Double attack
双捉 · shuāng zhuō
One move that threatens two things at once, so that the opponent can only save one of them.
The classic double attack here is a horse that lands where it hits two pieces at once, or a chariot that takes a rank where two loose pieces sit. Both are common because xiangqi boards are wide and pieces spread out.
Doubles are also how most material is won at club level. Very few games are lost to a deep combination; plenty are lost to a horse arriving on a square nobody checked.
The everyday version involves a horse, because a horse hits eight points that a chariot and a cannon do not cover. Getting a horse to a square where two of your opponent's pieces are unguarded wins more material at club level than any other single idea.
In practice
After each of your opponent's moves, list your loose pieces. A double attack needs two of them, so having none is a defence.
Related terms
- 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.
- Discovered attack闪击Moving one piece so that another, standing behind it, is suddenly attacking something.
- Pin牵制Holding a piece in place because moving it would expose something worse behind it, often the General.
- Sacrifice弃子Giving up material on purpose to open a line, remove a defender or reach a mating pattern.