Repetition
重复局面 · chóng fù jú miàn
The same position occurring again and again, which is judged by who is forcing it rather than counted to an automatic draw.
Xiangqi does not treat a repeated position as an automatic draw. Instead the rules look at what each side is doing: a player who keeps checking or chasing has to vary, and a repetition where neither side is forcing anything is agreed as a draw.
This is one of the biggest practical differences from western chess, and it is why a worse position in xiangqi is genuinely harder to save.
In a casual game online the practical effect is simple. If you are forcing the repetition, expect to be asked to vary, and if your opponent is forcing it, you are usually the side the rule protects.
In practice
Know which side of the repetition you are on before you steer into one. It is a rule that decides tournament games.
Related terms
- 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.
- Perpetual chase长捉Endlessly attacking the same undefended piece to force a repetition, which the rules also forbid.
- 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.