---
title: "What Is the Object of Xiangqi? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "The object is to checkmate the opposing general. Capturing other pieces is only a means to that end, and material alone never wins a game."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-the-object-of-xiangqi
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# What is the object of the game 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
>
> To **checkmate the opposing general** — to attack it so that no legal move saves it. Everything else, including capturing pieces, is only a means to that. You can be a chariot up and still lose, and in xiangqi that happens more often than in chess because attacks arrive faster.

## Why material is not the goal

The general sits on nine points and cannot flee. That means an attack is a counting problem, and a player who spends moves collecting soldiers while the opponent brings three pieces to the palace will simply be mated with an extra soldier in hand.

The corollary is the single most useful habit in the game: before each move, ask what your opponent's last move attacked.

## What counts as a win

Checkmate, stalemate (a loss for the stalemated player), resignation, timeout, or a repetition adjudication against your opponent. Draws happen by agreement, by insufficient material, or after sixty moves with no capture.

## Related questions

Do you have to capture the general?

No. The game ends at checkmate; the general is never actually taken off the board.

Can you win by taking all the pieces?

A bare general is not automatically lost — you still have to mate it, and some material cannot. A lone cannon, for instance, cannot force mate at all.

## Related xiangqi resources

Check and checkmate

Including why stalemate is a loss

Basic checkmates

Mating with ordinary material

Attacking the palace

How xiangqi attacks are built

## Try it on a real board

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