Editing Xiangqi (section)

===Middlegame strategy===
Xiangqi strategy shares common themes with chess, but has some differences:
* Occupying the centre is relatively less important in xiangqi, but controlling and attacking the middle file is still one of the vital themes. Since the middle file is often well defended, players would then seek to mount an offense on either of the flanks on the enemy side, especially when the defense of one flank is neglected.
* The significance of pawn formation in xiangqi and chess are different. In xiangqi, soldiers (pawns) are often pushed to avoid blocking their own horses, and it is uncommon for them to defend each other (in contrast with a Western chess [[pawn chain]]). Successfully getting a soldier to cross a river as an attacking force can often tilt the scales of the middlegame by a large margin.
* In high-level play, the initiative is highly important, and a minor mistake can doom a game.
* Sacrifices are common in xiangqi, however they are more often tactical rather than positional. Usually, at most a minor piece is sacrificed for positional advantages, or a semi-tactical attack.

Like in chess, xiangqi piece values depend highly on the position on the board. The following study from Volume 42 of the Elegant Pastime Manual, dating from the Ming Dynasty, illustrates this dramatically. It is Red to play and win.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ping |first=Jim |date=January 22, 2021 |title=The Value of the Pieces in Xiangqi |url=https://www.xiangqi.com/articles/the-value-of-the-pieces-in-xiangqi-chinese-chess |access-date=February 20, 2023 |website=Xiangqi.com}}</ref>
{{Xiangqi-position
|  |  |  |ad|gd|  |  |  | 
|  |  |hd|  |ad|sl|  |  | 
|  |  |sl|  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |sd|  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |sl|  |  |  |sl|  | 
|cl|  |hl|  |el|gl|  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |sd|  | 
|rl|  |el|  |rd|  |  |  | 
|25}}
In this position, Red is up two soldiers and a cannon but Black threatens seemingly unstoppable mate with ...Rf1#, since 1.Ec5? Ad8! renews the mate threat. Note that the red chariot is nearly useless, having only two legal moves, in stark contrast to the very active black chariot. However, Red averts the checkmate by sacrificing both the cannon and chariot: 1.Ca10+!! Hxa10 2.Ea3! Rxa1 (or the chariot is lost, since the general protects the elephant on e3, which in turn guards g1, and the red horse guards e2) 3.Eec1:
{{Xiangqi-position
|hd|  |  |ad|gd|  |  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |ad|sl|  |  | 
|  |  |sl|  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |sd|  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |sl|  |  |  |sl|  | 
|el|  |hl|  |  |gl|  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |sd|  | 
|rd|  |el|  |  |  |  |  | 
|25}}
Despite the substantial sacrifice of material by Red, Black's chariot has now become useless as it is permanently immobilized by the red elephants and horse; the red general prevents the black soldier on g2 from moving laterally to free the chariot (for example 3...g1 4.Gf2). Black's horse similarly has no safe move due to the red soldier on c8, which also, along with the soldier on f9, prevents the black general from attacking the soldier on f9 from the behind. In addition, the black soldier on g6 is undefended and has no safe move, so Red can win it by pushing the soldier on c4 to c6 and moving it laterally to the g-file, after which the position is effectively an endgame of three soldiers against two advisers, an easy win for Red (see [[#Soldier (pawn) endgames|below]]) despite being down a chariot for three soldiers.