Play Chinese Chess Online

How to start a Chinese Chess game

Select “Start a Chinese Chess game”, then choose a difficulty, side, and move order. Red normally moves first. If you choose to play second, the AI makes the opening move before control returns to you.

Selecting a piece highlights every legal destination in the current position. The rules engine rejects moves that expose your general or leave the two generals facing each other.

• Use hints while learning how the chariot, horse, and cannon coordinate.
• Increase the level after you can win consistently.
• Copy the move record to save and review important games.

Local AI and cloud review

Local mode is designed for quick, dependable practice and handles the main game without a remote request. Cloud mode first searches candidate moves locally, then asks the online service to review the choice.

If the cloud service is unavailable or slow, the game falls back to the best local result instead of abandoning the match. Difficulty affects search depth and move quality, not merely response time.

The objective and essential rules

Each army contains a general, advisors, elephants, chariots, horses, cannons, and soldiers. You win by checkmating the opposing general so that no legal move can remove the threat.

Generals may not face each other on an open file. Elephants cannot cross the river, advisors and generals remain inside the palace, horses can be blocked at the leg, and a cannon needs exactly one screen to capture.