How to Defend Against the Central Cannon in Xiangqi

What the Central Cannon threatens

Red begins by moving a Cannon from its starting point to the central file, written 炮二平五 in Chinese notation and often C2=5 in English. With Red's own central Soldier standing in front of it as a screen, the Cannon now aims straight up the central file at Black's central Soldier, which no Black piece protects in the starting position. If Black simply ignores it, Red can jump the Cannon over its own Soldier and capture the central Soldier for free.

Count the central file as well. At the start, exactly two pieces stand between Red's Cannon and Black's General: the two central Soldiers. If either Soldier leaves the file while the Cannon stays put, only one screen remains and the Cannon gives check. That is why every capture or exchange on the central file needs a careful count.

The threat is bigger than one Soldier. A Cannon on the central file presses on the middle of Black's position, supports later attacks by Chariots and Horses against the palace, and turns the center into a place where Black must always count screens. A good defense answers three questions: how to protect the central Soldier, how to get the Chariots out, and how to fight back for the center.

How to read the notation

Chinese move notation uses four characters. The first names the piece: 车 Chariot, 马 Horse, 炮 Cannon, 相 or 象 Elephant, 仕 or 士 Advisor, 帅 or 将 General, and 兵 or 卒 Soldier. The second is the file the piece starts on. Each player counts files from one to nine starting from their own right-hand side, so the central file is always five. Red writes file numbers in Chinese numerals and Black in Arabic numerals.

The third character gives the direction: 进 forward, 退 back and 平 sideways. The fourth depends on the move. For a sideways move it is the file the piece arrives on. For a Horse, Elephant or Advisor, which always change files, it is the destination file. For a Chariot, Cannon, Soldier or General moving straight forward or back, it is the number of points moved. So 炮二平五 means the Cannon on file two moves sideways to file five, 马8进7 means Black's Horse on file 8 moves forward and lands on file 7, and 车9平8 means Black's Chariot on file 9 moves sideways to file 8. When two identical pieces stand on the same file, the move names them 前 (front) or 后 (rear) instead of giving the file number.

Screen Horses (屏风马)

The main line begins 1.炮二平五 马8进7 2.马二进三 车9平8 3.车一平二 马2进3. In words: Black jumps the Horse on its 8th file forward to the 7th file, moves the corner Chariot onto the 8th file that the Horse has just vacated, and then jumps the other Horse from the 2nd file to the 3rd file, while Red develops a Horse and brings its own corner Chariot to its 2nd file.

The name means folding-screen horses, a picture of the two Horses standing side by side in front of the palace. Each Horse guards the central Soldier by jumping through the empty point beside it, so Red's Cannon no longer wins a free Soldier, and Black's Chariot on the 8th file is ready to join the game early.

Strengths: it is solid, balanced and built from natural developing moves, and it is widely regarded as the most popular answer to the Central Cannon. Weaknesses: it can become passive if Black only defends, and Red has many ways to build pressure, so Black needs a plan for active counterplay with the Chariots and Cannons.

Same Direction and Opposite Direction Cannons

Some players answer cannon with cannon. In the Same Direction Cannons (顺炮, shùn pào), Black replies 1.炮二平五 炮8平5, moving the Cannon on its 8th file to the central file. Both Cannons come from the same side of the board, and each now aims up the central file at the other side's central Soldier.

The idea is to fight for the center immediately instead of defending it. The early position is often close to symmetrical, which makes plans easy to understand, but Red is a move ahead in a mirrored race, so Black must know the critical lines and play precisely. It is sharp, direct and tactical.

In the Opposite Direction Cannons (列炮, liè pào), Black replies 1.炮二平五 炮2平5, bringing the Cannon from the 2nd file to the center instead, so the two Cannons come from opposite sides of the board. The resulting positions are very sharp and double-edged. The line suits players who enjoy calculation, but it punishes small inaccuracies, which makes it a risky choice for beginners.

Reverse Palace Horse (反宫马)

The Reverse Palace Horse (反宫马, fǎn gōng mǎ) usually runs 1.炮二平五 马2进3 2.马二进三 炮8平6 3.车一平二 马8进7. In words: Black develops the Horse on its 2nd file to the 3rd file, moves the Cannon on its 8th file across to the 6th file, where it stands on the front corner of the palace, the Advisor's corner, and then develops the second Horse from the 8th file to the 7th file.

Strengths: it is flexible, it gives Black a different kind of position from the symmetrical Screen Horses, and it still develops both Horses quickly. Weaknesses: with the Cannon standing on the palace corner, the Horse on the 7th file has its leg toward the center blocked, so for the moment only the Horse on the 3rd file guards the central Soldier, and Black has to handle the timing carefully.

Three-Step Tiger and Single Raised Horse

The Three-Step Tiger (三步虎, sān bù hǔ) is built for speed. After 1.炮二平五 马8进7 2.马二进三, Black plays 炮8平9, moving the Cannon on the 8th file to the edge file, and then brings the corner Chariot across to the 8th file. Horse, Cannon, Chariot: three steps, and the Chariot already stands on an open file. Its strength is fast Chariot activity. Its weakness is that the Cannon on the edge plays a smaller role in the center, and until the second Horse develops, only one Horse guards the central Soldier.

The Single Raised Horse (单提马, dān tí mǎ) develops one Horse normally toward the center and sends the other to the edge file. The idea is flexibility. The drawback is that the edge Horse does not guard the central Soldier, so Black gives up some central solidity. Both of these defenses are best explored after you are comfortable with the Screen Horses.

Which defense should beginners choose?

Start with the Screen Horses. It follows principles you already want to learn: develop both Horses toward the center, protect the central Soldier, and bring the Chariots out early. Its ideas carry over into many other openings, and small mistakes are less likely to be punished at once than in the sharp cannon-against-cannon lines.

Whatever you choose, a few principles apply against every Central Cannon. Count the screens on the central file before every move, because one piece too many or too few changes everything. Develop your Chariots before they get shut in. Keep your Advisors and Elephants connected so the palace stays covered. And be careful with captures on the central file, because every piece that leaves or lands on it changes how many screens stand between Red's Cannon and your General.

When you are ready to go deeper, XiangqiPlay already has dedicated guides on the Screen Horse Defense and on Central Cannon vs Screen Horse, which cover the main plans for both sides in more detail.

Practice on XiangqiPlay

Opening knowledge sticks best when you use it. Create a free account and play the computer at beginner, intermediate or advanced level, or invite a friend, and keep answering the Central Cannon with the Screen Horses until the first moves feel natural.

Openings lead to attacks on the palace, so sharpen your finishing technique as well in the free puzzle library, which has 5,000 engine-proven mate puzzles, including mate-in-1 and mate-in-2 collections. The better you see mates, the better you will understand what the Central Cannon is really aiming at.