---
title: "What Is Xiangqi? The Chinese Chess Game Explained · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Xiangqi (象棋) is Chinese chess: a two-player strategy game on a 9×10 board, played on the intersections, with a river, a palace and a cannon that captures by jumping."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-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 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
>
> Xiangqi (象棋, pronounced roughly *shyahng-chee*) is the Chinese member of the chess family, played by more people than any other board game of its kind. Two players move 16 pieces each on the **intersections** of a 9×10 grid, aiming to checkmate the opposing general. It shares an ancestor with western chess but is not a variant of it.

## What makes it different

Three things have no equivalent in western chess, and they change everything:

- **The cannon** moves like a rook but captures only by jumping exactly one piece in between.
- **The palace** is a 3×3 box the general and advisors may never leave, so you always know where the target is.
- **The river** divides the board: elephants never cross it, and soldiers gain sideways movement when they do.

## How a game is won

By checkmate, the same as chess. Unlike chess, **stalemate is a loss** for the player with no legal move, not a draw — so there is no stalemate escape and endgames are far more decisive.

Repetition is also handled differently: a player who checks or chases forever is required to vary, and loses if they do not.

## Related questions

Is xiangqi the same as Chinese chess?

Yes. 象棋 is the Chinese name; "Chinese chess" is the usual English one. They are the same game.

Is xiangqi harder than chess?

Not harder, differently hard. The board is bigger and the general is confined, so attacks are more concrete and calculation matters earlier. See [xiangqi vs chess](https://xiangqimaster.com/xiangqi-vs-chess).

## Related xiangqi resources

How to play xiangqi

From an empty board to your first full game

Xiangqi rules

The complete reference, rule by rule

Xiangqi vs chess

What carries over from western chess, and what does not

## Try it on a real board

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