---
title: "Should You Memorise Xiangqi Opening Lines? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "No. Learn four or five moves and the plan behind them, then learn the rest from your own games — opponents leave theory early anyway."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/should-i-memorise-opening-lines
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Should I memorise xiangqi opening lines?

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
>
> **No.** Learn the first four or five moves and the **idea** behind them, then play and look at where things went wrong. Your opponents leave theory early, so the moves you actually need are the ones they played — and no book knows what those are.

## What to do instead

When a game goes badly out of the opening, find the move that gave the position away and work out what the idea behind the correct move was. One position understood is worth twenty lines memorised, because the understanding transfers and the line does not.

## The trap of switching systems

Losing a game rarely means the opening was wrong. Changing systems after every loss resets the understanding you were building and hides the real problem, which is usually a tactic in the middlegame.

## Related questions

How deep do masters know openings?

Very deep, because they face opponents who also know them. That is a different problem from yours.

Is opening study ever worth it?

Once you stop losing to tactics. Until then, tactics have a far higher return per hour.

## Related xiangqi resources

Choosing an opening

How many you need, and which pair to learn

How to improve

What to study, in what order

Opening principles

What the first ten moves are actually for

## Try it on a real board

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