How to Play Xiangqi (Chinese Chess): Pieces, Moves and Your First Game
Xiangqi (象棋) — Chinese chess, known in Vietnam as Cờ Tướng — is one of the most-played board games on Earth. It looks like a cousin of western chess, and it is: both descend from the same ancient Indian game. But Xiangqi is faster, more open, and has a few pieces with no western equivalent at all. Here is everything you need to play your first game.
The board: a river, two palaces, pieces on the lines
The board is a grid of 9 vertical and 10 horizontal lines, and the pieces sit on the intersections, not inside the squares. Two features define it:
- The river runs across the middle between the two armies. Some pieces may never cross it; others become stronger once they do.
- The palaces are the two 3×3 squares marked with diagonals at each end. Each player's General and Advisors live inside their palace — and may never leave it.
Each side starts with 16 pieces: 1 General, 2 Advisors, 2 Elephants, 2 Horses, 2 Chariots, 2 Cannons and 5 Soldiers. Red usually moves first.
How every piece moves
| Piece | Name | How it moves |
|---|---|---|
| General | King / Tướng | One step horizontally or vertically, only inside its palace. The piece you must protect — lose it and the game is over. |
| Advisors | Guards / Sĩ | One step diagonally, only inside the palace. Together with the Elephants they form the General's defensive shell. |
| Elephants | Tượng | Exactly two points diagonally. They may never cross the river, and the move is blocked if a piece sits on the midpoint (the "elephant's eye"). |
| Horses | Knight / Mã (Ma) | One point horizontally or vertically, then one point diagonally away — like a knight's L, but it can be blocked (see below). |
| Chariots | Rook / Xe | Any distance horizontally or vertically, without jumping. The strongest piece on the board, like the rook in chess. |
| Cannons | Pháo | Move like a Chariot when not capturing — but to capture, they must jump over exactly one piece, the "screen" (see below). |
| Soldiers | Pawns / Tốt | One point straight forward. After crossing the river, they may also move one point sideways. Never backwards, and no promotion. |
Three famous rules that surprise chess players
The horse-leg block. A Horse's move begins with a step to an adjacent horizontal or vertical point. If that point is occupied — by either color — the Horse cannot move in that direction. Its leg is "hobbled." A mighty Horse can be neutralized by a humble Soldier standing next to it.
The cannon screen. A Cannon captures in a way no chess piece does: it jumps over exactly one piece — any piece, friend or foe — and lands on the enemy piece beyond it. Without a screen in between, it cannot capture at all. Cannons are devastating in the opening, when the board is crowded with screens, and lose power as pieces are traded away.
The flying generals. The two Generals may never face each other along the same file with nothing between them — because, by rule, a General can "fly" across the whole board and capture the other. Any move that leaves the two Generals staring at each other is illegal. It sounds like a technicality, until an endgame is decided by it.
How a game is won
You win by checkmate: attacking the enemy General so it cannot escape. One difference from western chess: stalemate also loses. If it is your turn and you have no legal move, you lose — there is no draw by stalemate. Games are usually fast and decisive; with no queen and two cannons demanding screens, Xiangqi opens up into attacks much earlier than chess.
Four tips for your first game
- Develop your Chariots early. The Chariot is your strongest piece and it starts trapped behind your own lines. Open a file for it — often by advancing a Soldier or moving a Horse — and get it into play.
- Keep the palace dressed. Advisors and Elephants look passive, but they are the shell that keeps your General alive. Don't scatter them for small gains.
- Push Soldiers across the river. A Soldier on your side points only forward; across the river it also steps sideways and becomes a real attacking piece near the enemy palace.
- Watch the Generals' file. Before every move, glance at the file between the two Generals. Beginners lose games to the flying-generals rule — and win them the same way.
Practice the smart way: Cờ Tướng Online - Cờ Úp
Reading the rules takes ten minutes; learning to play takes games and puzzles — which is exactly what Cờ Tướng Online - Cờ Úp (Xiangqi - Chinese Chess Online) is built for:
- Online ELO matches with no login — open the app and you're in a real-time game, fairly matched against players worldwide.
- Hundreds of daily endgame puzzles, from beginner to master — the classic way to build finishing skill.
- AI from novice to grandmaster, plus game review so you can replay every move of a loss.
- 2-player on one screen for family and friends, in English, Chinese and Vietnamese.
Play Xiangqi free on Google Play
Learn the pieces today, cross the river tonight. See everything Cờ Tướng Online - Cờ Úp can do — your first opponent is one tap away.