How to Read Xiangqi Notation: A Simple Guide for Beginners

How Files Are Numbered

Xiangqi notation is built around the nine files, and here is the crucial twist: each player numbers the files from their own right-hand side to their left. So Red counts files 1 through 9 starting from Red's right, while Black counts 1 through 9 starting from Black's right, which is the opposite edge. This mirrored numbering means the same physical file has a different number for each side.

In the popular English notation, files are given as numbers 1 to 9. Some systems use Chinese numerals for one side and Arabic numerals for the other, but the relative-to-yourself principle stays the same. When you read a move, always remember it is described from the moving player's perspective.

This player-relative counting feels strange at first, but it has a big advantage: openings look identical for both sides. A symmetric response by Black uses the same numbers as Red's move, which makes patterns easy to memorize once the idea clicks.

Piece Abbreviations

Every move begins with a letter or symbol identifying the piece. In common English notation, the abbreviations are: K or G for the General (King), A for Advisor, E for Elephant, H for Horse, R for Chariot (Rook), C for Cannon, and P or S for the Soldier (Pawn). These single letters keep move records short and readable.

You will also see the original Chinese characters in traditional records: 將/帥 for the General, 士/仕 for the Advisor, 象/相 for the Elephant, 馬/傌 for the Horse, 車 for the Chariot, 砲/炮 for the Cannon, and 卒/兵 for the Soldier. The two variants of each character distinguish the Black and Red pieces, which is a nice touch when reading authentic game sheets.

For beginners, sticking with the English letters is easiest. Once you recognize the seven abbreviations on sight, half the work of reading any move is already done — you just need the file number and the direction that follow.

Direction Symbols: Forward, Backward, and Sideways

After the piece and its starting file comes a direction symbol, and there are only three. A plus sign means forward, toward the enemy. A minus sign means backward, toward your own side. An equals sign means sideways, moving along a rank to a different file. Since forward is always relative to the moving player, the symbols are intuitive once you fix your own direction of advance.

For pieces that move in straight lines — the Chariot, Cannon, General, and Soldier — the number after a plus or minus tells you how many points the piece travels. For a sideways move with the equals sign, the number after it names the destination file. So R1+2 means the Chariot on file 1 moves forward two points, while R1=5 means it slides across to file 5.

For pieces that move diagonally or in L-shapes — the Horse, Elephant, and Advisor — the number after the direction symbol names the destination file rather than a distance, because their path is fixed once the file is known. This small distinction is the last piece of the puzzle.

Reading a Full Move and Handling Special Cases

Let us decode a classic first move: C2=5. The C is a Cannon, the 2 is its starting file (counted from the moving player's right), the equals sign means a sideways move, and the 5 is the destination file — the central file. So the Cannon jumps to the middle, the famous central cannon opening. Similarly, H2+3 means a Horse on file 2 moves forward to file 3, developing toward the center.

Occasionally two identical pieces sit on the same file, such as two Chariots or two Cannons. To avoid ambiguity, notation uses a front and rear indicator instead of the starting file number, telling you which of the two pieces is moving. You will see this most often with doubled Chariots or Cannons stacked on one file.

That is the entire system: file number, piece letter, direction, and value. Practice by replaying a few annotated games on XiangqiPlay, decoding each move aloud until it becomes automatic. Within an afternoon you will read Xiangqi notation as fluently as you read a sentence.