---
title: "Black's Central Cannon on Move Two: 後補列炮 · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Black first defends the central soldier with a horse, then brings a cannon to the centre. Usually from the far side, which gives the delayed opposite…"
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/black-central-cannon-on-move-two
updated: 2026-09-29
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# What happens when Black moves a cannon to the central file on move two instead of move one?

These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws for movement, checkmate and both repetition rulings: a side that forces a repetition by perpetual check or perpetual chase loses rather than drawing. The chase half has not been validated against the official casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it before publishing.

> Direct answer
>
> Black answers the Central Cannon with a **horse move first**, defending the central soldier, and brings a **cannon to the centre on the next move**. Because the horse move usually blocks the nearer cannon, the cannon normally comes from the **other wing**, so the result is a delayed version of opposite-direction cannons, called **後補列炮**: "opposite cannons, added later".

## Same or opposite direction

When both sides put a cannon in the centre, the pairing gets a name from which wing each cannon came from. **順炮**, same direction, means Black's cannon came from the same physical side as Red's. **列炮**, opposite direction, means it came from the other side. In notation, Black's move 炮2平5 brings the cannon from Black's file two, which is the opposite side to Red's 炮二平五. See [the difference between 順炮 and 列炮](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-shun-pao-and-lie-pao).

## Why the horse move decides the side

The standard defending horse move lands on the rank where Black's cannons stand, directly in the path of the cannon on that wing. That cannon can no longer slide to the centre, so the one that can is the cannon on the far wing. The move order therefore leads naturally to the opposite-direction version.

## What Black gains and gives up

Playing the counter-cannon immediately on move one is the most combative reply, but for a move or two no horse stands guard over the central soldier. Delaying by one move means the central soldier is already protected by a horse when the counter-attack starts, so Black takes fewer risks. The price is a tempo: Red has had an extra move to develop before Black's cannon arrives.

Both approaches are playable. Choose the immediate version if you want a sharp game from the start, the delayed one if you prefer safety first.

## Related questions

Is 後補列炮 a separate opening from 列炮?

It is usually treated as its own line, because the move order produces different positions even though the cannons end up opposite each other.

Can Black delay a same-direction cannon the same way?

Only if Black's first horse move does not block that cannon's path. The standard defending horse move does, which is why the delayed opposite version is the common one.

## Related xiangqi resources

Same direction cannons

順炮 — the sharpest symmetrical opening

The Central Cannon

The most played first move in the game

Reading notation

炮二平五 and C2=5 — the same move, two ways

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