What is the difference between Chinese and WXF notation?
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
Only the script. Both systems name the piece, the file it stands on, the direction and the destination, in that order. 炮二平五 and C2=5 are the same four pieces of information. There is no difference in what can be expressed, and converting between them is mechanical.
The one visual difference
Chinese convention writes Red's file numbers with Chinese numerals (一二三…) and Black's with Arabic (1 2 3…), which lets you tell at a glance whose move you are reading. WXF uses Arabic for both and relies on move order.
Which to use
Whichever your sources use. If you read western books and sites, WXF. If you want Chinese game collections and endgame studies — which is most of the literature — the characters. Learning the second after the first takes an evening, because the grammar is already familiar.
Related questions
Can software convert between them?
Yes, trivially — the mapping is one to one.
Do Vietnamese players use a third system?
Vietnamese sources commonly use the Chinese structure with Vietnamese piece names, and WXF is understood internationally.
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