Game
AIChinese Chess Game
Free online Xiangqi (Chinese chess) vs AI or 2 players — no download, plays offline in your browser. Three AI levels, undo, hints and sound.
將
Black Thinking...帥
Red Thinking...Move History
Have feedback? Report bugs, suggest features, or share your thoughts — we read them allWhat is Xiangqi (Chinese Chess)?
Xiangqi, also known as Chinese Chess or Elephant Chess, is one of the world's most popular strategy board games with over 500 million players worldwide. Dating back over 1,000 years, this ancient game features unique mechanics like the river boundary, palace restrictions, and the powerful cannon piece. Two armies of 16 pieces each battle on a 9x10 board with pieces placed on intersections rather than squares. Our online Xiangqi game features intelligent AI using the Minimax algorithm with alpha-beta pruning, providing challenging gameplay for all skill levels.
Game Features
- Play vs Computer with 3 difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, Hard)
- Local 2-player mode to play with friends
- Smart AI using Minimax with alpha-beta pruning
- Positional Value Tables for realistic play style
- Tap to move on mobile, drag-and-drop on desktop
- Legal move highlighting showing valid positions
- Captured pieces tracking for both sides
- Material advantage indicator
- Complete move history in Chinese notation
- Hint system suggesting best moves
- Undo moves (both player and computer)
- Flip board to view from either side
- Check, checkmate, and stalemate detection
- Flying General rule implementation
- Sound effects for moves, captures, and check
- Dark mode support
- Responsive design for all devices
- No registration required
How to Play Xiangqi
- Select game mode: vs Computer or 2 Players
- Choose your color (Red or Black) and difficulty level
- Tap a piece on mobile (or drag on desktop) to see legal moves highlighted
- Move pieces to capture opponents and control the board
- Protect your General - when in check, you must escape
- Checkmate the opponent's General to win
- Use the Hint button if stuck - it shows the best move
- Undo mistakes and learn from them
Xiangqi Tips and Strategy
- Control the center files - especially the central cannon and chariot positions
- Develop your chariots early - they are the most powerful pieces
- Protect your General - never leave it exposed on an open file
- Use cannons effectively - they need a screen piece to capture
- Advance soldiers across the river - they gain sideways movement
- Block enemy horses with pawns - horses can be blocked unlike knights in chess
- Keep elephants at home - they cannot cross the river
- Watch for the Flying General rule - generals cannot face each other directly
- Coordinate your advisor and elephant defense around the palace
- In endgames, a chariot is often worth more than a horse and cannon combined
- Use discovered checks and double attacks with your cannon
- Think ahead - consider your opponent's possible responses
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Xiangqi AI uses the Minimax algorithm with alpha-beta pruning to evaluate positions and find the best moves. It considers piece values, positional advantages using Positional Value Tables, and calculates several moves ahead depending on difficulty. Easy mode calculates 2 moves, Medium 3 moves, and Hard 4 moves ahead. The search runs in a background Web Worker so the board stays smooth even on phones, and when several moves are equally strong the AI picks one at random — so every game plays out differently instead of repeating the same opening.
Each player controls 16 pieces: 1 General (King), 2 Advisors, 2 Elephants, 2 Horses, 2 Chariots, 2 Cannons, and 5 Soldiers. Red moves first. The goal is to checkmate the opponent's General. Pieces move along lines and are placed on intersections. The board has a river in the middle that restricts some pieces, and each side has a palace (3x3 area) where the General and Advisors must stay.
General: One step orthogonally within the palace. Advisor: One step diagonally within the palace. Elephant: Two steps diagonally (cannot cross river, can be blocked). Horse: One step orthogonally then one diagonally (can be blocked). Chariot: Any distance orthogonally (like a rook). Cannon: Moves like chariot but must jump over exactly one piece to capture. Soldier: Forward only before crossing river; forward and sideways after crossing.
The Flying General (or General Face-to-Face) rule states that the two Generals cannot face each other directly on the same file with no pieces between them. This creates tactical opportunities - you can use your General to 'control' a file by threatening to expose the enemy General. If moving a piece would leave the Generals facing each other, that move is illegal.
The river is the horizontal band in the middle of the board (between ranks 5 and 6). It affects three piece types: Elephants cannot cross the river at all, Soldiers gain the ability to move sideways after crossing, and the river creates strategic separation between attacking and defending zones.
Each side has a palace - a 3x3 area marked with diagonal lines. The General and Advisors must stay within their palace at all times. This restriction creates unique tactical patterns and makes defending the General different from Western chess.
Like Western chess, checkmate occurs when the General is in check and cannot escape. However, the palace restriction and Flying General rule create different mating patterns. Common checkmates involve double attacks with chariot and cannon, or using the Flying General rule to create unavoidable threats.
The cannon is a distinctive Xiangqi piece with no equivalent in Western chess. It moves like a chariot (rook) but must jump over exactly one piece (called a screen or platform) to capture. This creates complex tactical possibilities - you must position screen pieces correctly to attack, and removing screens can eliminate cannon threats.
Practice these fundamentals: Learn basic checkmate patterns with chariot and cannon, Study opening principles (develop chariots, control center), Understand piece values (Chariot > Horse ≈ Cannon > Elephant > Advisor > Soldier), Practice endgames with single chariot vs. defense, Use the hint feature to learn strong moves, Analyze your games using the undo function.
Yes! Our Xiangqi game is fully responsive and works on all devices - smartphones, tablets, and desktops. The interface adapts to your screen size and touch controls are optimized for mobile play. On a phone or tablet you simply tap a piece and tap its destination; on desktop you can also drag pieces with the mouse.
Yes. This Xiangqi (Chinese chess) game is completely free with no ads required to play, and it runs entirely in your browser. Once the page has loaded, the game logic and AI work client-side, so you can keep playing against the computer or a friend even without an internet connection.
No. There is nothing to install and no account or registration. Just open the page and start a game. Your statistics are stored locally in your own browser, never on a server, and nothing you do is uploaded or shared.
Yes. Choose '2 Players' in Game Mode for local pass-and-play Xiangqi on a single phone, tablet or computer. Red and Black take turns on the same board, and you can flip the board so each player sees it from their own side. This mode has no AI - it is purely human vs human.
Xiangqi is played on the lines of a 9x10 board (pieces sit on intersections, not squares) and includes a river across the middle and a 3x3 palace for each general. The cannon is unique - it must jump exactly one piece to capture - and the two generals can never face each other directly down an open file (the Flying General rule). Elephants and advisors are locked to their own half and palace. The result is a faster, more open game than Western chess with very different tactics.
Easy: AI calculates 2 moves ahead - good for beginners learning the game. Medium: AI calculates 3 moves ahead - balanced challenge for casual players. Hard: AI calculates 4 moves ahead - serious challenge with advanced evaluation. The AI also uses Positional Value Tables to make strategically sound moves at all levels.
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