--- title: "Notation and reading games · Questions · Xiangqi Master" description: "How to read xiangqi notation, in Chinese and in WXF: files, directions, and the tandem-piece rules." url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/topics/notation source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # Reading and writing xiangqi notation 炮二平五 and C2=5 are the same move. Both systems are here, including the parts that trip people up: which side counts files from where, and what happens with two pieces on one file. How do you read xiangqi notation? A move names the piece, the file it is on, a direction, and a destination — 炮二平五 or C2=5 are the same move written two ways. What does 炮二平五 mean? 炮二平五 means 'cannon on file two traverses to file five' — the Central Cannon, the most played first move in xiangqi. What do the letters in WXF notation stand for? K general, A advisor, E elephant, H horse, R chariot, C cannon, P soldier — the seven piece letters in WXF xiangqi notation. How do you write a move when two pieces are on the same file? The file number is replaced by 前 (front) or 後 (rear) in Chinese, or + and − in WXF, to say which of the two pieces moves. Why does xiangqi notation count files from the right? Each player numbers files from their own right, so the same physical file has two numbers. It keeps every move written from the mover's perspective. How do you record a xiangqi game? Write move pairs numbered from one, Red first, using either Chinese characters or WXF romanisation consistently throughout. Does xiangqi have FEN like chess? Yes. Xiangqi uses a FEN-style position string with ten ranks instead of eight and extra piece letters for the cannon, advisor and elephant. What do 進, 退 and 平 mean in xiangqi notation? 進 means advance, 退 means retreat and 平 means move sideways along the rank. They correspond to +, − and = in WXF notation. Can I learn xiangqi notation without knowing Chinese? Yes. WXF notation uses Latin letters and Arabic numerals throughout and expresses exactly the same moves as the Chinese system. How are captures written in xiangqi notation? They are not marked at all. A xiangqi move names a destination, and whether something was captured there is implied by the position. What is the difference between Chinese and WXF notation? Only the script. Both name the piece, its file, a direction and a destination in the same order, and express identical moves. Why doesn't xiangqi notation use coordinates like chess? Xiangqi notation is descriptive: it names the piece, its file and how it moves. Coordinate systems exist but are not the convention. What is ICCS notation in xiangqi? ICCS writes a move as a start point and an end point on a lettered, numbered grid, such as b2e2. Most xiangqi engines use it instead of WXF. How do you write down the result of a drawn xiangqi game? Draws are written ½-½ at the end of the move list, exactly as in chess, whether reached by agreement, insufficient material, or the sixty-move rule. How are printed xiangqi diagrams oriented? By convention Red sits at the bottom of a printed diagram, palace toward the reader, the same way most chess diagrams put White at the bottom. How is a cannon move written in every direction? A cannon can advance, retreat or traverse, and each direction is written with a distance or a destination file depending on which one it is. How do annotated xiangqi books mark good and bad moves? Annotated xiangqi books borrow chess symbols such as ! and ? after a move, layered on top of the base notation, which itself has no evaluation marks. What file formats do xiangqi programs use to store games? There is no single universal file format like chess PGN. Various xiangqi programs use their own formats, some text-based and some binary, to store games. How do you write a horse move step by step? A horse move names the piece, its file, a direction (usually + or −), and a destination file, because its diagonal path makes a distance ambiguous. Does xiangqi notation show when a piece crosses the river? No. There is no symbol for crossing the river. A soldier's move is written the same way whether it crosses the river or not. How do you write an elephant move in xiangqi notation? An elephant move names the piece, its file, a direction, and a destination file, the same pattern as a horse, because its move is also diagonal. What is the difference between move notation and position notation in xiangqi? Move notation like C2=5 records how a game unfolded, one step at a time. Position notation like FEN records a single frozen snapshot with no history. ## Try it on a real board Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.