Mined from real games: a xiangqi puzzle sampler

Twelve positions pulled out of amateur games by an automated miner, chosen to show what the corpus is made of rather than which puzzles are hardest. Each chapter plays the solution move by move.

12 chapters

1. Mate in two, nothing taken3 moves

   Both of Black's chariots are already on the back rank. Chariot c1 to c2 first, Red's chariot comes back to d2, and chariot g1 to g2 is mate. Neither side captures anything.

2. Behind on material, mating first5 moves

   Black starts 650 centipawns down and mates in three. The chariot takes the advisor on f1, the general steps to e2, the second chariot swings to b2, and the first one finishes on f3.

3. The line that only wins material5 moves

   No mate, just material. Five plies later Red has an elephant, a cannon and a chariot for nothing. Most of the corpus looks like this, because most real blunders lose pieces rather than lose the game outright.

4. Give the chariot away, mate next move3 moves

   Black plays the chariot to f5, where the horse takes it, and mates with the other chariot on f3. A material count calls the key move a blunder, so the difficulty prior has to reward it instead.

5. Endgame, four moves, no escape7 moves

   An endgame: chariot and horse against advisors and elephants. Every Black reply is forced and the chariot lands on d8. This is the shape the miner marks as a forced line.

6. Five captures in seven plies7 moves

   Five of the seven plies are captures and a thousand centipawns change hands before the mate arrives. It opens with a soldier taking an advisor. From a 2026 master invitational.

7. The winning move is a king step7 moves

   Red's general goes from e2 to e1 and takes nothing. Three plies later the cannon reaches e8, and the trades that follow leave Red 650 centipawns better off than at the start.

8. Which advisor steps up7 moves

   Both of Red’s advisors can step to e2 and only one of them wins. The advisor on f1 is what stops Black’s chariot reaching the back rank, so moving that one runs into chariot to h1 and Red has to give a chariot back: 0.00. Step up with the d1 advisor instead and it is +913. Materi…

9. Nothing captured, and it is mate7 moves

   From a real tournament game, Guangdong against Shandong, April 2026. Four different Black pieces move, neither side captures anything, and it is mate.

10. Down two chariots, and winning7 moves

    Red is 1,850 centipawns down, about two chariots, and the engine scores the position as won. The horse goes to c9 and the attack outruns the deficit.

11. The sacrifice that wins without mating7 moves

    Black gives up a chariot and does not mate. The chariot goes to f2 where the general takes it, and h1 to h2 leaves Black winning by more than a chariot. A miner that kept only mates would throw this away.

12. Chariot for the mating net7 moves

    The chariot travels the length of the board to c1, the horse comes to c3, and the chariot steps into f1 to be taken. Horse to d1 is mate. Seven hundred centipawns net, for a mate in four.