--- title: "Studying Xiangqi Alone or With a Training Partner? ยท Xiangqi Master" description: "Both, for different jobs. A partner is best for testing analysis and generating games to review; solo work is best for puzzles and focused drills." url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/is-it-better-to-study-alone-or-with-a-training-partner updated: 2026-09-22 source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # Is it better to study xiangqi alone or with a training partner? 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 > > **Both, doing different jobs.** A training partner is excellent for producing games worth reviewing and for testing your analysis of a position against someone else's, since a second honest opinion catches things you missed alone. Puzzle volume and focused drilling, by contrast, are just as effective solo and do not need to wait for a partner's schedule. ## What a partner adds Disagreement, mainly. Explaining why you think a move is right to someone who is not convinced forces a level of clarity that solo review rarely produces, and their view of a shared game is a second data point your own review does not have. ## What does not need a partner Puzzles, checkmate drills and reviewing your own past games all work perfectly well alone, and a lot of real improvement happens exactly there, as covered in [how to get better at xiangqi](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-i-get-better-at-xiangqi). Do not wait for a partner to be available before doing the study that does not require one. ## Related questions Does a training partner need to be stronger than me? Not necessarily. A partner at a similar level can still generate useful games and a second perspective. What if I do not have anyone to study with? Solo tools, puzzles, drills and self-review cover most of what matters. ## Related xiangqi resources How to improve What to study, in what order Play xiangqi Free, in the browser, nothing to install Tactics puzzles One right idea per position ## Try it on a real board Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.