#cờ tướng

Xiangqi Rules

Xiangqi Rules for Beginners: The Board, the Pieces, the Goal and Everything You Need for Your First Game

A complete beginner's guide to xiangqi rules: the board and river, the palace, how each piece moves, check and checkmate, and what makes it different from chess

29/09/2026 7 min read

The Pieces

Xiangqi Piece Values: How Much Each Piece Is Worth, How Values Change During the Game, and When to Ignore Them

A practical guide to xiangqi piece values: chariot, cannon, horse, elephant, advisor and soldier, how their worth shifts from opening to endgame, and fair trade

29/09/2026 5 min read

Xiangqi in Vietnam

Xiangqi in Vietnam: Sidewalk Games, Café Boards and the Crowd Around Every Table

Cờ tướng is everywhere in Vietnam: sidewalks, cafés, parks and festivals. What the game looks like in daily Vietnamese life and how a visitor can join in.

29/09/2026 5 min read

For Chess Players

Xiangqi for Chess Players: What Carries Over, What Doesn't, and How to Get Good Quickly

If you play chess, you are closer to xiangqi than you think. What transfers directly, which habits will cost you games, and a two-week plan to get going.

29/09/2026 5 min read

Xiangqi in Vietnam

Xiangqi Etiquette in Vietnam: Touch-Move, Onlookers, Take-Backs and How to Be a Welcome Opponent

Sidewalk games in Vietnam are friendly but have unwritten rules: the move stands once your hand leaves the piece, onlookers stay quiet, and take-backs are a fav

29/09/2026 5 min read

Middlegame

When to Exchange Pieces in Xiangqi: Good Trades, Bad Trades, and How Every Exchange Changes the Coming Endgame

Every xiangqi trade changes the game. When to exchange and when to avoid it: material, activity, defenders, cannon versus horse, and heading for a winning endga

29/09/2026 5 min read

Xiangqi in Vietnam

Vietnamese Xiangqi Notation vs WXF: How to Read P2-5, M8.7 and X1.1 Like a Local

Vietnamese sources write moves as P2-5 or M8.7, English ones as C2=5 or H8+7. How both notations work and how to convert between them without mistakes.

29/09/2026 4 min read

Beginners

A Simple Thinking Process for Every Xiangqi Move: Threats, Checks, Captures, Blocks and a Final Safety Check

A five-step routine to use before every xiangqi move: read the opponent's threat, look for checks and captures, check legs, eyes and screens, then a final safet

29/09/2026 5 min read

The Pieces

Soldiers in Xiangqi: Slow Before the River, Dangerous After It, and Why You Should Not Push Them to the End

Soldiers (Tốt) move one step forward, then sideways too after crossing the river. How they gain value, where they belong, and how to use them in the endgame.

28/09/2026 5 min read

Middlegame

Soldiers Crossing the River in the Xiangqi Middlegame: When to Advance, How to Support Them and What They Change

A soldier across the river changes the middlegame. When to advance one, how to support it, how crossed soldiers attack the palace, and how to stop the opponent'

28/09/2026 5 min read

Openings

The Screen Horses Defense: Black's Most Solid Answer to the Central Cannon, How to Set It Up and How to Play From It

The Screen Horses (Bình phong Mã) is Black's classic reply to the Central Cannon. How to build it, what each piece does, typical plans, and mistakes to avoid.

28/09/2026 5 min read

Openings

Same Direction and Opposite Direction Cannons: When Black Answers the Central Cannon With a Central Cannon of Its Own

Both sides put a cannon in the center. How Same Direction and Opposite Direction Cannons differ, why they lead to sharp play, and plans and dangers for each sid

28/09/2026 5 min read