How do I practise xiangqi without an opponent?
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
Three things work alone: puzzles, which train the pattern recognition that decides most games; checkmate drills against the computer from a bare-general position; and reviewing your own games, which needs no opponent at all and is the highest-return activity available.
Drilling the basic mates
Set up a chariot against a bare general and mate it, repeatedly, until it takes a handful of moves. Then cannon-and-advisor. Then horse-and-soldier. This is an afternoon's work and it converts won games for the rest of your life.
Puzzles are the one place volume works
Because the goal is recognition and the feedback is immediate. Fifteen or twenty focused puzzles beats a hundred rushed ones — stop when you notice yourself guessing rather than seeing.
Related questions
Is playing the computer good practice?
At low levels it teaches you to punish blunders. At higher levels its moves are less human than your real opponents'.
Can I improve without playing at all?
Puzzles and endgame drills go a long way, but you need games to produce material to review.
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