Can a cannon use the general as a screen?
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. The rule for a cannon's screen makes no distinction by piece type or colour at all: exactly one piece, whatever it is, sitting between the cannon and its target. A general standing in that line works precisely like a soldier or a chariot would.
Where this actually matters
It comes up most in bare or near-bare endgames, where a general is one of the few pieces left on the board. A cannon aimed down a file with the enemy general itself as the only piece in between can check or capture through it exactly as through any other screen.
The defensive implication
Because the general can act as a screen against itself, a defender in a sparse endgame has to be careful about which file their own general stands on relative to an enemy cannon, not just about the flying general rule. Two very different restrictions can bite on the same file at once.
Related questions
Can an advisor act as a cannon's screen too?
Yes, any single piece qualifies, palace pieces included.
Does the screen have to belong to the cannon's own side?
No, an enemy piece works exactly as well as a friendly one.
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