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 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
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 capture the first piece beyond it, if that piece is an enemy, exactly as over any other screen. It cannot check the general that way: the general is the screen, not the target.
The defensive implication
Because the general can act as a screen, a defender in a sparse endgame has to watch what stands behind their own general on a line an enemy cannon can use, not just the flying general rule. A piece there can be captured straight over the general.
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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