General (帅 / 将)
九宫重地 · 坐镇不离
Moves one point orthogonally and never leaves the 3×3 palace. The two generals may never face each other directly on an open file.
Xiangqi pieces and strategy
Two armies face off across the river. The game ends the moment one general can no longer escape checkmate. Use these notes beside a live game versus the computer, two players on one screen, or a room on two devices.
How each piece moves
Red and black use the same geometry with different names. Tap a piece on the board to see legal points; this list is the reason a click is accepted or refused.
Chariot (车 / 車)
车行直路 · 驰骋纵横
Slides any number of empty points in a straight line, identical to the rook in chess. It is your most powerful attacking force on the board.
Horse (马 / 馬)
马踏八方 · 蹩腿则阻
Moves one point straight then one point diagonally. If an adjacent point along the straight step is occupied, the horse is blocked.
Cannon (炮 / 砲)
隔子发炮 · 翻山而擒
Moves like a chariot when not capturing, but must jump over exactly one intermediate piece to capture.
Elephant (相 / 象)
相飞田字 · 不过汉界
Steps exactly two points diagonally and cannot cross the central river. Blocked if the eye of the diagonal is occupied.
Advisor (仕 / 士)
仕走斜线 · 贴身御卫
Moves one point diagonally within the palace, serving as a bodyguard to the general.
Soldier (兵 / 卒)
卒过楚河 · 横直无前
Moves one point forward and never backward. After crossing the river it may also step sideways.
Four legal moves that still lose games
These moves are legal. They still lose games because they spend a turn without opening a file, freeing a chariot, or keeping the palace closed.
Moving the same cannon repeatedly. The attack may look busy while both chariots remain trapped. Develop a chariot before chasing a pawn-sized prize.
Opening the center file carelessly. Removing a screen can expose two generals on one file, making an otherwise sensible move illegal—or leaving your palace under pressure.
Counting a horse as already there. A horse reaches eight shapes only when its first straight step is clear. Check the horse leg before building an attack around a move that does not exist.
Crossing the river without support. A soldier gains sideways movement after crossing, not extra protection. Advance it when the new file matters.
Keep the palace honest
The two generals may not stare at each other down an empty file. That rule turns a quiet king move into an illegal one, and it turns a rook trade into mate. Before you vacate a file, look at the other palace.
The cannon needs a screen
A cannon moves like a rook when the file is empty, and captures only by jumping exactly one piece. Beginners fire at a general with nothing in between and wonder why the board refuses the click. Put a pawn or a horse in the way on purpose, then take.
Do not drown the elephants
Elephants cannot cross the river. Developing both of them is shelter, not an attack. If you send them hunting, you have given up the only defenders that cover the palace from a distance.
Soldiers that cross
A pawn that crosses the river may move sideways. One crossed soldier is a nuisance; two on adjacent files start to squeeze the palace. Do not spend the first ten plies shuffling soldiers that still sit at home.
Ready to try a line? Open the AI board, the two-player board, or an online room.