---
title: "How to Avoid Accidentally Leaving Your General in Check · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Before playing any move, glance at what defends the general afterward. A move is illegal if it leaves your own general attacked, so a board will refuse it either way."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-i-avoid-leaving-my-general-in-check-by-accident
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# How do I avoid accidentally leaving my general in check?

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
>
> Before you play a move, take one extra second to check what is left **defending your general** once that move is made. A move that leaves your own general under attack is **illegal**, whether you noticed the danger or not, and any digital board will refuse it, but understanding why in advance saves time and helps you actually learn the pattern.

## The two ways this usually happens to beginners

- **Moving a blocking piece.** A piece that happens to sit between an enemy chariot or cannon and your general is doing real work even if nothing marks it as special. Moving it away can expose the general directly.
- **The flying general rule.** Moving the one piece sitting between the two generals on a shared file exposes your general to the enemy general itself. See [the flying general rule](https://xiangqimaster.com/rules/flying-general).

## Why the board catching it is not enough on its own

A refused move on a digital board tells you the move was illegal, but not always why in a way that sticks. Taking the extra second to work out *what* was defending the general before you touch a piece builds the habit faster than repeatedly bumping into a refusal and moving on.

## Related questions

Does this apply to advisors and elephants too?

Indirectly, since they often sit between the general and an attacker, but the illegal-move check is really about the general's safety specifically, whichever piece was providing it.

Can I ever choose to leave my own general in check?

No, never, under any circumstance. It is one of the few absolute rules with no exceptions.

## Related xiangqi resources

The flying general

Generals may never face each other down an open file

Check and checkmate

Including why stalemate is a loss

How the general moves

One point orthogonally, never leaves the palace

## Try it on a real board

Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.