Im an avid Chinese Chess fan, trust me you don't want to find the best chinese chess software. 3 years ago, i collected more than 100 chinese chess softwares across the net. It took me around 1 year to get all the softwares, both legal and illegal =P . But it was no use, because the commercial softwares which i downloaded were far too superior for me. I could beat XieXie freeware because the time limit wasn't long. So XieXie basically had less time to think.

you can state your chinese chess level, beginner? intermediate ? Have you ever won regional tournaments before ? Are you a state player ? etc etc. I was a regional player.


If you're looking to buy a good xiangqi software, then xiexie would be ideal for you. User-friendly, and it is already very very strong. Don't bother getting other softwares which are at the top for example : xqmaster , cyclone ,elehpanteye, EThinker, XQSJ, NeuChess and a few more.
If you can STILL find Saola , then i would personally recommend you buying it. It is very user friendly, and it has a lot of useful functions.
If you want, kindly drop me a PM and add me on MSN.
Cheers

I haven't been playing online chess for nearly two years now. And since my mandarin language was only up to Primary 6, im embarassed to say that i have forgotten a lot of mandarin words. If you cannot read mandarin, then the best place to play XiangQi would be www.clubxiangqi.com . If you can read mandarin, and you are a really high-skilled player, then i would suggest movesky.

However, if you are a really high-skilled player and you want to play against a human online, it would be extremely difficult. This is because most players in the top 100 or top 50 are using softwares to play. They connect their software to the website, and the software plays for them.

By playing against humans, you gain a broader understanding in opening games. Playing against softwares, you gain a broader understanding in mid-game. Softwares usually use the best opening moves to start the game, when they reach mid-game, they have no more books for them to follow. Thus they have to make calculations themselves, from here, you can easily learn a few tips and tricks.

At least, for me.

Ok. Saola v 1.0 is still available. The only thing that bothers me the most is, the author just disappeared suddenly. His website nchess also died. There were a lot of nice records and LOTS of useful information in his website.

It is not more challenging. It is in fact easier. Unless the XiangQi softwares you play with are really helpless >< . The XieXie free version is extremely strong already . =)