Janggi vs Xiangqi vs Chess: What Is Different?
Janggi (Korean chess), xiangqi (Chinese chess) and chess are three related strategy games for two players. Janggi and xiangqi share a 9×10 board, pieces on the intersections, a palace, cannons and similar piece names, but janggi has no river, allows passing and is decided by points when there is no checkmate. Chess is played on the 64 squares of an 8×8 board and has pawn promotion and castling.
| Rule | Janggi | Xiangqi | Chess |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board | 9×10 lines, 90 points | 9×10 lines, 90 points, split by a river | 8×8, 64 squares |
| Pieces | 16 each, on the intersections | 16 each, on the intersections | 16 each, on the squares |
| First move | Cho (楚) | Red | White |
| Starting setup | Each player picks one of 4 horse and elephant setups | Fixed | Fixed |
| Palace | 3×3; general, guards, chariots, cannons and soldiers use its diagonals | 3×3; only the advisors move on its diagonals | None |
| River | None | Yes: elephants cannot cross it; soldiers may also move sideways after crossing | None |
| General / king | Starts in the palace centre; one step along palace lines, diagonals included | Starts at the back of the palace; one step across or along a file | King: one step in any direction, anywhere |
| Cannon | Must jump exactly one piece to move or capture; never jumps or captures a cannon | Moves like a chariot; captures by jumping exactly one piece of any kind | None |
| Elephant | One step straight, then two diagonally; can go anywhere | Exactly two points diagonally; cannot cross the river | Bishop instead: any distance diagonally |
| Soldier / pawn | Forward or sideways from the start | Forward only; also sideways after crossing the river | Pawn: moves forward, captures diagonally, promotes |
| Passing a turn | Allowed when not in check | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Generals facing each other | Allowed; after a capture, unbroken bikjang ends the game on points | Not allowed (flying general rule) | Not applicable |
| No legal move | No stalemate: the player passes | The player with no move loses | Stalemate is a draw |
| Game without checkmate | Decided by points (Han +1.5), no ties | Draw by repetition or agreement; on Ttakji perpetual check loses | Draw by repetition, agreement and other rules |
The key differences
The janggi cannon must always jump and cannot touch other cannons, while the xiangqi cannon jumps only to capture. Janggi has no river and lets a player pass, and a janggi game without checkmate is decided by points; xiangqi has a river and forbids the generals to face each other. Chess uses an 8×8 board without a palace or cannons, and a stalemate there is a draw.