Sooner or later every xiangqi player wants to replay a game, follow an opening explanation or record their own moves. For that you need notation. The good news: xiangqi notation is relative to each player, so once you understand one idea — "count the files from your own right" — the rest follows quickly.
This page explains the WXF notation used on this site and in most English-language material, then shows how Vietnamese books write the same moves.
Step 1: the piece letters
Each move starts with a letter for the piece:
| Letter | Piece | Vietnamese |
|---|---|---|
| K | General (King) | Tướng |
| A | Advisor | Sĩ |
| E | Elephant | Tượng |
| H | Horse | Mã |
| R | Chariot (Rook) | Xe |
| C | Cannon | Pháo |
| P | Soldier (Pawn) | Tốt / Binh |
Some older English texts use N for the horse and B for the elephant, borrowing chess letters. WXF uses H and E, and so does this site.
Step 2: file numbers from your own right
The nine files are numbered 1 to 9 from right to left, as seen by the player who moves.
- For Red (bottom), file 1 is on Red's right-hand edge, file 9 on the left.
- For Black (top), file 1 is on Black's right — which, seen from Red's side, is the left edge.
So the center file is always file 5 for both players, but "file 2" means different physical files for Red and Black. This is the most important point to understand. Every player describes the board from their own seat.
Step 3: the direction sign
After the piece and its file comes a sign:
- + : the piece moves forward (toward the opponent)
- − : the piece moves backward (toward its own side)
- = : the piece moves sideways along its rank
Step 4: the final number
The last number means one of two things, depending on the piece:
- For pieces that move in straight lines — chariot, cannon, soldier, general — moving forward or backward, the number is how many points they travel.
- For a sideways move, and for all moves by pieces that move diagonally — horse, elephant, advisor — the number is the file where the piece arrives.
That is the whole system. Let us read some real moves.
Examples
C2=5 — The cannon on file 2 moves sideways to file 5. This is the most famous opening move in xiangqi: the Central Cannon.
H8+7 — The horse on file 8 moves forward and lands on file 7. For Black this is a standard reply that defends the center soldier.
R1+1 — The chariot on file 1 moves forward one point.
R9=8 — The chariot on file 9 moves sideways to file 8.
P7+1 — The soldier on file 7 moves forward one point. As Red's first move this is the "Pawn opening".
E3+5 — The elephant on file 3 moves forward to file 5, landing in front of the general. As a first move, this is the "Elephant opening".
A4+5 — The advisor on file 4 moves forward to the center of the palace.
K5+1 — The general on file 5 steps forward one point.
C8+4 — The cannon on file 8 moves forward four points.
H2−3 — The horse on file 2 moves backward to file 3.
When two identical pieces share a file
Sometimes both of your chariots, cannons or horses stand on the same file. Then "R3+2" would be ambiguous. Instead of the file number, you mark the piece as front or rear:
- +R — the front chariot (the one further forward)
- −R — the rear chariot
So +R=4 means "the front chariot moves sideways to file 4". This site writes these moves with the sign in front of the letter.
Soldiers are handled the same way in simple cases; with three or more soldiers on one file, full rule sets add extra conventions, but you will almost never meet that.
Numbering moves in a game
A full game is usually written in pairs, Red's move first:
- C2=5 H8+7
- H2+3 R9=8
- R1=2 C8+4
Read aloud: "One: Red cannon two to five, Black horse eight forward to seven. Two: Red horse two forward to three, Black chariot nine to eight…"
How Vietnamese players write moves
Vietnamese books use the same structure with Vietnamese letters and different signs:
| WXF | Vietnamese | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| + | . or "tấn" | forward |
| − | / or "thoái" | backward |
| = | − or "bình" | sideways |
So the Central Cannon C2=5 is written P2-5 and spoken "Pháo hai bình năm". The horse move H8+7 becomes M8.7, "Mã tám tấn bảy". If you ever read Vietnamese material or watch Vietnamese players, knowing this table unlocks it. On this site the move lists use WXF.
Common reading mistakes
Counting files from the left. Always count from the mover's right. For Black, that is Red's left.
Treating the last number as distance for a horse. For horses, elephants and advisors, the last number is always a file, never a distance.
Forgetting the board flips for Black. When you replay Black's moves from Red's side, "forward" for Black is downward on your screen.
Practice
Open the board on the home page and play a few moves against the computer while watching the move list. Say each move aloud as you make it. After ten minutes you will read notation without thinking, and you will be ready for the opening guides.
Writing down your own games
Recording your own games is one of the fastest ways to improve, because it lets you replay them later and find the moment things went wrong. A few practical tips:
- Write both moves of a pair before thinking about the next one. It keeps the record in order.
- Mark moves you were unsure about with a question mark in the margin, and good surprises with an exclamation mark. When you review, start with those.
- Note the time left every ten moves in timed games. You will learn whether your mistakes come from rushing.
- Replay the game within a day, while you still remember what you were thinking.
If you play online on this site while signed in to your account, games are saved automatically with their move lists, and you can step through them move by move from your account page. That removes the need for a paper record, but writing a few games by hand is still a great exercise for learning to read notation fluently.
Frequently asked questions
Why does xiangqi number files from each player's own side?
It lets both players describe the game from their seat. File 5 is always the center, and a player's "file 2" is always their own right-side cannon file at the start.
Is WXF the only notation?
No. There are coordinate systems (like letters a–i and numbers 0–9) used by computer programs, and the traditional Chinese and Vietnamese styles. WXF is the most common in English.
How do I write a capture?
WXF does not add a capture symbol. The move is written the same way whether or not it captures.
Do I need notation to enjoy xiangqi?
Not at all, but it makes learning much faster, because you can follow explanations and review your own games.
