What if neither side can make progress in xiangqi?
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
The sixty-move rule settles it — sixty moves with no capture by either side is a draw. In practice players agree a draw long before the count runs out, once it is clear that neither side can break through a defence that is holding.
The commonest version
A lone chariot against two advisors and two elephants. The attacker cannot break the structure and the defender cannot do anything else. Both sides know it is a draw; the sixty-move rule is simply there for when one of them will not admit it.
Before agreeing, check the defence
The difference between a draw and a win is often one advisor. Before settling, ask whether you can win an advisor for a soldier — because with one advisor gone, the same lone chariot usually wins.
Related questions
Does a check reset the sixty-move count?
No. Only a capture does.
Is there an equivalent of the fifty-move rule?
The sixty-move rule is the equivalent. There is no separate seventy-five-move provision.
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