Xiangqi Unblocked

Xiangqi looks familiar to chess players for about five seconds. Then you notice the pieces sit on line crossings, a river cuts the board in half, each General is boxed into a small palace, and the cannons capture by hopping over another piece. It plays faster and more tactically than many people expect. This unblocked Xiangqi comes from Christopher Müller’s PaperGames. Take either color against an AI with Easy, Medium and Hard settings, or invite a friend to share your device. A single button turns the Chinese characters into small pictures, which is a big help if you are new.

Meet the Pieces

Red opens the game. You capture by moving onto an enemy piece, and you win by checkmate or by leaving your opponent with no legal moves.

• General. One point orthogonally, never leaving the 3x3 palace.
• Advisor. One point diagonally, also confined to the palace.
• Elephant. Exactly two points diagonally. It cannot cross the river, and a piece on the midpoint blocks it.
• Horse. One point straight, then one diagonally outward. A piece on that first point stops it.
• Chariot. Slides as far as it likes along a row or column. The strongest piece on the board.
• Cannon. Travels like a chariot when not capturing. To take something, it must leap over exactly one piece, friend or foe, on the way to its victim.
• Soldier. One point forward. After crossing the river it may also step sideways.

Two special rules round it out. The two Generals are forbidden from staring at each other down a file with nothing in between, and the board refuses any move that would cause that. Forcing the same position a third time with nonstop checks or chases is also banned.

Xiangqi controls

To do this	Keyboard	Mouse	Touch
Make a move	Tab to the board, arrow keys to reach a point, Enter on your piece and again on its target	Click your piece, then click the point it should move to	Tap your piece, then tap its target point
Swap Chinese characters for picture pieces	—	Click "Switch to symbols" or "Switch to characters"	Tap "Switch to symbols" or "Switch to characters"
Open or close the move record	—	Click "Moves"	Tap "Moves"
Pick a color and the AI level	—	Pick red or black and a level, then click "New game"	Pick red or black and a level, then tap "New game"
Take back or concede	—	Click "Undo" or "Resign"	Tap "Undo" or "Resign"

Opening Ideas and Tactics

A classic start

Slide a cannon to the center file. From there it targets the opposing General, using the central soldier as its jumping platform, and your opponent has to react immediately. Follow up by bringing out a horse to protect your center soldier.

Develop before you attack

Horses get stuck easily behind their own pieces, so move them out early. Chariots want open files, where they can swing to either side of the river in one move.

Watch every screen

A cannon needs a platform. Whenever a single piece of any color stands on the line between a hostile cannon and one of your pieces, that piece is in danger. Before you move a piece onto a file or rank shared with an enemy cannon, check whether it would become the screen for a capture.

The facing Generals rule as a weapon

Your General can freeze an enemy piece on the central file: if that piece stepped aside, the Generals would have a clear line, which is illegal. Use that to freeze defenders in place.

Who It Suits

Xiangqi rewards players who enjoy chess tactics but want something fresh. The move list records each game in coordinate notation, Undo helps with study, and your current game is saved between visits. For Japan’s take on the chess family, try Shogi, or play the familiar version in Chess vs Computer.