Horse Opening vs Central Cannon
起马对中炮 · qǐ mǎ duì zhōng pào
Red kept the options open, and Black immediately removed one of them by taking the centre. This is the main test of the Horse Opening: Red has a well placed horse and no committed structure, and now has to prove that flexibility is worth as much as a cannon on the middle file. It usually is, because the horse Red developed is already doing defensive work.
The moves
2 moves from the starting position. Step through them on the board.
- Red. Red develops the horse toward the centre, keeping every plan available.
- Black. Black takes the middle file with a cannon and aims at Red's General before Red can get there first.
Red's job now
- Cover the middle. The developed horse plus an elephant makes the central file very hard to break.
- Choose a structure and commit. The point of delaying was to choose well, not to keep delaying.
- Look for the exchange that leaves Black's cannon with nothing to jump. A cannon needs a screen, and Red gets to decide how many screens exist.
Black's job now
Use the initiative while Red is still deciding. Develop with threats, bring a chariot to an open file and keep the central pressure real rather than symbolic. If the game becomes quiet, Red's flexible structure was worth more than the tempo Black spent on the cannon.
The shape to aim for
Horse and elephant covering the middle, both chariots free, and a cannon kept back for the file that opens later. It is not a memorised setup so much as a checklist, and it holds up against every ambitious idea Black has here.
If you reach that shape with the game still level, the opening did its job. Flexibility was never meant to win by move ten.
Try it on a real board
Reading an opening and playing one are different skills. Set this line up against the computer, get it wrong a few times cheaply, then take it into a rated game.
Common questions
- Is taking the centre the best reply to the Horse Opening?
- It is the most ambitious and the most common. Mirroring Red's development is equally sound and leads to a slower game.
- Does the Horse Opening transpose here?
- Often, yes. Many games reach positions that also arise from the Elephant Opening or from a delayed Central Cannon, which is exactly why flexible move orders are popular.
Read next
- Horse Opening起马局Develop first, commit later. The Horse Opening keeps every central plan available and transposes into half the opening book, which is exactly why strong players use it.
- Elephant Opening vs Central Cannon飞相对中炮Red declines the centre, Black takes it. What happens when the quietest first move meets the loudest reply, and how Red gets counterplay from a solid structure.
- Central Cannon中炮Red's cannon swings to the middle file and points straight at the enemy General. The plan behind the Central Cannon, the replies you will face, and the trap that ruins most attacks.
- Central Cannon vs Screen Horses中炮对屏风马The most analysed structure in Chinese chess. How Screen Horses answers the Central Cannon, what each side is really playing for, and the defensive move order that keeps Black solid.
Every named line is listed on the xiangqi openings index. New to the game? Start with the rules of Chinese chess, or learn the Chinese characters on the pieces.