人機中國象棋

Chinese Chess vs AI: rules, tactics and practical play

Play Red first in a full-rule Chinese chess match against three AI levels. This guide reflects the controls and win conditions in the current browser build. It is reviewed by the PocketJoy game-testing team and maintained by Long-Term New Media Limited.

Rules and win conditions

This is a full-rules game of xiangqi in which you play Red and move first against the computer. The board is nine files by ten ranks, divided across the middle by the river. The pieces move as follows: the General moves one point orthogonally within the palace; the Advisors move one point diagonally within the palace; the Elephants move two points diagonally and may not cross the river; the Horses move one point orthogonally then one diagonally; the Chariots move any distance in a straight line; the Cannons move like Chariots but must jump exactly one intervening piece to capture; and the Soldiers move one point forward before crossing the river, gaining sideways movement afterwards, and never move backwards. This implementation covers the full detail of the rules, including the blocked horse leg, the blocked elephant eye, the cannon screen, the promoted soldier, and the rule that the two Generals may not face each other along an open file. When in check you may only play a move that resolves it; being checkmated loses, and stalemate with no legal move loses as well. Three computer difficulty levels are available.

Ideas and approach

Openings are about developing your major pieces quickly and controlling the centre. The most common opening is the central cannon, moving a cannon to the middle file to aim directly at the opposing central soldier and force a response; the usual replies are the screen horses, with both horses defending that soldier, or the reversed-horse formation. Whichever line you choose the principle is the same: chariots, horses and cannons should come out early, and opening moves should not be wasted on edge soldiers or on shuffling advisors and elephants. The chariot is the strongest piece on the board by a wide margin, so getting it onto an open file or rank matters greatly, particularly the river rank and the opponent's back rank. Horses are limited early because their legs are easily blocked, but grow stronger in the endgame as the board empties; cannons are the reverse, powerful in the opening and middlegame when screens are plentiful and weaker in the endgame when they are not. That shifting relative value between horse and cannon is a real difference from international chess and the key to sound exchange decisions. In the middlegame, watch for checking tactics that win material: give check, force the reply, and capture elsewhere. In the endgame, soldiers matter enormously, since one that crosses the river gains sideways movement, and a soldier on the opponent's back rank, though it can advance no further, is often the decisive element alongside a chariot or cannon.

Common mistakes

The classic beginner error is grabbing material without checking safety. Piece values run roughly chariot 9, cannon 4.5, horse 4, advisor and elephant 2 each, and a soldier 1 before crossing and 2 after, so taking a soldier and losing a horse is plainly a bad trade, yet many players capture whatever is available without looking at the reply. The second mistake is undervaluing the facing-generals rule. It looks like an obscure detail but underpins a great many endgame mating patterns: when the opposing general is forced onto a particular file and your general sits on the same one, a large set of squares becomes unavailable to them, and that invisible constraint frequently decides the game. The third is moving advisors and elephants casually. They form the defensive skeleton, and once it is dismantled enemy chariots and cannons pour in, so avoid disturbing them in the opening unless necessary. The fourth is overlooking blocked horse legs. Players often calculate a mating sequence with a horse only to discover on playing it that one of their own pieces blocks the leg, an error that is especially easy to make in multi-move calculations, so verify the legality of every step.

Who it suits

Xiangqi is among the most widely played board games in the world and its rules are broadly familiar across Chinese-speaking communities, which puts the entry barrier low for many players. Its strategic depth is considerable, with well over a thousand years of accumulated theory at the professional level, yet an amateur needs no memorised openings to enjoy a game — understanding piece values, controlling the centre and watching the facing-generals rule is enough to play with genuine purpose. Compared with international chess, the cannon is a strikingly distinctive piece with its requirement to jump a screen when capturing, and the palace and river give positions a structure that players from a chess background often find refreshing. Three computer difficulties are offered, with the easiest suitable for learning the rules and the hardest calculating multi-move variations seriously enough to test experienced players. Games are flexible in length but typically run fifteen to thirty minutes.

Features

Three computer difficulties are available. The match panel tracks your local win count, total moves played and a list of captured pieces, itemised separately for Red and Black, so the material balance is always visible without recalling what has been taken. The undo button steps back a move, and when nothing can be undone it says so explicitly rather than simply not responding. The hint button suggests a move and displays it in the form of origin and destination, which is genuinely useful while learning. The status line carries a good deal of information: whose turn it is, whether the computer is thinking, and most importantly the check warning, which states plainly that you must answer the check and prevents you from attempting an illegal reply. Endings distinguish checkmate from stalemate and explain each. When you select a piece, every legal destination is marked in green, so newcomers do not need to work out for themselves whether a horse leg or elephant eye is blocked.

Controls and local records

Control is a two-step tap: select one of your red pieces and the board immediately marks all its legal destinations in green, then tap one to complete the move. This design hands rule enforcement to the game — blocked horse legs, blocked elephant eyes, cannon screens, the facing-generals restriction and the requirement to answer a check are all reflected in what lights up, illegal squares simply never appear, and an illegal move is therefore impossible. Beginners can concentrate on tactics rather than memorising rules. Mouse and touch behave identically, and on a phone the board scales to a comfortable one-handed size. A restart is always available. Wins and match data are stored in the browser's local storage on your own device, never uploaded and requiring no account. The language button switches between Traditional Chinese and English instantly, including every check and result message.

Rules questions

Rules and opening principles: Chinese Chess Rules and AI Match Basics.

Reviewed by the PocketJoy game-testing team · Operated by Long-Term New Media Limited · hklongtermad@gmail.com