Should I play fast or slow xiangqi games?
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.
Direct answer
Play some slow games. Blitz gives you volume without decisions worth reviewing — you cannot learn from a choice you never had time to make. A reasonable mix is mostly slower games with blitz for fun, and roughly one game reviewed for every two or three played.
What blitz is good for
Pattern exposure and opening familiarity. If you want to see 馬後炮 a hundred times, blitz will show it to you. What blitz will not do is teach you to calculate, because you are never calculating.
What slow games are good for
Building the two-question habit, counting attackers before committing, and producing games with identifiable turning points. A game where you thought for two minutes about a critical move is a game you can learn from; a three-minute game usually is not.
Related questions
What time control should I use?
Ten minutes or more with an increment is enough to think. Fifteen-plus if you are reviewing seriously.
Is blitz harmful?
Not in itself. It becomes harmful when it is all you play, because nothing gets reviewed.
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