Guide
Saint Chess: xiangqi against the Master, what each level really does, and how season points add up
Chinese chess on a 9×10 board, with three Master levels, a two-player mode and 16 checkmate puzzles. The draw rules this version uses, how Undo works against the computer, and the exact season points per win and draw.
Saint Chess is xiangqi (Chinese chess): Red and Black, nine files and ten ranks, a river across the middle and a palace for each general. Red always moves first. You can also play it in your browser.
The modes
- vs Master · Easy / Hard / Super intellect: you play Red at the bottom, the computer plays Black.
- Two players · Same device: pass the phone. The board never flips, so Red stays at the bottom for both of you.
- Puzzles: 16 positions where Red must deliver checkmate.
What the Master levels really do
All three levels run on the device; nothing is sent to a server to think.
| Level | Looks ahead | Thinking time | Mistakes | |---|---|---|---| | Easy | 2 half-moves | very short | about 1 move in 3 is a random pick | | Hard | 4 half-moves | under half a second | rare | | Super intellect | 5 half-moves | about a second | none on purpose |
So Easy really does blunder, and Hard punishes loose pieces. The Master always waits about a second, then highlights its move for another second before playing it, so you can see what is coming.
Rules worth knowing in this version
- Flying general: the two generals may never face each other on an open file. A move that leaves them facing is illegal, which makes the general itself a long-range weapon in the endgame.
- Stalemate is a draw here. In traditional xiangqi the side with no legal move loses, so don't count on that win.
- The same position three times is a draw. There is no special perpetual-check rule, so a player who is losing can try to repeat moves.
- Undo against the Master takes back both your move and its reply. It is not available while the Master is thinking. In two-player mode it takes back one move.
Season points and the leaderboard
Only games against the Master score:
| Level | Win | Draw | Loss | |---|---|---|---| | Easy | 10 | 4 | 0 | | Hard | 25 | 10 | 0 | | Super intellect | 50 | 20 | 0 |
Points add up over the whole season and start from zero when a new season begins. A loss never takes points away, so playing more can only help. A draw at Super intellect is worth twice a win at Easy. To appear on the Leaderboard, set a name of up to 15 characters; changing the name starts a new entry.
Puzzles
Each puzzle sets up a position with Red to move and the goal of checkmate. There's no computer reply in puzzles: you move Black too, so play Black's best defence honestly or the solution doesn't teach you much. Solved puzzles stay marked, along with your shortest solution.
A few starting habits
- Bring a chariot out early: it is the strongest piece, and it does nothing in the corner.
- Watch for horses being blocked: a horse cannot jump if the square right next to it, in the direction it is moving, is occupied.
- A cannon needs exactly one piece between it and its target to capture. Before each move, check every cannon line pointing at your general.
More on the Saint Chess page, or start a game.
