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Xiangqi Endgame Puzzles is a free online Chinese chess puzzle set: twelve stripped-down positions where red has to force mate in one, two or three moves. Every position was checked by a search before it shipped — the mate is genuinely forced, the number of moves is exact, and there is exactly one first move that works, so a near miss really is a miss. Black defends properly rather than helpfully: it plays the reply that survives longest, which is what stops a mate-in-three from collapsing into a mate-in-one by accident. Play a move that no longer forces it and the board is handed straight back with the reason. Full Xiangqi rules apply, including the cannon needing a screen to capture and the flying-general rule. No download, no account, works on a phone.
How to play Xiangqi Endgame Puzzles
- Red is always to move, and the header says how many moves the mate takes.
- Tap a red piece to see its legal moves — a small dot is an empty point, a ring is a capture.
- Tap the point you want and the move is played.
- A move that is legal but no longer forces the mate is shown for a second and then taken back, with a line saying black escapes. It counts as a wrong try but costs nothing else.
- When your move is right, black replies with its most stubborn defence and the moves-left counter drops by one.
- Full Xiangqi rules apply: cannons need a screen to capture, elephants cannot cross the river, and the two generals may never face each other down an open file.
- Hint circles the piece that has to move. Undo steps back a full move pair.
- Twelve puzzles unlock in order: four mates in one, four in two, four in three.
Tips
- Look for the check that takes squares away rather than the check that looks strongest. Most of these mates work because the general has nowhere to step, not because of the piece delivering them.
- Count the general's escape points first. If it has two, you need a move that covers both, and that is usually not a check at all on the mate-in-three puzzles.
- A cannon needs exactly one piece between it and its target. That means an enemy advisor is often the screen that makes your cannon work, and capturing it can undo your own mate.
- The flying-general rule is a weapon, not just a restriction. Clearing your own general's file can be the move that ends the game.
- On the mate-in-three puzzles, black will always pick the longest escape, so a line that only works against one reply will be refused. Check the reply you like least.
- Horses are blocked by the point they hop over. A horse mate usually needs that point to stay occupied by your own piece, so watch what your other moves clear.
- If a move gets handed back, read the message: it names the piece and the square, which is usually enough to see which escape you left open.
FAQ
Are these puzzles free to play?
Yes. All twelve run in the browser with no download, no sign-up and nothing to buy. They unlock in order as you solve them.
Is the mate really forced?
Yes, and that is checked rather than claimed. Every position is run through a search that proves red can force mate in exactly the number of moves shown, against every possible black defence. The test suite recomputes all twelve.
Is there only one solution?
One first move, on every puzzle. Positions with two working first moves were thrown out during authoring, because a puzzle where two ideas both work does not teach the pattern.
Does black play badly on purpose?
No — the opposite. Black picks the reply that survives longest and, among equal replies, the one that takes the most material. A defender that plays any legal move would quietly turn a mate in three into a mate in one, and you would be congratulated for a line that never worked.
What happens if I play a legal move that does not mate?
The board shows it for a second, tells you black escapes, and hands the position back. It counts as a wrong try for the star rating and nothing else — a wrong line is information in a puzzle set, not a loss.
How is this different from the full Xiangqi game here?
The full game is a whole match against a computer opponent from the opening position. This is twelve fixed endgames with a stated goal and one solution each, closer to a chess tactics trainer than to a game.
Which Xiangqi rules are in play?
All of them, since the rules come from the same engine the full game uses: the cannon captures only by jumping exactly one piece, elephants and advisors stay in their own areas, soldiers gain a sideways step past the river, and a clear file between the two generals counts as check. Having no legal move loses in Xiangqi, so a couple of these puzzles end that way rather than in checkmate.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The board is portrait-shaped and drawn as one scaling vector, so pieces and tap points stay the same size relative to the board on any screen.