How To Play Chinese Chess (Xiangqi) For Beginners

Elephants move two squares diagonally and stay on their side of the river to defend, often supporting each other; blocking their path stops movement and can break their defense.

learn how the Xiangqi horse moves in an L-shape, can cross the river, and can be blocked by intervening pieces, unlike the knight in regular chess.

Master the cannon's unique Xiangqi movement: it slides like a chariot across the board, can cross the river, and captures by jumping over exactly one piece to strike an enemy.

Set up the Xiangqi board symmetrically and learn the relative value of pieces from soldiers to chariots, cannons, and generals, with practical trading guidelines.

Learn to identify check, avoid stalemate, and prevent perpetual moves in Xiangqi, with red and black generals, cannons, and chariots, plus blocking or capturing to escape check.

Learn the remaining Xiangqi rules, including check, draw conditions, and touch-move etiquette. Prepare for your first game by understanding development and common beginner mistakes.

Understand how cannons move: they slide horizontally or vertically and capture by jumping over one piece, friendly or enemy, and beware early threats to horses and leaving them undefended.

Discover how Xiangqi horses can be blocked, unlike western chess knights; avoid the common mistake of assuming horses jump and learn to block to stop a check.

Treat the river as not a barrier, using imagined vertical lines to guide horse moves and captures. Remove confusion for beginners during opening moves.

Watch out for the back-rank checkmate in Xiangqi, where red can win despite a massive material deficit, as the red cannon traps the general behind advisers.