---
title: "Can an Elephant Capture a Piece Two Points Diagonally Away? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Yes, provided the midpoint of that diagonal, the elephant's eye, is empty. A piece on the eye blocks the capture along with everything else on that diagonal."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/can-an-elephant-capture-a-piece-two-points-diagonally-away
updated: 2026-09-23
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Can an elephant capture a piece two points diagonally away?

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**, on exactly the same terms it moves: two points diagonally, as long as the **midpoint of that diagonal is empty**. That midpoint is the elephant's eye. A piece sitting there, of either colour, blocks the whole diagonal; the elephant cannot capture past it any more than it can move past it.

## The eye rule applies to captures too

It is easy to assume a blocking rule only stops quiet moves and that captures work differently, the way a cannon's capture rule differs from its move rule. The elephant has no such split: the eye blocks everything, capture included, with no exception.

## A defensive trick that follows from this

Putting a piece, even a worthless one, on an enemy elephant's eye takes away that whole diagonal, including any capture the elephant might otherwise have made. It is a cheap way to neutralise an elephant that is defending a point you want to attack.

## Related questions

Does the elephant capture the piece on its eye instead?

No. The eye piece is never itself captured by this move; it simply blocks the diagonal entirely.

Can an elephant ever capture across the river?

No. It can never cross the river, so nothing beyond it is ever reachable.

## Related xiangqi resources

How the elephant moves

Two points diagonally, never crosses the river

Advisors and elephants

The defence that decides most endgames

Board setup

The board, the river, the palace, and where the 32 pieces go

## Try it on a real board

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