---
title: "What to Do After Learning the Xiangqi Rules · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Play a dozen games against the computer, learn to mate with a chariot, then start doing tactics puzzles. Openings come much later."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-should-i-do-after-learning-the-rules
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# I know the rules — what now?

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
>
> Play **a dozen games against the computer** at its lowest level, losing quickly and often. Then spend an afternoon learning to **mate with a chariot** against a bare general. Then start **tactics puzzles**. Do not touch opening theory yet — it is the last thing to study and the first thing most people start with.

## Why the computer first

It never gets impatient, it punishes hung pieces consistently, there is no social cost to losing, and illegal moves are refused with the reason — so the board itself teaches the rules you have not absorbed. The cannon's screen rule in particular is learned by being punished for missing it.

## Then find people

Computers at low levels play unnatural moves. Once you can beat the easy levels, switch to humans: their mistakes resemble the mistakes you will meet, and their attacks come from plans rather than search.

## Related questions

When should I learn openings?

Once you stop losing to tactics. Four or five moves and the plan, no more.

How long until I am decent?

A few weeks of regular play removes most blunders. Club standard usually takes months.

## Related xiangqi resources

Play the computer

Four difficulty levels, no account needed

Basic checkmates

Mating with ordinary material

How to improve

What to study, in what order

## Try it on a real board

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