Play xiangqi (Chinese chess) on a board that checks every move and records it in Chinese notation (炮二平五), three letter variants (C2=5, C2.5) and ICCS coordinates (H2-E2), with 前/后 for doubled pieces.
Xiangqi Interactive Board (中国象棋互动棋盘)
Move history
Captured
How to use
Pick a mode
Pass-and-play for two people, or play the computer at search depth 1–3 (casual strength).
Click a piece, then a highlighted point
Only legal moves light up. A move that leaves your own general in check, or leaves the two generals facing on an open file, is refused.
Read the move log
Each move is written in Chinese, in the letter notation you choose, and in ICCS coordinates. When two identical pieces share a file, the record uses 前/后 instead of a file number.
Open the rules reference
Pieces, direction symbols, the 前/中/后 and 一二三 labels, and seven common first moves in every notation, all produced by the same code that writes the log.
Four characters per move, and where each rule comes from
A move in Chinese notation is four characters: the piece, the file it stands on, the direction (进 forward, 退 back, 平 sideways) and a number. The Chinese Xiangqi Association’s 2020 competition rules (§1.1) number the nine files from each side’s own right: 一 to 九 for Red, 1 to 9 for Black. So Red’s 炮二平五 and Black’s 炮8平5 are mirror images. When a chariot, cannon, soldier or general moves forward or back, the number is how many points it travels; for the horse, elephant and advisor, and for any sideways move, it is the file it lands on.
When two pieces share a file
The same rules (§7.5) say that when a side has identical pieces on one file, the record marks the one that moves with 前 (front), 中 (middle) or 后 (rear) instead of its file number, as in 前马退四 or 后车平六. xqbase’s notation specification fills in the details. Advisors and elephants never need a label, because of two on one file the one that can retreat is always the front one. Four or five soldiers on one file are numbered 一 to 五 from the front. When two files each hold two or more soldiers, they are numbered across both files from the side’s own right, front to back. This board applies all of it. In the 300 games of the 2000 Chinese national individual championship transcribed by xqbase, 393 of the 24,756 moves carry 前 or 后, and replaying all 300 games on this board writes every move exactly as published.
Letters and coordinates
Letter notations swap the characters for letters and symbols, and the documents do not agree on one set. A draft file-format specification hosted by the World Xiangqi Federation (drafted by Huayong Yang) writes this move C2=5, with “=” for sideways and the letters G and M for advisor and elephant. The WXF’s FEN document lists the letters “KAERCHP”, with E for elephant and H for horse. xqbase writes C2.5 and uses B and N. None of these is labelled official here; the move log lets you switch between them. ICCS coordinates name points rather than files: files a–i from Red’s left and ranks 0–9 from Red’s back rank, so 炮二平五 is H2-E2.
Check, checkmate and 困毙
Under the CXA rules (§3.4, §4.1), a move that leaves your own general capturable, or leaves the two generals facing each other on an open file, is “自杀” and loses, so this board refuses it. Being checkmated (将死) loses. So does having no legal move when it is your turn (困毙, §3.3 and §4.1.2): in xiangqi that is a loss, not a draw. The board announces both. Rulings on repeated checks and the other forbidden repetitions are outside this tool.
Xiangqi in Singapore
The Singapore Xiangqi General Association (新加坡象棋总会) says on its own site that it was founded in 1934 and has used its present name since 1972, and it publishes a rating list (等级分). It announced on 25 August 2026 that it will co-host the 2026 World Xiangqi Tournament Series with the World Xiangqi Federation in Singapore, scheduled for 10–15 November 2026.
Sources
Chinese Xiangqi Association, 《象棋竞赛规则》 (2020 edition), §1.1, §1.2, §3, §4.1 and §7.5 (read from a copy hosted by a third-party site); xqbase, 《中国象棋电脑应用规范(二):着法表示》 (revised 2006); the WXF-hosted Chinese Chess File Format draft and FEN for Xiangqi; the WXF’s “A Short Introduction to XIANGQI” (2022); the Singapore Xiangqi General Association at xiangqi.sg. Move generation is checked against the published perft counts from the start position (44 / 1,920 / 79,666 / 3,290,240, chessprogramming.org).
The rules hidden inside a xiangqi move record
Each side counts from its own right. Under §1.1 of the Chinese Xiangqi Association’s 2020 rules, Red numbers the files 一 to 九 from right to left and Black numbers them 1 to 9 from its own right, so the file Red calls 二 is Black’s 8.
The last number means two different things. For a chariot, cannon, soldier or general going straight forward or back it counts points (车九进二); a horse, elephant or advisor moves diagonally, so its number is the file it lands on (马八进七).
前 and 后. With two cannons on one file the record reads 前炮退一, not 炮八退一, because the second form fits either cannon (CXA rules §7.5). In the 300 games of the 2000 Chinese national individual championship transcribed by xqbase, 393 of the 24,756 moves carry 前 or 后.
Advisors and elephants never take 前 or 后. Two on one file keep the file number, because, as xqbase puts it, the one that can retreat is always in front and the one that can advance is always behind.
Crowded soldiers are numbered. Three on a file take 前, 中 and 后; four or five take 一 to 五; two files each holding two or more are numbered from the side’s own right, front to back (xqbase). The appendix of the WXF-hosted draft letters them A–D from Red’s right for both sides, so the two conventions differ.
There are three letter sets. The WXF’s FEN document uses E and H for elephant and horse; the draft file-format specification on the same site defaults to G and M for advisor and elephant; xqbase uses B and N. Sideways is “=” in the draft and “.” in xqbase.
ICCS names points, not files. Files run a–i from Red’s left and ranks 0–9 from Red’s back rank, so 炮二平五 is H2-E2; xqbase notes the UCCI engine protocol shortens it further to h2e2.
Red and Black pieces often carry different characters. The WXF’s introduction shows Red 帥 仕 相 炮 兵 against Black 將 士 象 砲 卒. The CXA’s 2020 rules (§1.2) print 士 for both sides’ advisors and 炮 for both cannons, with 砲 as an alternative.
Stalemate loses. A side with no legal move on its turn is 困毙 (CXA rules §3.3), and §4.1.2 scores that as a loss. This board announces it.
The generals may never face each other. A move that leaves them on one open file is “自杀” (CXA rules §3.4), so the only piece standing between them cannot step sideways off that file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Play pass-and-play or against the computer, which searches 1–3 moves ahead on material and position with no opening book or endgame table, so it suits casual games. The board refuses moves that leave your own general in check and announces checkmate and 困毙; it does not adjudicate repetition rules.
Red’s cannon on file 二 (counted from Red’s right) moves sideways to file 五, the centre file. In letters it is C2=5 or C2.5; in ICCS coordinates, H2-E2. Black’s mirror move is written 炮8平5.
When one side has two identical chariots, horses, cannons or soldiers on one file and moves one of them, 前 or 后 replaces the file number (CXA rules §7.5). Three soldiers take 前, 中 and 后; four or more are numbered 一, 二, 三. Advisors and elephants never need it. The move log here does this automatically.
The documents we checked disagree. The WXF-hosted FEN document uses E and H; the WXF-hosted draft file-format specification uses G and M and writes sideways as “=”; xqbase uses B and N and writes sideways as “.”. This page does not rule between them; all three are available in the move log.
CXA rules §1.1 set the convention but give no reason, and we found no reliable source for one, so we do not offer one. Note that the same rules’ recording example (§7.5) writes Black’s moves in Chinese numerals too (马八进七), so the numerals usually, but not always, tell you whose move it is.
The WXF’s technical grading standard (revised 27 August 2020) has three titles: International Grandmaster, International Master and Federation Master. Men and women share the title names but are assessed against separate criteria. The Singapore Xiangqi General Association also publishes its own rating list.
No. It records only the game you play on this board.
Yes. Open the rules reference, then use your browser’s “Print → Save as PDF”.
Pick up where you left off
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