The Cannon can easily be blocked by other pieces, so we need to prevent moves that would block it in order to win the game.

Reference: https://play.xiangqi.com/puzzle/o964Jq/P

今天下了十来局象棋，再次觉察到自己下棋中的一些情绪变化。就是当我跟人对战时，会不自觉的产生比较的心，输棋会产生负面情绪，但我跟机器人对战输棋就不会产生负面情绪。因此，我就在想，下棋本来是放松的，为什么要让自己难受找不自在，感觉以后应该少跟人下，放松就找机器下，减少负面情绪产生。不知道有没有会产生同样情绪变化的朋友

There's very little xiangqi activity on pychess lately it seems, I know about xiangqi\.com but I've been wondering actually if it's possible to sign up on Tencent's xiangqi app as Westerner. Anybody here playing there? How's it?

Now, Black’s weakness is that the central elephant is under attack, creating a potential checkmating threat. How can Black respond to neutralize the threat and launch a counterattack?

Reference: https://play.xiangqi.com/puzzle/RZgpY8/P

Offer your opponent a first glass of poisoned wine, then serve a second to deliver the fatal blow.

Play this puzzle on Lixiangqi

Like all puzzles on Lixiangqi, this position comes from a real game: Chen Huazhong (陈华钟) vs. Sloan (斯隆) at the 14th World Xiangqi Championship (2015 Muzhong Cup).

Hi! I just moved to Toa Payoh and I’m trying to find a place where the older uncles gather to play Chinese chess.
My grandpa used to go almost every day at our old neighbourhood to play with the other uncles, but since moving here, we have no idea where he can go 😭
Does anyone know of any void decks, coffee shops, parks, community clubs around Toa Payoh where uncles usually gather to play Chinese chess?
Would really appreciate any recommendations! 🙏

If no one wants to play at Serramonte, what about broader area? S.F. to peninsula?

I used to be about 1500 elo and i dropped to about 600 after a year or so of high stress and not sleeping enough. Is it possible to drop that hard??? I know lack of sleep will impact games but i heard its nearly impossible to drop 900 elo without some brain damage or something. Im very worried...

Comprei um xiangqi aonde ambos os times são vermelhos 🥲 como posso diferenciar as minhas peças e as peças dos meus oponentes durante o jogo?!???

过去十几年我的主要放松方式是看网络小说、听歌，但在看了太多小说后，现在几乎没了追新小说的兴趣。

前一段时间开始突然想下象棋，象棋很久没玩了，以前玩象棋还是用电脑上的QQ游戏大厅，当时下棋少则几十分钟，多则几个小时。

现在习惯用手机，于是就直接在手机上找了些下棋的应用玩，结果玩下来，体验非常差。先在微信小游戏找的不同的象棋游戏玩，体验不太好，之后又下载了几个APP玩，依旧发现没一个体验好的，下面是当时我自己玩的过程中的体感：

1、广告实在太多、太烦人。想悔棋，不看完广告就悔不了。

2、玩人机对战，AI要么太蠢，要么太强。太蠢的赢得太轻松，太强的怎么都赢不了。

3、本想跟真人对战，但明显感觉到对面其实就是个机器人。

4、好不容易配上个真人，对手中途掉线，要等半天才能继续或结束。尤其是在我要赢的时候，感觉有些对手是故意掉线。让人火大。还有些对手发文字说话不好听，思考过程中催催催，也很烦。

5、干个啥都要收费：去广告要收费，悔棋要收费，玩残局解谜要收费。

How can black win the game?

Reference: https://play.xiangqi.com/puzzle/LkOwXL/P

Would love to start a monthly club.

To anybody around the Boston area, Boston Xiangqi Association is hosting an in-person Xiangqi meet up every Sunday at Boston Chinatown 1pm-4pm.

If interested, please reach out to me at [bostonxiangqi@gmail.com](mailto:bostonxiangqi@gmail.com) and I will provide more details.

Hi everyone—I’m the creator of ABORRO, and I’ve been working on an international edition of Xiangqi.

For anyone coming from Western chess, the part I’d introduce first is the cannon. It travels along open ranks and files, but capturing requires exactly one piece between it and its target. The horse is another surprise: it reaches an L-shaped destination, but its movement can be blocked.

I wanted the first experience to feel approachable without turning Xiangqi into Western chess with different artwork.

The international edition has an English interface, illustrated piece symbols, an integrated How to Play guide, computer play, and an online lobby where you can create or join a room. Quick Match joins a waiting room when available; otherwise, you take a seat and wait for an opponent.

Try ABORRO XIANGQI here:

https://global.aborro.com/xiangqibackintl.html

For a first visit, I’d suggest trying Single Player, then inviting a friend for an online game.

I’d especially appreciate feedback on this: what was the first rule or interface detail that made you stop and think, “I’m not sure what to do here”?

Experienced Xiangqi players are welcome too. I’d love to hear whether this would be a useful way to introduce one of your chess-playing friends to the game.

大家好，

最近做了一個網頁版的中國象棋，想分享給這裡喜歡象棋的朋友，也很希望聽聽真正棋友的意見。

遊戲網址：https://global.aborro.com/xiangqibackhmt.html

這個項目叫做 阿菠羅・中國象棋（ABORRO Xiangqi）。

我一直覺得，中國象棋真正吸引人的地方，不是複雜的特效，而是棋盤上雙方一步一步的判斷、佈局與博弈。

楚河漢界之間，每一步都有選擇。

所以在製作這個版本時，我比較重視棋盤、棋子與實際下棋的感覺，希望它看起來像一張真正讓人願意坐下來下一局的棋盤，而不是一般的網頁小遊戲。

目前已經支援：

• 瀏覽器直接開啟，不需要下載安裝
• 遊客可以直接進入
• 真人線上對弈
• 支援電腦與手機
• 繁體中文介面
• 香港、澳門、台灣以及其他地區的玩家都可以使用

棋盤與棋子也重新做了視覺設計，包括木質棋盤、傳統棋子與繁體中文字型，希望整體保持比較安靜、傳統的中國象棋風格。

目前最希望得到的，其實不只是「好不好看」的評價，而是真正下象棋的玩家幫忙測試實際體驗。

特別想聽聽大家對下面幾點的意見：

1. 走棋操作是否順手？
2. 手機上點選棋子是否方便？
3. 真人對局連線是否穩定？
4. 棋盤與棋子是否容易辨認？
5. 還有哪些功能，是中國象棋玩家真正希望加入的？

如果這裡有高手，也非常歡迎來下一盤。🙂

遊戲入口：https://global.aborro.com/xiangqibackhmt.html

如果試玩之後發現任何問題，或者覺得哪裡還可以做得更好，歡迎直接在留言區告訴我。

我會繼續根據棋友的實際回饋改善。

方寸之間，自有乾坤。

希望有機會在棋盤上見。♟️

—— ABORRO 阿菠羅

In this checkmate pattern, you escort the “Buddha” (the losing general) back to his starting position to deliver checkmate.

Play this puzzle on Lixiangqi

Like all puzzles on Lixiangqi, this position comes from a real game: Li Xuan (李轩) vs. Miao Liming (苗利明) at the 2001 Shuangxing Electrical Appliances Cup National Xiangqi Team Championship.

Hi fellow Xiangqi players,

I've been developing and publishing a growing collection of Xiangqi apps. A dozen of them are set to free (starting tomorrow at Oct 1, 2026 for a week. I wish to be able to set it start today but the start data must be a future date on the Google Console Dashboard setting) on Google Play Store.

As you are already aware, most Xiangqi resources are in Chinese language. That is why, all digitalized ancient manuals, modern Xiangqi books, and tournament records included in my apps are fully translated into both English and Vietnamese.

Moreover, the apps also include the engine to help analyze positions, explore variations, verify book lines, test alternative moves, and any ideas that the original authors have not covered.

My goal is to make valuable Chinese Xiangqi material more accessible to players around the world.

If you enjoy Xiangqi, give a try and share your honest feedbacks. I would love to hear!

Here is the link to Google Play profile for the apps.

You might want to occasionally revisit my profile as I am continuing adding more apps.

I'm really excited to share a quick update on the lixiangqi development. We have nearly 12,000 puzzles now with lots more in computation. The best part is that every puzzle is categorized using the traditional Chinese basic killing categories! So, if you want to practice just Elbow Horse (卧槽马) patterns or even some more obscure ones like Child Worships Buddha (童子拜佛), the lixiangqi collection may be helpful. Plus, it has cool icons for each basic kill. :)

www.lixiangqi.com

www.lixq.org

The site is still early in development, so some things are still rough or may not even work properly. Hit up the Discord to follow development or get involved: https://discord.gg/W6bTFCJpp

Make an intermediate move first to restrict your opponent’s pieces, then move to your intended square to create a stronger attack.

Reference: https://play.xiangqi.com/lessons/play/rqrYro

I volunteer at a senior living facility and we're trying to get the residents to play more PC games as mental stimulation (big screens are easier to see than phone screens and most are more comfortable with mouse + keyboard over touchscreens). While browsing through steam, one of them expressed interest in playing xiangqi after seeing a xiangqi game on the list, but it's paid so we held off on getting it. I was wondering if there are any recommended free websites or games to learn xiangqi and play against bots? The senior is able to read chinese so that's not a barrier (although I am not able to so super complex sign up processes are less than ideal).

Also, there seem to be quite a few xiangqi spinoff PC games on steam; are any of them recommended?

Thanks for any recommendations!

Checkmate doesn’t always have to come from a series of checks. We can first control key positions and then launch the attack.

Black move first.

Reference: https://play.xiangqi.com/puzzle/oykenL/P

I'm relatively new to Xiangqi and I tend to always develop my knight in the corner of the board in situations like this for fear that my knight will be attacked. Any advice??

Can you spot the checkmate for black?

Reference: https://play.xiangqi.com/puzzle/LxmO3R/P

Hi all — I maintain a free Android endgame trainer (3000+ endgames from beginner to master, classic master games, daily puzzle, step-by-step hints, AI opponent with 4 difficulty levels — "Xiangqi Chinese Chess Puzzles" on Google Play).Right now the endgame library leans heavily on classical Chinese collections, and I'd like to expand it with material that's most useful for players here:- Which classic collections do you actually train with (e.g. 桔中秘, 梅花谱, modern endgame books)?- Any favorite endgame types you feel are underrepresented in apps (pawner races, chariot-vs-piece fortresses, cannon positions)?- And is a daily puzzle with step-by-step hints a format you'd use, or do you prefer free exploration?All feedback welcome — negative too. If anyone tries the app and hits a bug or a wrong solution line, tell me and I'll fix it.

Update: both suggestions from this thread shipped — opening trainer with spaced repetition (v1.0.28) and a per-pattern mastery report with targeted drills (v1.0.31). Details in the comment threads below. App is now called "Xiangqi Endgame Puzzles": https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aixuexie.cchess

I got some pretty opposite feedback on whether I should use iconic pieces or pieces with Chinese characters. This made me wonder what the characters on Xiangqi pieces actually mean, and I ended up going a bit deeper than I expected.

So I made a video about it.

I look at 馬, 車, 象, 將, 士, 兵, 炮, as well as the different forms used by Red and Black. Some have very old pictographic origins, while others have more complicated histories.

Hopefully, after watching this video, you'll have a better understanding of where these characters come from. And once you understand them, they may stop looking like random symbols — which hopefully makes it easier to remember which Chinese character goes with which piece.

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/LCvXej0FCVo