Maybe you saw two old men playing on a Hanoi sidewalk and stopped to watch. Maybe a Vietnamese or Chinese friend challenged you. Maybe you play international chess and want to try its older cousin. Whatever brought you here, the path into xiangqi is short and pleasant — if you take the steps in the right order.
This guide lays out that order. Each step has a clear goal, so you always know what to do next and when to move on.
Step 1: Learn the board, not just the pieces
Before learning any piece, spend five minutes with the empty board. Notice:
- Pieces stand on the intersections, not in the squares. There are 9 files and 10 ranks.
- The river crosses the middle. Some pieces change behavior after crossing; elephants cannot cross at all.
- The palace is the 3 × 3 box with an X on each side. The general and advisors live there.
If your eyes keep looking for squares, place a few pieces on points and move them around by hand. It takes a surprisingly short time for the board to "click".
Goal: you can point to the river, both palaces and the center file without hesitating.
Step 2: Learn the moves in three groups
Do not try to memorize all seven pieces at once. Group them:
- The simple ones: chariot (like a chess rook), soldier (one step forward, sideways after the river), general (one step inside the palace).
- The palace and home pieces: advisor (one diagonal step inside the palace), elephant (two diagonal steps, never across the river).
- The tricky ones: horse (one straight, one diagonal, can be blocked) and cannon (moves like a chariot, captures by jumping exactly one piece).
The details are in how xiangqi pieces move.
Goal: you can set up the starting position from memory and move each piece correctly.
Step 3: Learn the three blocks
Here is where most beginners stumble. Three rules stop pieces from moving:
- The horse's leg: a piece directly next to the horse in the direction it wants to go blocks that move.
- The elephant's eye: a piece on the midpoint of the elephant's diagonal blocks that move.
- The cannon's screen: a cannon needs exactly one piece between itself and its target to capture.
Plus one rule about the generals: they may never face each other on an open file. See the flying general rule.
Goal: before any horse, elephant or cannon move, you check the block without being reminded.
Step 4: Play short, low-pressure games
Now play. Not one careful game — many quick ones. The best partner at this stage is a patient human or a computer set to its lowest level. The board on the home page refuses illegal moves and shows where each piece can go, which teaches the blocks faster than any explanation.
Do not worry about strategy. Focus on:
- getting your chariots out of the corners early,
- noticing when your pieces are attacked,
- noticing when enemy pieces are free to capture.
Goal: ten complete games, win or lose, with no illegal-move confusion.
Step 5: Learn one opening idea
You do not need opening theory yet. You need one idea for Red and one for Black:
- As Red: move a cannon to the center file (C2=5, the Central Cannon), then bring out both horses and a chariot. See the Central Cannon opening.
- As Black: protect your center soldier with a horse (H8+7 or H2+3) and bring out the other horse and a chariot. See the Screen Horses defense.
These two ideas cover a very large share of casual games, and they teach good habits: develop, protect the center, get the chariots out.
Goal: you reach move 10 with both horses and at least one chariot developed in most games.
Step 6: Learn to finish a game
Many beginners get winning positions and cannot finish them. Learn two things:
- Basic mates with a chariot and your general's control of the center file, and with two chariots. See how a xiangqi game ends.
- The no-move rule: if the opponent has no legal move on their turn, they lose. You do not always need check.
Goal: you can checkmate a bare general with a chariot and your own general within a few minutes.
Step 7: Review your losses
After a loss, replay the game from memory or from your saved record and find the first moment you lost material or were checkmated. Ask: what did I miss? Usually it is one of five things: a horse fork, a cannon capture through a screen, a chariot on an open file, an undefended piece, or a check you did not expect.
If you play online on this site while signed in to your account, your games are saved and you can step through them move by move.
Goal: after each loss you can name the one mistake that decided it.
How long does all this take?
Steps 1–3 take an afternoon. Steps 4–6 usually take a couple of weeks of casual play. Step 7 is a habit that never stops. There is no need to rush: people play this game for their whole lives, and part of the pleasure is noticing new things in positions you have seen a hundred times.
A word about playing with Vietnamese players
If you are in Vietnam, you will find games everywhere. Many players are happy to play a friendly visitor. A few tips:
- Learn the Vietnamese piece names — Xe, Pháo, Mã, Tượng, Sĩ, Tốt, Tướng. They will be said out loud.
- Expect spectators and advice from them. It is part of the culture.
- Park games are often fast. Do not be embarrassed to take your time; just be polite about it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know chess first?
No. Xiangqi is a complete game on its own, and many players never learn chess. If you do know chess, some ideas carry over, but several rules are different.
How long until I can play a decent game?
Most people play complete, legal games within a day, and understand basic strategy within a few weeks of regular play.
Is it better to learn from a person or a computer?
Both help. A person can explain ideas; a computer is always available and never impatient. Mixing the two works best.
What should I learn after these steps?
The openings section and the middlegame section are the natural next steps, together with basic endgames.
