Why is xiangqi played on intersections and chess on squares?
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
Because it is the East Asian convention, shared with go and janggi. It also enables the river: the river is a gap between two ranks that pieces step across, which would be impossible if pieces sat inside squares, since the gap would have to be a row of squares pieces could occupy.
The practical consequence
90 playable points on a grid that looks like 72 squares. Chess players consistently miscount a chariot's line by one for their first few games, because the eye reads the spaces rather than the crossings — including the outer edge lines, which are real and playable.
It is not a depth difference
Squares and intersections are two ways of drawing the same thing. Nothing about the strategic content of a game follows from the choice; it is a notational and visual convention with one structural consequence, which is the river.
Related questions
Can I play xiangqi on a go board?
Yes — mark a 9×10 region with a river and two palaces and it is exact.
How many points are there?
90, nine files by ten ranks.
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