Chinese Chess vs Computer

How to play Chinese Chess (Xiangqi) against the computer

This is single-player Xiangqi against a computer opponent that runs right in your browser. Choose Red or Black and one of three difficulty levels — Easy, Normal or Expert — then try to checkmate the computer’s General. Every win earns ranking points on the leaderboard (+10, +30 or +100), and every rule is enforced: the cannon screen, the horse leg, the elephant eye and the flying general.

Starting a game against the computer

• Choose Red or Black. Red always moves first, so if you take Black the computer opens the game.
• Choose a difficulty: Easy, Normal or Expert. Each button shows how many ranking points a win on that level is worth.
• Press Start game. The board appears and whichever side moves first begins.

Controls

• On your turn, tap/click one of your pieces to see its legal moves, then tap/click a highlighted target to move there. Tap another of your pieces to change the selection.
• The computer answers automatically after a short pause — the status line shows “Computer is thinking…” while it chooses its move.
• There is no undo: once a move is made it stands, just like a real ranked game.
• New game returns to the setup screen so you can change side or level. An unfinished game scores nothing.

Difficulty levels and ranking points

• Easy (+10 per win) — the computer looks only one move ahead and about half the time plays a deliberately weaker move. Ideal for learning the rules.
• Normal (+30 per win) — it looks two moves ahead (its move and your best reply) and only occasionally slips, about one move in ten.
• Expert (+100 per win) — it searches three moves deep (its move, your reply, its follow-up) and never blunders on purpose. Leave a piece unprotected and it will take it.

Only a win scores. A loss or a draw earns nothing, so just start again. Your best result on each level is shown on the leaderboard: wins are saved on this device and uploaded automatically when you are signed in and online.

How the pieces move

• General (將/帥) — one point orthogonally, but must stay inside its 3×3 palace.
• Advisor (士/仕) — one point diagonally, also confined to the palace.
• Elephant (象/相) — exactly two points diagonally and may not cross the river; it is blocked if the point it jumps over (its “eye”) is occupied.
• Horse (馬/傌) — one point orthogonally then one diagonally; it is blocked if the point beside it (its “leg”) is occupied.
• Chariot (車/俥) — any distance in a straight line, like a rook.
• Cannon (砲/炮) — moves like the chariot, but to capture it must jump exactly one piece (any colour) — the “screen” — and land on an enemy beyond it.
• Soldier (卒/兵) — one point forward. After crossing the river it may also move one point sideways, but never backward.

Special rules (all enforced)

• The flying general. The two Generals may never face each other directly along an open file — a move that would expose them to each other is illegal.
• Check and checkmate. If your General is attacked you are in check and must escape it. If the side to move has no legal move, that side loses — the game shows who won.

A little history

Xiangqi is one of the most popular board games in the world, played for centuries across China and beyond. It shares an ancient ancestor with international chess but has its own character: the river down the middle, the palaces that pen in the generals, and the cannon, whose jump-to-capture move has no equivalent in Western chess.

Frequently asked questions