Corner horse
挂角马 · guà jiǎo mǎ · horse hanging on the corner
A horse delivering check from a corner point of the palace, typically with a chariot or cannon completing the net.
From a palace corner a horse attacks the General and several of its escape points at once. On its own it is a nuisance; with a chariot holding a rank or a cannon on the file it is a mate.
Together with the trough horse, this is the reason strong players spend moves getting a horse near the enemy palace even when there is no immediate threat.
It is also a warning sign worth recognising from the defending side. The moment an enemy horse reaches a point next to your palace with something behind it, stop making your own plans and deal with it, because the mate usually arrives within two moves.
In practice
Horses are slow. Start the journey toward the palace two moves before you need the horse there.
Related terms
- Horse in the trough卧槽马A horse planted next to the enemy palace where it checks the General and supports a mating attack from a chariot or cannon.
- Horse马 / 马A knight that moves one point straight then one diagonally, and which unlike a western knight can be blocked by a piece standing in its way.
- Checkmate将死A check the defender cannot answer, which ends the game immediately in the attacker's favour.
- Palace九宫The three by three square marked with a cross at each end of the board, which the General and the two Advisors may never leave.