World Xiangqi Rules

The World Xiangqi Federation was established on the 6th of April, 1993, in Beijing. Over the years, the World Xiangqi Federation has become a tightly knit organization which has proactively promoted Xiangqi by organizing various international Xiangqi competitions and championed various Xiangqi related activities internationally.
There has been a significant increase in the number and types of Xiangqi tournaments over the past few years. Cultural interaction has also seen a significant increase. These two spikes in Xiangqi related activities has led to a pressing need for the publication of the World Xiangqi Rules.
On the 15th of November in 2017, a meeting was held in the Philippines. Members of the Executive Committee gathered for the first meeting that year. The Chairman of the World Xiangqi Federation, Mr. Timothy Fok, proactively lobbied for a unified set of rules to serve as the standard of Xiangqi competition all over the world. Such a plan was greeted eagerly, and the Asian Xiangqi Federation gave support of the plan, hence giving birth to the World Xiangqi Rules. The 4th Revision of the Asian Xiangqi Federation’s would serve to be the foundation whereby the World Xiangqi Rules would be formulated, edited and published as a unified set of rules. The World Xiangqi Rules would serve to increase the awareness and influence of Xiangqi in the world, help to improve the level of play everywhere and also guarantee that future Xiangqi tournaments would proceed smoothly.
The World Xiangqi Rules is an improved version of the 4th Revision of the Asian Xiangqi Rules. There have been minor changes to the arrangements of the original document. The publication of the World Xiangqi Rules represents a significant step forward in the promotion of Xiangqi to the International Community.
We would like to take the opportunity to thank the Asian Xiangqi Federation for their contributions and hard work all these years in promoting Xiangqi. Special credit must be given to Mr. Lee Chee Hoi and other senior Xiangqi experts who have toiled through the years to study, formulate and make improvements to the Rules of Xiangqi. Their hard work and sacrifices are much appreciated. We would also like to express our gratitude to Mr. Lim Kwan How, the Secretary-General of the Asian Xiangqi Federation, who has been very supportive of this endeavor. Mr. Png Hau Cheng has to be thanked for translating and proofreading the English version of the World Xiangqi Rules. Finally, we would also like to express our gratitude to Miss Chen Zelan, Chairwoman of the Chinese Xiangqi Association for her help and assistance in the publication of the World Xiangqi Rules.
The publication of the World Xiangqi Rules would be the first attempt that the such an important document is published in both Chinese and English. It would be of major significance in the promotion and the popularization of the Xiangqi in the world.