FUN XIANGQI GUIDES
How Pieces Capture in Xiangqi (Chinese Chess)
By ChiChi Studio · Published · 3 min read
Steps
Land on an enemy piece
You capture by moving one of your pieces onto a point held by an enemy piece. The enemy piece leaves the board and yours takes its place. You can never capture your own pieces.
Use the piece's normal move
The general, advisor, elephant, horse, chariot and soldier capture exactly the way they move, with all the same limits.
Respect blocks and borders
A blocked horse leg or elephant eye stops captures too. The general and advisors can't leave the palace to capture, and elephants can't cross the river.
Jump one screen with the cannon
The cannon is the exception. To capture, it must jump over exactly one piece of either colour, then take the enemy piece just beyond it.
Capture only when it helps
Capturing is never forced in xiangqi. Before you take a piece, check whether your own piece can be captured back.
Examples
One rule for six pieces
In xiangqi, you capture by moving a piece onto a point held by an enemy piece. The enemy piece leaves the board, and your piece takes its place. You can't capture your own pieces, and you never have to capture — it's always your choice.
For six of the seven pieces, that's the whole rule: they capture exactly the way they move, with all the same limits.
- General: one point straight, and only inside the palace.
- Advisor: one point diagonally, also only inside the palace.
- Elephant: two points diagonally, never across the river, and not when its eye is blocked.
- Horse: one point straight, then one diagonally outward, and not when its leg is blocked.
- Chariot: any distance in a straight line, onto the first piece in its path if that piece is an enemy.
- Soldier: one point forward, or sideways too once it has crossed the river.
The cannon is different
The cannon moves like a chariot, but it can't capture that way. To capture, it needs a screen: exactly one piece, of either colour, between itself and its target on the same line. It jumps the screen and lands on the enemy piece beyond.
e
9 X captured
8 .
7 S screen
6 .
5 C cannon
C = cannon on e5, S = the screen on e7, X = an enemy piece on e9. The cannon jumps e7 and captures on e9. With no piece in between, or with two, there's no capture.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting blocks. A blocked horse leg or elephant eye stops captures, not just quiet moves.
- Leaving the palace. The general and advisors can never step outside the palace, not even to take a piece.
- Grabbing a guarded piece. Before you capture, check whether your piece can be taken straight back.
Quick questions
Do I have to capture when I can? No. Capturing is never forced in xiangqi.
Can a soldier capture backwards? No. A soldier captures the way it moves: forward, and sideways only after crossing the river.
How do I see what I can capture in Fun Xiangqi? Tap a piece. Green dots show where it can move, and a ring around an enemy piece means you can capture it.
Need a refresher on a single piece? Start with how to move the chariot and how to move the cannon. Then try your captures in how to play against the classic engine, or start a free game from the Fun Xiangqi home page.