---
title: "Every Way a Xiangqi Game Can Be Drawn · Xiangqi Master"
description: "By agreement, by insufficient material, after sixty moves without a capture, or where both sides are equally at fault under the repetition laws."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-games-get-drawn-in-xiangqi
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# How do xiangqi games end in a draw?

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
>
> Four ways: **by agreement**; by **insufficient material** to force mate; after **sixty moves with no capture**; and where **both sides are equally at fault** under the repetition laws. Notably absent is the chess standard — threefold repetition is not a draw here.

## Insufficient material in xiangqi

A lone horse cannot force mate, and neither can a lone cannon — the cannon case being unique, since it needs a screen and a bare general provides none. Against an intact defence of two advisors and two elephants, even a lone chariot is a standard draw.

## Draws are less common than in chess

Stalemate loses, perpetual check loses, and material converts more reliably as a result. Master-level xiangqi still draws often, but the defender's toolkit is smaller and "holding a worse position" is genuinely harder.

## Related questions

Is threefold repetition a draw?

No. Repetition is adjudicated: whoever is checking or chasing must vary.

Can I claim a draw by the sixty-move rule?

Yes, once sixty moves have passed with no capture by either side.

## Related xiangqi resources

Perpetual check and chase

Repetition is adjudicated, not automatically drawn

Basic checkmates

Mating with ordinary material

Advisors and elephants

The defence that decides most endgames

## Try it on a real board

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