Janggi (Korean chess) is a two-player strategy game on a 9×10 board of 90 intersections. Each side has 16 pieces — a general, two chariots, two cannons, two horses, two elephants, two guards and five soldiers — and Cho (green) moves first. The winner is whoever captures the opposing general. Janggi's signature rules are the cannon that must jump a screen to move as well as capture, generals that start at the palace center, bikjang (facing generals), and the right to pass a turn (han-su).
Play now — it's freeThe board is a grid of 9 vertical and 10 horizontal lines making 90 intersections; pieces stand and move on the points, and there is no river. At each end sits a 3×3 palace with diagonal lines (간선) joining its center to the four corners.
Starting position: the chariots go on the corners, the guards flank the general one rank behind the palace center, and horses and elephants fill the remaining four points between guards and chariots. The general starts at the palace center (not the back edge), the cannons on the third rank one point in from each edge, and the five soldiers on the fourth rank on alternating points.
This site fixes one setup (the "inner elephant" arrangement, horses outside elephants). Over the board players may transpose adjacent horses and elephants before the game — four legal setups in total — but online quick games start immediately from a fixed setup.
Cho (green) moves first; Han (red) is the second player.
Pieces move as in the table; a piece captures whatever enemy piece occupies its destination point (it can never land on a friendly piece).
| Piece | Count | Movement |
|---|---|---|
| General (漢·楚) | 1 | One step along marked lines within the palace; corner↔center moves follow the diagonals. It can never leave the palace |
| Guard (士) | 2 | Identical to the general, palace-bound |
| Chariot (車) | 2 | Slides any distance orthogonally, and also slides along the palace diagonals (of either palace) |
| Cannon (包) | 2 | Moves and captures only by jumping exactly one screen piece; the screen may not be a cannon and a cannon may never capture a cannon. From a palace corner it may jump the center piece to the opposite corner |
| Horse (馬) | 2 | One point orthogonally, then one point diagonally outward; blocked if the orthogonal point (the leg) is occupied |
| Elephant (象) | 2 | One point orthogonally, then two points diagonally, landing on the opposite corner of a 3×2 rectangle; either intervening point blocks it |
| Soldier (卒·兵) | 5 | One point forward or sideways, never backward; inside the enemy palace it may also step forward-diagonally along the lines. There is no promotion |
There is no promotion in Janggi: a soldier that reaches the last rank can only shuffle sideways forever.
Attacking the enemy general so it can be captured next move is called janggun (check). The checked player must move the general, capture the attacker, or block the line.
If no move can save the general it is checkmate (oe-tong) and the game ends. This site does not announce check separately — if you leave your general attacked, your opponent may simply capture it and win.
A player in check cannot use the pass rule.
When the two generals face each other along an open file, the position is bikjang. Like a check, it must be answered: the player to move must break the facing by moving the general or interposing a piece.
Passing while facing counts as accepting the draw: the game ends immediately and the winner is decided on remaining piece points. In xiangqi facing kings are simply illegal; Janggi turns the same geometry into a named rule.
A player may pass their turn (han-su-shim) whenever they have no useful move — any number of times, as long as they are not in check.
If both players pass consecutively the game ends and is adjudicated on remaining piece points. There is no stalemate loss in Janggi: a player with no legal move simply passes.
Games that end without checkmate — an accepted bikjang, consecutive passes, or reaching the move limit — are decided by adding up the points of the pieces still on the board.
| Piece | Points |
|---|---|
| Chariot (車) | 13 |
| Cannon (包) | 7 |
| Horse (馬) | 5 |
| Elephant (象) | 3 |
| Guard (士) | 3 |
| Soldier (卒·兵) | 2 |
| General (將) | 0 |
Because Cho moves first, Han (the second player) receives a 1.5-point handicap called deom. At the start Cho holds 72.0 points and Han 73.5, and the half point prevents ties.
Each move allows 40 seconds; on timeout or disconnection an automated assistant plays the move.
At 240 total moves without a decision the game is scored on remaining piece points.
Rank points are a ladder, not a wager: +25 for a win, −10 for a loss, +5 for a scored draw, with rated rooms gated by point thresholds.
A cannon without a screen is frozen — in the starting position neither cannon has a single legal move. Feed your cannons screens early.
The elephant reaches a 3×2 corner, so it attacks across the whole board (there is no river). It needs both path points empty.
Your general can never leave the palace; learn the standard defense of guards and a cannon in front of it.
Bikjang can be a resource: a losing player forces draws with it, so block the facing file in advance when you are winning.
Soldiers move sideways from the start and gain forward diagonals inside the enemy palace — a single soldier there can threaten the general.
Janggi is Korean chess: a two-player strategy game on a 9×10 board of 90 points, each side with 16 pieces, won by capturing the enemy general. It grew out of xiangqi but has no river, jumping cannons, bikjang and a legal pass.
Sixteen per player (32 total): a general, two chariots, two cannons, two horses, two elephants, two guards and five soldiers.
There is no river (elephants cross freely), cannons must jump a piece even to move and can never jump or capture another cannon, the general starts at the palace center, facing generals is the bikjang draw rule rather than an illegality, and passing a turn is allowed.
It must jump exactly one screen piece to move and to capture. The screen can be any piece of either side except a cannon, and a cannon can never capture a cannon. From a palace corner it can use the center piece as a screen and land on the opposite corner. In the starting position cannons have no legal moves at all.
One point orthogonally, then two points diagonally, ending on the opposite corner of a 3×2 rectangle. Either of the two intervening points (the orthogonal step and the first diagonal step) blocks the move.
The two generals facing each other on an open file. The player to move must break the facing; if instead they pass, the game is drawn and decided on remaining piece points.
The right to skip your turn when there is nothing worth playing. It is forbidden while in check, and if both players pass consecutively the game ends and is scored on piece points.
Chariot 13, cannon 7, horse 5, elephant 3, guard 3, soldier 2, general 0. The second player (Han) gets a 1.5-point deom, so games start at 72.0 vs 73.5 points, and any game not decided by checkmate is adjudicated on these points.
Yes — play Janggi online free at janggi.yeeqia.com, straight in your browser with no download or sign-up required.
Yes, the site is mobile-first and runs in any modern browser on Android or iPhone, with full Korean support.