Xiangqi pieces and how they move
The seven Xiangqi pieces one by one: how each moves and captures, what blocks it, and roughly what it is worth. Every board below is checked by the game's own rules.
Each side in Xiangqi has 16 pieces of seven kinds: one general, two advisors, two elephants, two horses, two chariots, two cannons and five soldiers. Red sits at the bottom and moves first. This page shows how each piece moves and captures, what limits it, and roughly what it is worth.
In the diagrams, files run a to i from left to right and ranks 0 to 9 from Red's side. Green dots mark the points a piece can move to, and a cross marks a move the rules forbid.
The board and the starting position
Pieces stand on the points where the lines cross, not inside squares. The river across the middle splits the board into two halves, and each side has a palace of nine points marked with a diagonal cross around its general.
On the back rank the order from each edge is chariot, horse, elephant, advisor, with the general in the centre. The cannons stand two ranks in front of the horses, and the soldiers stand on every other file just behind the river.
The general and the advisors
The general is your king, and keeping it safe comes first. It moves one point up, down, left or right, and it can never leave the palace. It also may not step onto a file where it would face the other general with nothing in between.
Advisors are the general's personal guards. Each moves one point diagonally and must stay inside the palace, so an advisor can only ever stand on five points. They block attacking lines and cover the points next to the general.
Elephants and horses
Elephants move exactly two points diagonally and can't cross the river, so they only ever defend. They can't jump either. If the point halfway along the diagonal, the elephant's eye, is occupied, that move is blocked.
Horses move one point straight, then one point diagonally outward, an L-shape like the chess knight. The difference is that a horse can be blocked. If the point next to it in the direction it wants to go is occupied (players call this hobbling the horse's leg), it can't move that way. That makes horses weaker and more predictable than knights.
Chariots and cannons
The chariot is the most valuable piece. It moves like a chess rook, any number of points along a rank or file, and can't jump. Chariots carry both attack and defence.
The cannon is unique to Xiangqi. When it isn't capturing, it moves exactly like a chariot. To capture, it must jump over exactly one piece, the screen, and land on the enemy piece beyond. The screen can belong to either side. With no screen, or with two, there is no capture.
Because a cannon needs a screen, it can make threats no other piece can, including discovered attacks when a screen moves in or out of its line.
Soldiers
A soldier moves one point straight forward until it has crossed the river. After that it may also move one point sideways. It never moves backward, and it doesn't promote at the far edge. A soldier across the river is a real attacker.
When the generals face each other
The two generals may never face each other on the same file with nothing between them. No move may leave them like that. So a piece standing alone between the generals is pinned. Moving it off the file would expose the generals to each other, and the game won't allow it.
All seven pieces at a glance
The values are the rough guide most players use when weighing a trade. Position matters more than the numbers: a cannon is strongest early when the board is full of screens, and a horse gets better as the board empties.
| Piece | How it moves | Limit | Rough value |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | One point straight | Stays in the palace and may not face the other general | Priceless |
| Advisor | One point diagonally | Stays in the palace | 2 |
| Elephant | Two points diagonally | Can't cross the river and is blocked by a piece on its eye | 2 |
| Horse | One point straight, then one diagonally | Blocked by a piece next to it | 4 |
| Chariot | Any distance along a rank or file | Can't jump | 9 |
| Cannon | Like a chariot, but captures by jumping exactly one piece | Needs a screen to capture | 4.5 |
| Soldier | One point forward, and sideways once across the river | Never moves backward | 1, or 2 across the river |
How moves are written
Players usually write moves with each side counting the files 1 to 9 from its own right. A move names the piece, the file it starts on, the direction and either the file it ends on (for a sideways move) or the number of points it travels (for a straight move forward or back). A horse, elephant or advisor always names the file it lands on.
The most popular first move is the central cannon. Red moves the cannon on file 2 sideways to file 5, written "cannon 2 to 5". Black's usual reply is a horse from file 2 to file 3.
The how to play guide puts the pieces together into check, checkmate and your first plans, and the official rules cover the finer points such as perpetual check. The history of Xiangqi tells how the pieces got their names and moves.
Try the pieces on a real board
A private solo board against the AI, right here on the page. The board only offers legal moves, so you can check each piece for yourself.
Xiangqi
You know the pieces. Sit down at a board.
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