---
title: "How Is Check and Checkmate Marked in Xiangqi Notation? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "There is no single universal symbol; different publications add their own markers, such as a plus sign for check or a distinct mate symbol, after the move that causes it."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-is-check-and-checkmate-marked-in-xiangqi-notation
updated: 2026-09-23
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# How is check and checkmate marked in xiangqi notation?

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
>
> **There is no single universal symbol** the way chess uses `+` and `#` almost everywhere. Different books, databases and software add their own markers, commonly a **plus sign for check** and a distinct symbol or the Chinese term 勝 or 將死 for checkmate, appended after the move that causes it, but the convention varies between sources.

## Why xiangqi lacks a fixed standard here

Movement notation, WXF letters, Chinese characters, ICCS coordinates, is standardised well enough for interoperability between software. Check and mate annotation has stayed more of an editorial choice, since the game record is still perfectly legible and replayable without it, the position itself makes check and mate self-evident.

## What to expect in practice

Most digital databases and engines that do mark check use a plus sign, closely following the chess convention, since so much xiangqi software is adapted from chess tooling. Printed Chinese-language books are more likely to spell out 將軍 for check in the accompanying prose rather than a symbol in the move list itself.

## Related questions

Do I need to mark check myself when recording a game?

Not for the game to be valid or replayable, though it can make a printed score easier to follow at a glance.

How are good and bad moves marked instead?

With separate annotation symbols like `!` and `?`, covered in [how annotators mark moves](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-annotators-mark-good-and-bad-moves-in-xiangqi).

## Related xiangqi resources

Reading notation

炮二平五 and C2=5 — the same move, two ways

Check and checkmate

Including why stalemate is a loss

Xiangqi questions answered

Every question on this site, in one index

## Try it on a real board

Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.