What is Handicap Xiangqi?
Handicap xiangqi is how a stronger and a weaker player of Chinese chess get a fair game. The stronger player takes Red and starts with fewer pieces; the weaker player takes Black with the full army. Every other rule is the rule of standard xiangqi.
You choose the handicap in the table setup. Red gives up the chariot on its left, the cannon on its left, the horse on its left, both horses, or nine pieces: all five soldiers, both elephants and both advisors. Red still moves first.
A missing piece leaves a gap that Black could exploit at once by snapping up a piece that has lost its defender. Traditional handicap play forbids that with iron pieces, which Black may not capture until they move. The iron rules make the handicap a matter of material rather than of a free piece in the opening.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Xiangqi | Handicap Xiangqi |
|---|---|---|
| Starting position | Standard XiangqiBoth sides have all sixteen pieces. | Handicap XiangqiRed starts without its left chariot, its left cannon, its left horse, both horses, or its five soldiers, two elephants and two advisors. Black has all sixteen pieces. |
| First move | Standard XiangqiRed moves first. | Handicap XiangqiRed, the side giving the handicap, still moves first. |
| Iron pieces | Standard XiangqiAny piece may be captured. | Handicap XiangqiSome Red pieces can't be taken until they move: the horse beside the missing chariot, the cannon left after the cannon handicap, and the middle soldier in both horse handicaps. The soldier may be taken if the capture gives check. The nine-piece handicap has no iron pieces. |
| Forest chariot | Standard XiangqiNot used. | Handicap XiangqiIn the two-horse handicap, a chariot whose first move is the single step from its corner onto the empty horse square can't be taken while it stays there. |
| How to win | Standard XiangqiCheckmate the opposing general, or leave the opponent without a legal move. | Handicap XiangqiThe same. A player whose only way out of check is to capture an iron piece has no legal move and loses. |
History
Giving pieces, called ràng zǐ in Chinese, has long been the way xiangqi teachers, club players and street masters play opponents weaker than themselves. The common handicaps are the ones offered here: a horse, two horses, a cannon or a chariot, from the smallest gap in strength to the largest. Giving up all five soldiers, both elephants and both advisors is kept for a very wide gap in strength.
The iron rules grew up with this practice. A horse or cannon standing next to a missing piece would fall in the first few moves, which turns the handicap into something larger than agreed, so players declared such pieces iron until they moved. The details differ from region to region; this table follows the most widely described rules. Some local rule sets add further restrictions, which are not used here.