World Xiangqi Federation rules
Use the federation rules for the Xiangqi board, piece movement, legal boundaries, and competition terminology. The comparison examples on this site are learner explanations, not official game scores.
Notation guide
How to Read Xiangqi Notation
Read each Xiangqi move as a compact instruction: identify the moving piece, locate its file from that side's perspective, read whether it advances, retreats, or moves horizontally, and then interpret the final number according to the piece and notation convention. Red and Black count files from their own sides, so the same physical file can have different numbers. Rebuild the board after every move instead of translating the token in isolation.
Working table
Four-part notation decoder
Use the source record's convention consistently; this English bridge uses familiar piece letters to expose the reading order.
| Token part | Question | Example reading habit |
|---|---|---|
| Piece | Which piece type moves? | R rook, H horse, C cannon, E elephant, A advisor, K general, P soldier in common English bridges. |
| Starting file | Which file from the mover's perspective? | Locate the side to move first; do not count both armies from Red's view. |
| Action | Does it advance, retreat, or move horizontally? | + advances, - retreats, and = moves across in the site's record bridge. |
| Final number | Is this a destination file or a distance? | Rook/cannon/general/soldier vertical moves commonly use distance; horse/elephant/advisor use destination file. |
| Duplicate pieces | Can two identical pieces share one file? | Use the record convention's front/rear or other disambiguation before choosing the mover. |
| Board check | Does the decoded move satisfy Xiangqi constraints? | Verify horse leg, elephant eye, river, palace, cannon screen, and flying-general legality. |
Notation is a board-reconstruction tool. If the decoded move is illegal, recheck perspective, duplicate-piece disambiguation, and whether the final number means file or distance.
Start with the side to move
The most common beginner error is to treat file numbers as fixed labels printed from one spectator viewpoint. Xiangqi notation normally describes files from the moving side's perspective. Red and Black therefore count toward each other, and a token that looks symmetrical on paper may point to a different physical file.
Before reading the piece letter, mark whose turn it is and face the board from that side. Then count the files according to the convention used by the record. This one pause prevents a long chain of false moves, especially when both sides move rooks or cannons on visually similar files.
Separate horizontal moves from vertical distance
The action symbol tells you whether the piece advances toward the opponent, retreats toward its own side, or moves horizontally. A horizontal rook or cannon move names the destination file. A vertical rook, cannon, general, or soldier move commonly names how many points the piece travels. The final number is therefore not interpreted the same way in every token.
Horse, elephant, and advisor moves are shaped rather than straight-distance moves, so their final number identifies the destination file in the notation bridge used by this site. Decode the legal movement shape first, then use the destination file to choose the endpoint. Do not force a distance reading onto a piece that cannot move straight that way.
Resolve identical pieces before replay
Two rooks, horses, or cannons can sometimes occupy the same file. A record then needs a disambiguation convention such as front and rear, and crowded positions may use additional forms. The exact symbols vary across Chinese and English record systems, so the reader should identify the source convention before assuming one universal token set.
When two pieces are candidates, test each legal route against the current board. A horse may be blocked at the leg, a cannon capture may lack a screen, or one piece may expose the generals on an open file. Legality often resolves the ambiguity, but the notation marker should still be read rather than guessed.
Replay in short verified chunks
Read two plies, update the board, and compare the resulting position with the record's next cue. If the next move becomes impossible, stop at the last verified position instead of improvising. Recheck the mover's perspective, action symbol, final-number meaning, and any captured piece.
After a short line is reconstructed, add one sentence of purpose: development, file pressure, a cannon screen, horse-leg control, palace defense, or a tactical threat. This turns notation from symbol decoding into record reading. Accuracy comes first; strategic speed grows from many correctly rebuilt short lines.
Rules checked
Source notes
Use the source for the rule claim named here; use the guide for the beginner reading task.