Perpetual check
长将 · cháng jiāng
Checking the same position over and over to force a repetition, which is not allowed: the player giving perpetual check must vary or lose.
In western chess, perpetual check is a drawing resource. In xiangqi it is a rule violation. A player who repeatedly checks without making progress has to stop, and if they will not, the game is awarded against them.
The same principle covers perpetual chasing, where a piece is harassed forever to avoid losing it. The rules exist so that a worse position cannot be saved by refusing to let the game continue.
The rule is worth knowing before you need it, because the instinct people bring from western chess is exactly wrong here. A perpetual is not a lifeline in xiangqi, and steering into one from a worse position can lose a game you might otherwise have held.
In practice
If you are worse and looking at a repetition, check whose repetition it is. The player forcing it is usually the one who has to break it.
Related terms
- Perpetual chase长捉Endlessly attacking the same undefended piece to force a repetition, which the rules also forbid.
- Check将军A direct attack on the enemy General, which the defender must answer immediately.
- Draw和棋A game that ends level, usually by agreement, by a position neither side can make progress in, or by the move limit.
- Checkmate将死A check the defender cannot answer, which ends the game immediately in the attacker's favour.