---
title: "Can a Cannon Battery Form on a Rank Instead of a File? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Yes. The screen mechanism works identically along a rank, so two cannons can stack sideways and threaten along it exactly as they would down a file."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/can-a-cannon-battery-form-on-a-rank-instead-of-a-file
updated: 2026-09-23
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Can a cannon battery form on a rank instead of a file?

These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.

> Direct answer
>
> **Yes.** Nothing about the screen rule cares whether the line is a file or a rank, a cannon's capture works identically in both directions. Two cannons stacked along a **rank**, one acting as the other's screen, threaten sideways exactly as [重炮](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-chong-pao) threatens down a file.

## Why the file version is the famous one

重炮 is named for the mate against the general, and the general only ever sits on a file relative to a cannon attacking down it in the standard pattern. A rank-based battery is mechanically identical but usually shows up as pressure against a rank of defenders, the back rank, most often, rather than as a named mating pattern of its own.

## Where it is genuinely useful

A pair of cannons stacked along the opponent's own back rank can threaten several defenders in sequence, since whichever piece the front cannon screens for, the rear one is aimed straight at it. It is the same idea as a bottom-rank cannon, doubled.

## Related questions

Does this need the same three conditions as 重炮?

The mechanism is the same, so yes: the front cannon needs to be defended, and there needs to be no way to interpose safely.

Is a rank battery weaker than a file battery in general?

Not inherently weaker, just usually aimed at different targets, since a rank rarely has the general sitting on it.

## Related xiangqi resources

The double cannon mate

重炮 — two cannons on one file

Cannon tactics

Screens, batteries and discoveries

How the cannon moves

Captures only by jumping exactly one screen

## Try it on a real board

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