How do you win a game of 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
You win by checkmate — attacking the general so that no legal move escapes. You also win if your opponent is stalemated, because in xiangqi a player with no legal move loses rather than drawing. Resignation, running out of time, and losing a repetition adjudication all end a game too.
Every way a game ends
- Checkmate — the general is attacked and nothing escapes.
- Stalemate — no legal move at all. A loss, not a draw.
- Resignation or timeout — as in any other game.
- Perpetual check or chase — the offender must vary, and loses if they will not.
- Draw — by agreement, by insufficient material, or by sixty moves without a capture.
Why stalemate losing changes everything
In chess, a losing side hunts for stalemate as a last resort. In xiangqi that resource does not exist, so material advantages convert far more reliably and an endgame a chess player would call drawish is often simply won.
Related questions
Can you win on time in xiangqi?
Yes, in any timed game. Online and tournament play both use clocks, usually with an increment.
Is there a draw by agreement?
Yes, exactly as in chess. Draws are also reached by the sixty-move rule and by material too thin to force mate.
.