Play Xiangqi (Chinese chess) against the computer in your browser. Full rules, three difficulty levels, undo and move hints. Free, no install.
Tap a piece to see its legal moves, then tap a point — or drag the piece. Checkmate the computer's general to win.
Xiangqi — Chinese chess, known as Cờ Tướng in Vietnam — is one of the most-played board games on earth, enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people across East and Southeast Asia. It took shape in China around a thousand years ago and shares a distant ancestor with international chess, yet it has a character all of its own.
The game is played on the lines of a board of 90 points, split across the middle by a 'river' and anchored by two 3×3 'palaces'. Each side has a general, two advisors, two elephants, two horses, two chariots, two cannons and five soldiers. The cannon — which slides freely but can only capture by leaping over exactly one screen piece — gives Xiangqi a sharp, tactical feel that sets it apart from Western chess.
This browser version lets you play a full game of Xiangqi against the computer on three difficulty levels, with no download and no account. The engine follows every rule — the river, the palaces, the horse and elephant blocking rules, the flying-general rule and checkmate — and includes an undo button so you can take a move back and explore.
Xiangqi is Chinese chess, a two-player strategy game played on a board of 90 points with a river and two palaces. It is known as Cờ Tướng in Vietnam and is one of the most popular board games in the world.
You win by checkmating the enemy general, or by leaving your opponent with no legal move at all. Unlike Western chess there is no stalemate draw — a player with no move simply loses.
Pieces sit on the line intersections, not the squares. The general and advisors are confined to a small palace, elephants cannot cross the river, horses and elephants can be blocked, and the cannon captures only by jumping a screen piece.
The two generals may never stand on the same file with no pieces between them. Any move that would leave them facing each other is illegal — in effect, each general guards its own file all the way to the other.
A cannon moves like a chariot — any distance in a straight line — when it is not capturing. To capture, it must jump over exactly one piece of either colour, called the screen, and take the next piece beyond it.
Yes. Tap one of your pieces to see its legal moves highlighted, then tap a point — or simply drag the piece. The board scales to fit any screen size.