How is chaturanga different from 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
Chaturanga is the older Indian game that the whole family draws on. It is played on 64 squares, has no cannon, no river and no palace, and its king moves freely. Xiangqi's distinctive features — the cannon, the confined general, play on intersections — are all later and all Chinese.
What is shared
The basic idea of an army with a king, a chariot-like piece, a horse-like piece and foot soldiers, where the object is to trap the king. The four-part army (chariots, elephants, cavalry, infantry) that gives chaturanga its name is visible in xiangqi's piece set.
What is not established
The exact line of descent. It is often stated confidently that xiangqi descends directly from chaturanga; the honest position is that the games are related and the details of transmission are genuinely uncertain. The cannon in particular has no chaturanga ancestor.
Related questions
Did chess come from chaturanga?
Western chess's descent from chaturanga via shatranj is much better documented than xiangqi's.
Is the elephant the same piece?
Related by name. The moves differ in every descendant game.
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