-variants project by gbtami and contributors, used unmodified under GNU AGPL-3.0. Local copies and the license note sit with the files at /xiangqi-pieces/. The grid, river labels, and palace marks are drawn by this site’s interface, not taken from that project’s board bitmap. AI moves prefer the open-source Fairy-Stockfish engine in the browser (WebAssembly, GNU GPL v3; full text at COPYING). If the browser cannot start threads, play falls back to XQWLight (GNU GPL v2 or later).

Who maintains this board

This site is maintained by Ply Yard. The design, xiangqi engine, online rooms, and English content continue to evolve with real feedback. We do not ask for a player account, legal name, or payment information.