Can pieces be pinned in xiangqi?
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 — and xiangqi has a pin western chess does not. A piece standing alone between the two generals may never leave that file, because the generals would then face each other. A horse, elephant or advisor there is frozen outright; a chariot, cannon or soldier can still move along the file. Ordinary pins against a chariot or cannon exist as well.
The absolute pin
It is as absolute as a chess pin against the king. A chariot, cannon or soldier may still move along the line, but no piece may step off it, and there is no capturing the pinning piece — the pinning piece is the enemy general, which sits in its palace out of reach.
To break it: move your own general off the file, or add a second piece to the line.
Cannon pins
A cannon pins differently from a chariot, because the pinned piece is the cannon's screen. Moving it does not expose a capture along the line — it removes the cannon's ability to capture at all. Working out whether a cannon pin is real means counting the pieces, every time.
Related questions
Can I capture with a pinned piece?
Not off the file if it is pinned between the generals — any capture that takes it out of that line is illegal. Against an ordinary pin, you can, at the usual cost.
How do I create the absolute pin?
Line your general up on the file of an enemy piece that has only your general's line and their general behind it. Clearing the file is the hard part.
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