Janggi (Korean Chess) · Rules & strategy

Board and pieces

The Janggi board has 9 vertical and 10 horizontal lines, and the pieces sit on the intersections, not inside squares. The 3×3 areas with an X at each end are the palaces. Unlike xiangqi there is no river across the middle, so every piece may roam the whole board.

Each side has 16 pieces: 1 General, 2 Guards, 2 Chariots, 2 Cannons, 2 Horses, 2 Elephants and 5 Soldiers. Cho (楚) is blue, Han (漢) is red; bigger octagons are more important pieces. The General starts in the centre of its palace, the Guards beside it on the back row, Chariots in the corners, Cannons on the third row and Soldiers on the fourth.

Setup

Before the first move, each side decides how to place its Horses and Elephants on the 2nd, 3rd, 7th and 8th points of the back row. Read from your own left there are four choices: H-E-H-E, E-H-E-H, H-E-E-H and E-H-H-E (H = Horse, E = Elephant). On this site Han chooses first and Cho chooses after seeing it. Online, if time runs out, H-E-H-E is used. Cho makes the first move.

How the pieces move

• General: one point along a line inside the palace, including the palace diagonals.
• Guard: exactly like the General, confined to the palace.
• Chariot: any distance in a straight line; inside a palace also along the diagonals.
• Cannon: must jump over exactly one piece (the screen) to move, and captures the first enemy piece beyond it. The screen may be either colour, but a Cannon may neither jump over nor capture another Cannon. It jumps along palace diagonals the same way.
• Horse: one point straight, then one point diagonally outward. If the straight point is occupied, that direction is blocked.
• Elephant: one point straight, then two points diagonally. Blocked if either point along the way is occupied.
• Soldier: one point forward or sideways, never back; diagonally forward along the lines inside the enemy palace. Soldiers do not promote.

Check, checkmate and passing

Threatening to capture the General next move is janggun (check); answering it is meonggun. You may never leave your own General in check. If there is no way out of check, it is checkmate and the game ends.

Janggi also lets a player pass instead of moving. On this site you may pass only when you are not in check, and if both players pass in a row the game goes to a points decision.

Bikjang and point scoring

When the two Generals face each other on the same file with nothing between them, it is called bikjang. Clubs and tournaments treat it differently. On this site the default is off: play simply continues. Choose score when creating a room and the game ends at once, decided on material points.

Points: Chariot 13, Cannon 7, Horse 5, Elephant 3, Guard 3, Soldier 2, plus a 1.5-point bonus for Han, who moves second — so a points decision is never a draw. A third repetition of the same position, or reaching 200 moves (400 turns in total), also ends in a points decision. Online games give 90 seconds per move; running out loses the game.

Glossary

• Janggun / meonggun: check, and the move that answers it.
• Oetong: checkmate — no escape.
• Gungseong: the palace, the 3×3 area with an X.
• Myeok: the point a Horse or Elephant must pass; if occupied, the move is blocked.
• Dari (bridge): the piece a Cannon jumps over.
• Sangcharim: the setup of Horses and Elephants.
• Hansu swim: passing a turn.
• Bikjang: Generals facing each other on an open file.
• Hunsu: unsolicited advice from onlookers — a familiar sight beside a Janggi board, though politely avoided.

The first moves: opening lines

Your Chariots begin boxed into the corners. Step a Soldier sideways to open a file for them, bring out Horses and Elephants so they support each other, and prefer developing many pieces over moving one piece repeatedly. Cannons need a screen, so plan which piece — yours or your opponent’s — they will jump over.

Using and stopping Cannons

A Cannon strikes from afar across a screen, which makes it ideal for hitting a valuable piece hiding behind another. To stop an enemy Cannon, remove its screen or add a second piece so it has two to jump. Since Cannons cannot jump Cannons, parking your own Cannon on its line is a solid defence.

Watch the blocking points

Horses and Elephants are stopped when a point on their path is occupied. Put a piece on an enemy Horse’s blocking point to freeze it — and check that your own pieces are not jamming your Horses. Elephants jump far but their long path is easy to block. Before each move ask: “if this piece moves, whose path opens?”

Treasure the Chariots, aim at the palace lines

At 13 points the Chariot is your most valuable piece; do not trade it cheaply. Seize open files and ranks with it. The enemy palace diagonals are attack lanes for Chariots, Cannons and Soldiers alike, and two Chariots on one line or aimed at the palace often lead to mate.

Defending the palace

Keep both Guards close to the General. Too open, and Chariots and Cannons pour in; too crowded, and the General has nowhere to step and gets mated. When checked, compare all three answers: move the General, block the line, or capture the checking piece.

Endgames and points

In long games points can decide the result. On this site repetition, the 200-move limit and two passes in a row (plus bikjang in rooms using the score rule) all go to a points decision, so protect your material when ahead and avoid bikjang and repetition when behind. Han wins ties thanks to the 1.5 bonus.

The Beginner AI sometimes hangs pieces like a novice, Intermediate reads exchanges, and Advanced calculates several moves deep. Climb from the tutorial to Beginner to Intermediate.

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