---
title: "How to Save a Lost Position in Xiangqi · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Trade pieces, keep both advisors, and aim for a defence that cannot be broken. Perpetual check and stalemate will not save you."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/can-i-force-a-draw-when-losing
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# How do you save a lost position in xiangqi?

These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.

> Direct answer
>
> By **trading pieces** and **keeping the defence intact** — not by the tricks that work in chess. Perpetual check loses here, and stalemate loses too, so the only real saving resource is reaching a material configuration that **cannot force mate** against an intact defence.

## The things that actually save games

- **Trade an attacker.** Two attacking pieces become one, and one attacker achieves nothing. Give a soldier to do it if necessary.
- **Keep both advisors.** A lone chariot against a full defence is a draw; against one advisor it wins.
- **Remove screens.** Against a cannon, giving away an elephant for nothing can turn a loss into a draw outright.

## The things that do not

Perpetual check — you will be required to vary and will lose. Stalemate — that is a loss too. Random checks also burn the sixty-move count you might otherwise have used.

## Related questions

Is giving away an elephant ever correct?

Against a lone cannon, frequently. Removing the screen can be worth more than the piece.

Should I offer a draw when worse?

Only once, and only when the position genuinely supports it. Repeated offers are penalised in formal play.

## Related xiangqi resources

Advisors and elephants

The defence that decides most endgames

Cannon endgames

The piece that fades as the board empties

Perpetual check and chase

Repetition is adjudicated, not automatically drawn

## Try it on a real board

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