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10 Xiangqi strategy tips to win more games

Knowing the rules is step one. These ten principles are what separate players who win regularly from those who keep losing pieces. Each tip is short enough to remember during a game.

1. Know the rough piece values

A common guide: chariot ≈ 9, horse ≈ 4, cannon ≈ 4.5, advisor ≈ 2, elephant ≈ 2, soldier ≈ 1 (≈ 2 after crossing the river). Cannons are worth a little more in the opening, horses a little more in the endgame.

2. Get your chariots out early

The chariot is your strongest piece. Aim to have at least one chariot on an open file within the first eight to ten moves.

3. Never leave a chariot where a cannon can fork it

Cannon forks on chariots decide many beginner games. Before you place a chariot, check every enemy cannon and the screens around it.

4. Watch your horse’s legs

A horse is only as good as its open paths. Do not block your own horses, and look for ways to hobble your opponent’s.

5. Think about screens, not just pieces

Every piece – yours or your opponent’s – can become a platform for a cannon. Moving a piece out of a line can open a cannon check; moving one into a line can create one.

6. Keep the palace connected

Advisors and elephants defend best in pairs. Trading one away for nothing often makes the mating patterns in our checkmate guide possible against you.

7. Cross the river with purpose

A soldier across the river is a real attacker, especially near the palace. But a soldier pushed too far – to the last rank – becomes almost useless, because it can only move sideways.

8. Trade when ahead, complicate when behind

If you are up material, simplify by exchanging pieces. If you are behind, keep pieces on the board and look for tactics.

9. Use the flying general rule

Your general controls its file. In endgames, placing your general on the right file can take squares away from the enemy general and support your attack.

10. Learn a few basic endgames

Know that a chariot beats most lone defenders, that horse or cannon plus soldier can often win against a bare general, and that defenders with both advisors and elephants are much harder to break.

Keep improving

Play regularly, review lost games with Undo, and climb the leaderboard online. New to the openings? Start with our Xiangqi openings guide.

FAQ

Which Xiangqi piece is the most valuable?

The chariot, worth roughly two horses or cannons.

Is a horse or a cannon better in Xiangqi?

They are roughly equal. Cannons tend to be stronger in the opening when the board is crowded, horses stronger in the endgame.