---
title: "What Opening to Play as Red in Xiangqi · Xiangqi Master"
description: "The Central Cannon if you want to learn attacking play, the Elephant Opening if you want solidity, the Pawn Opening for flexibility."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-opening-should-i-play-as-red
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# What opening should I play as Red?

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
>
> **Central Cannon** if you want to learn attacking play fastest — and most beginners should. **飛相局** (Elephant Opening) if you prefer solid positions and less theory. **仙人指路** (Pawn Opening) if you would rather keep everything flexible and outplay people in the middlegame.

## Pick by the middlegame, not the move

The opening is a way of choosing what kind of position you spend your games in. If you enjoy sharp attacks, the Central Cannon gives you them. If you find sharp positions stressful, 飛相局 will give you more games decided by understanding than by calculation.

## Pair it with a Black defence

Whatever you choose as Red, learn **Screen Horses** as Black. Two systems played well beat six half-remembered, and Screen Horses is the most useful single defence in the game.

## Related questions

Is there a bad choice?

Not among these three. All are sound at every level.

Can I play the same system as both colours?

Partly — some formations work for both — but the first move matters enough that most players keep two.

## Related xiangqi resources

Choosing an opening

How many you need, and which pair to learn

The Central Cannon

The most played first move in the game

The Elephant Opening

A quiet first move that avoids theory

## Try it on a real board

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