---
title: "How to Stop Missing Cannon Threats in Xiangqi · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Scan every line where a cannon faces your general or a valuable piece and count the pieces in between. Two seconds per cannon, every move."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-i-spot-cannon-threats
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 stop missing cannon threats?

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
>
> Make it mechanical: after your opponent moves, look at **every cannon** — theirs and yours — and **count the pieces** on the line between it and anything valuable. One piece means a real threat; zero or two means none. It takes two seconds per cannon and catches the overwhelming majority of what beginners miss.

## The scan, in order

1. **Their cannons facing your general.** Count the screens. One is check or a threat of it.
2. **Their cannons facing your chariots.** The chariot is worth 9; it is the piece a cannon most wants.
3. **Your own cannons.** Did their last move add or remove one of your screens?

## The move that creates threats from nothing

Remember that a cannon threat can appear without the cannon moving — because *any* piece arriving on the line becomes the screen. So a quiet-looking developing move by your opponent can switch a cannon on three files away. That is the threat that gets missed most.

## Related questions

Do I need to check my own cannons too?

Yes — both for threats you have gained and for screens you are about to remove with your own next move.

Does this get faster?

Yes. After a few weeks it stops being a conscious count and becomes recognition.

## Related xiangqi resources

Common mistakes

The errors that decide most club games

Cannon tactics

Screens, batteries and discoveries

How the cannon moves

Captures only by jumping exactly one screen

## Try it on a real board

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