Draw
和棋 · hé qí
A game that ends level, usually by agreement, by a position neither side can make progress in, or by the move limit.
Draws happen when neither side can break through: bare palaces with insufficient attacking material, fortresses that cannot be cracked, or a long stretch with no capture and no progress.
Note the two things that are not draws here. There is no stalemate draw, because a player with no legal move loses, and perpetual check does not save you, because the checking player must vary.
That combination makes xiangqi harsher than western chess for the player who is worse. Two of the great escape hatches are bolted shut, so a defence has to be a real defence rather than a way of running the clock out on the position.
In practice
In a worse position, head for structures with too little material to mate rather than for repetitions. Material shortage draws; repetition often does not.
Related terms
- Repetition重复局面The same position occurring again and again, which is judged by who is forcing it rather than counted to an automatic draw.
- Perpetual check长将Checking the same position over and over to force a repetition, which is not allowed: the player giving perpetual check must vary or lose.
- Endgame残局The final phase, with few pieces left, where exact technique and known positions decide the result.
- Checkmate将死A check the defender cannot answer, which ends the game immediately in the attacker's favour.