How do I set a clock with increment for a xiangqi game?
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
Exactly the way you would for chess: set a main time for each side and a per-move increment that gets added back after every move. A common online setting is 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move for blitz, or 15 minutes plus 10 seconds for rapid. Nothing about the clock itself is xiangqi-specific, any digital chess clock's increment mode works unmodified.
Why increment specifically, rather than a delay
Increment adds time every move rather than only pausing the clock briefly before it starts running, which matters in xiangqi endgames that need several precise moves to finish a mate, mating with a bare chariot, for instance, takes real technique, not one lucky move. Without increment, a clearly winning position can be lost purely on the clock, and because stalemate and perpetual check both lose in xiangqi, there is no accidental draw waiting to save you either.
Setting it on a physical clock
Most digital chess clocks have a menu for choosing a preset time control that includes increment or delay; select whichever preset matches your intended control, or the manual "increment" setting if the clock supports custom configuration. See xiangqi time controls for what else to check.
Related questions
What increment is standard for tournament xiangqi?
It varies by organiser; the main control plus increment is specified in each event's regulations rather than being fixed universally.
Do online sites let me choose increment freely?
Most offer a range of preset time controls, and many also allow a fully custom main time and increment.
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