How do I get better at 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
Study in this order: basic checkmates, tactics, endgames, openings. Then review your own losses and find the move where the game turned. Most players do this list backwards, spend months on opening theory, and keep losing the same games to the same tactics.
Why this order
Basic mates take an afternoon and you cannot win a won game without them. Tactics decide almost every game below expert level, so they have the highest return per hour. Endgames change how you trade twenty moves earlier. Openings only matter once both players survive the middlegame.
The part that is uncomfortable
Reviewing losses, which is why it gets skipped. Take a game you lost and find the move where the position turned — not the blunder at the end, the move before things became difficult. Then answer one question: what did I not look at?
The answer is almost always a piece you had stopped watching, or a threat you assumed was slow.
Related questions
How long does it take?
A solid club standard usually takes months rather than years, if the time goes into tactics and endgames.
Do I need a coach?
No, though it speeds things up. Honest review of your own losses gets most of the benefit.
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