Best Sites to Play Xiangqi Online: A Fair Comparison

How this comparison was put together

Every claim about another site comes from that site's own homepage, help pages or FAQ. We did not use reviews, forum threads or impressions, and we have not ranked the sites against each other. The numbers they publish, such as bot counts, puzzle counts and player totals, are measured in different ways and cannot be compared like for like.

Instead, each site is matched to the kind of player it seems built for. The same questions were asked of all of them. Can you play the computer, and at how many levels? Are there puzzles? Are games rated? Which languages does the interface offer? Is there a phone app? And do you need an account before your first move?

Best for an all-round English platform: Xiangqi.com

Xiangqi.com's homepage lists online two-player games with a choice of timers and increments, untimed games, engine analysis after a game, free puzzles that you can also design and share, Elo-rated play with global and national leaderboards, and free Swiss-system tournaments every week. It says its web and app versions come in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English and Vietnamese, with apps on Google Play and the App Store, and it mentions more than 70 English-language lessons.

For practice, its help page on computer opponents describes ten levels, each a named bot with a backstory, from a curious cat for beginners up to a "legendary master", and says the site uses the open-source Pikafish engine. On accounts the picture is mixed. The homepage FAQ calls the app usable with no registration needed, while the puzzle page says rated puzzles, custom puzzles and puzzle creation need a free account.

Good fit: an English speaker who wants games, lessons, puzzles and weekly events in one place, on a phone as well as a desktop.

Best for no-frills games against people: PlayOK

PlayOK is a general games site, and xiangqi is one of dozens of games on its homepage, alongside chess, backgammon, go and many card games. Its xiangqi page sums up what you get: live opponents, game rooms, rankings, extensive stats, user profiles, contact lists, private messaging, game records and support for mobile devices. The login box offers a guest option next to a free sign-up, and the site comes in more than thirty languages.

There is also a tournaments section with a xiangqi listing, where players can create events. The xiangqi page does not mention a computer opponent, puzzles or lessons, and its rules link points to Wikipedia. It reads as a place to find a human game quickly rather than a place to study.

Good fit: someone who already knows the rules and wants a fast game in a busy lobby, in their own language.

Best for a long-running club feel: Club Xiangqi

Club Xiangqi runs in English and Vietnamese and describes itself as a place to play xiangqi lovers of all levels, from novice to master, and to chat and watch other people's games. Its instructions say every game there is against other people. You need a free account, activated with a code sent by email, before you can play, and its FAQ says accounts not used for six months are removed.

Beyond standard xiangqi it hosts Mystery Chinese chess, also known as cờ úp, in which every piece except the King starts face down on a random point. The site keeps game records, a Top 100, selected games, a Fast Tour score table and forums, and a table owner can make a table private and invite a friend with a key.

Good fit: players who enjoy a traditional lobby and chat culture, especially Vietnamese speakers and anyone curious about cờ úp.

Best for many bots and phone apps: Xiangqi One

Xiangqi One leads with numbers. Its homepage advertises 40 AI bots from complete beginner to seasoned player, more than 1,000 puzzles with a daily puzzle, interactive lessons in which you play every move, and online games at bullet, blitz or rapid with an Elo rating. It says the Pikafish engine reviews every game you play in your browser, and it calls itself "100% free" with no ads.

It is on the web, iOS and Android, with progress synced across devices, and its language menu lists nine languages. The five-minute rules lesson needs no account; for games, the homepage invites you to create a free account.

Good fit: a learner who wants a long ladder of bot personalities and a native phone app.

Best for engine review and master games: Xiangqi.ca

Xiangqi.ca presents itself as a platform for improving. Its homepage headline promises "No ads + Free AI review + 55,000 game analysis", and it lists 25 AI levels, puzzle training and multi-engine tournaments between eight engines. It says it supports Chinese, English and Vietnamese, and its beginners' guide describes the site as completely free, covering games against people, the bots, tactical puzzles and master games.

The homepage pitch is "No download, start now", with a free sign-up offered beside it. Good fit: a player who likes to study their own games with an engine and browse a large archive of master games.

Best for variants and open source: PyChess

PyChess is a free, open-source server for chess variants, and xiangqi sits beside close relatives such as Janggi, Minixiangqi, Manchu and Jieqi. Its FAQ says the computer opponent is Fairy-Stockfish, with level 8 the strongest on the site, plus a Random-Mover bot for learning how the pieces move. Its menus list puzzles, an analysis board, a board editor, simultaneous exhibitions and tournaments, including weekly and monthly rated xiangqi arenas at five minutes plus three seconds.

You sign in through Lichess, Lishogi, Google or Discord rather than creating a new password, and the FAQ says the site is supported purely by donations. Good fit: anyone who already uses Lichess, or who wants to try Jieqi and other xiangqi relatives in one place.

Where XiangqiPlay fits, trade-offs included

XiangqiPlay is free and runs in the browser. The computer opponent has eight levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert, Master, Grandmaster, Legend and God. The puzzle section holds 5,000 mates in one, two and three moves, each proven by the engine, plus a daily puzzle. Online games are Elo-rated and played untimed or at bullet (1+0), blitz (5+3) or rapid (10+5), and any signed-in player can schedule a Swiss or knockout tournament. You can open a private board for a friend, share one screen with someone beside you, and watch public games live.

The main trade-off is signing up. Every board on XiangqiPlay, games against the computer included, needs a free account with a verified email address, although the puzzles and lessons are open to everyone. The reason the site gives is fair play: one named account per person, so a rating means something and a report or a ban sticks. If you want to play the computer with no account at all, other sites on this list will suit you better.

Two more things are worth knowing. Our FAQ says that when no human is free for a quick game, you may be paired with one of our AI opponents; they earn no rating, never appear on the leaderboard, and a private link to a friend always gets you a person. And there is no app-store download: XiangqiPlay installs from the browser as a web app. The interface has a language menu with eight options, but the articles are in English.

Which one should you pick?

For a quick game against a person with almost no setup, PlayOK is the natural start. For an all-in-one English platform with weekly Swiss events and store apps, try Xiangqi.com. For a big ladder of bots, Xiangqi One; for engine review and master games, Xiangqi.ca; for variants such as Jieqi or cờ úp, PyChess or Club Xiangqi. If you are happy to make a free account and want a graded computer opponent, a large library of proven mates and tournaments you can run yourself, XiangqiPlay is built for that.

Every site here can be tried for free, and plenty of players keep accounts on two or three. Play a handful of games on each, then keep the one whose opponents and tools make you want to come back the next day.