--- title: "Why Your Xiangqi Rating Has Plateaued · Xiangqi Master" description: "Usually because study time is going into openings, or because games are never reviewed. Both are fixable and neither requires more playing." url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/why-has-my-rating-stopped-improving updated: 2026-09-22 source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # Why has my xiangqi rating stopped improving? 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 > > Two usual causes: **study time going into openings** instead of tactics and endgames, and **games that are never reviewed**. Both are common, both feel like work, and neither is fixed by playing more — which is what most plateaued players do instead. ## The diagnosis Look at your last ten losses and classify them: hung a piece, missed a tactic, lost the opening, lost a won endgame. The category that dominates is what to work on. Almost nobody who does this exercise concludes that they need more opening theory. ## Play stronger opponents A rating plateau often means your opponent pool stopped challenging you. Playing people meaningfully stronger produces losses with clear causes, which is exactly the material review needs. ## Related questions Should I change my opening? Almost never. Changing systems resets the understanding you were building and hides the real problem. Is a plateau normal? Yes. Early gains are fast because blunders are easy to remove; later gains need directed work. ## Related xiangqi resources How to improve What to study, in what order Common mistakes The errors that decide most club games Analyse your games Take any position apart with engine support ## Try it on a real board Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.