Opening
开局 · kāi jú
The first phase of the game, where both sides develop pieces, choose a structure and fight for the open files.
The xiangqi opening is short and sharp. Files are open from move one, chariots get into play almost immediately, and the choice of structure is usually settled within six or seven moves.
It is organised around Red's first move and Black's answer, which is why the named openings pair up the way they do: Central Cannon against Screen Horses, Elephant Opening against a central cannon, and so on.
Move order matters more than it looks. The same four moves in a different sequence can hobble your own horse or let a chariot out a move earlier, and at club level those small differences decide more games than the choice of opening itself.
In practice
Learn two openings properly, one as Red and one as Black, and understand the plans rather than the moves. That is worth more than a broad shallow repertoire.
Related terms
- Middlegame中局The phase after development, where plans, attacks and piece exchanges decide the character of the game.
- Endgame残局The final phase, with few pieces left, where exact technique and known positions decide the result.
- Chariot车 / 車The strongest piece in xiangqi, moving any distance along a rank or file exactly like a rook, and the piece that decides most games.
- Screen炮架The single piece a Cannon jumps over in order to capture, which may belong to either player.