Which xiangqi pieces get stronger as the game goes on?
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
Horses and crossed soldiers gain; cannons lose. The horse gains because fewer pieces remain to block its legs. A soldier gains because in a simplified position one soldier near the palace can be a mating piece. The cannon loses because it needs a screen and screens are what trades remove.
What this means for trading
Three rules of thumb fall straight out:
- Heading for an endgame, trade your cannon for their horse.
- Keep at least one advisor if your winning piece is a cannon — it is the screen.
- Do not trade your last crossed soldier for an uncrossed one. They are not the same piece.
The pieces that do not change
The chariot is worth about 9 throughout, as long as it has a line. Advisors and elephants are never worth anything offensively and become more important defensively as the attacker's options narrow — which is a different kind of gain from the horse's.
Related questions
Does the general gain value?
Functionally yes. In a bare endgame it becomes an attacking piece through the flying general rule.
When exactly do horse and cannon swap?
There is no fixed point. Count screens: when a cannon has few natural screens left, it has already crossed over.
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