---
title: "Can a Cannon Capture Without a Screen in Xiangqi? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "No. A cannon captures only by jumping exactly one piece. With nothing in between, or two pieces in between, the capture is illegal."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/can-a-cannon-capture-without-a-screen
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Can a cannon capture without a screen in xiangqi?

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
>
> **No.** A cannon captures only by jumping **exactly one** piece along the line — no more, no fewer. With an empty line it cannot capture at all, and with two pieces in between it cannot either. Moving, by contrast, requires a completely clear line.

## Moving and capturing are opposite

This is the part that takes a beginner a few weeks:

- **To move**, the line must be *clear* — exactly like a chariot.
- **To capture**, the line must contain *exactly one* piece, of either colour, and the target sits immediately beyond it.

So a cannon pointing at an undefended piece down an empty file is not attacking it at all.

## Why it flips the usual logic

Adding a piece to a line can *switch a cannon on*, and removing one switches it off. Both directions are tactics: you can activate your own cannon by interposing anything, and neutralise an enemy cannon by moving its screen away.

It is also why a lone cannon cannot force mate — a bare general in an empty palace gives it nothing to jump.

## Related questions

Can the screen be my opponent's piece?

Yes. Any single piece of either colour works as a screen.

Can a cannon jump two pieces?

No. Exactly one, or the capture is illegal.

## Related xiangqi resources

How the cannon moves

Captures only by jumping exactly one screen

Cannon tactics

Screens, batteries and discoveries

Cannon endgames

The piece that fades as the board empties

## Try it on a real board

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