How should I manage my clock time across a whole xiangqi game?

These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws for movement, checkmate and both repetition rulings: a side that forces a repetition by perpetual check or perpetual chase loses rather than drawing. The chase half has not been validated against the official casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it before publishing.

Why an even split across the game is the wrong target

Not every move deserves equal thought. Early developing moves and forced recaptures rarely reward five minutes of calculation, while a genuinely critical branch can easily be worth that much. Players who spend evenly tend to run short exactly when a real decision arrives, which is the worst possible time to be low on the clock.

Protecting the endgame specifically

Basic mates like a lone chariot against a bare general take only a few accurate moves, but a few moves still costs real time if you are down to seconds, and technique executed in a rush is where won games get thrown away. A rough personal rule, such as never letting your reserve drop below what a basic mate needs, prevents this without requiring exact bookkeeping mid-game.

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