--- title: "How Multiple Passed Soldiers Work Together in the Endgame ยท Xiangqi Master" description: "Two or three connected soldiers defend each other's advance and can overwhelm a defence that can only stop them one at a time, especially once past the river." url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-multiple-passed-soldiers-work-together updated: 2026-09-23 source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # How do multiple passed soldiers work together in the endgame? 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 > > Two or three **connected soldiers** defend each other's advance the way infantry supporting one another does: one soldier's sideways move can guard the square in front of a neighbouring soldier, which makes it much harder for the defence to stop them **one at a time** the way a single soldier is usually handled. ## Why connected soldiers are so much stronger than the sum of their parts A lone advanced soldier is a nuisance but rarely decisive by itself, since it can usually be blockaded by a single defender. A pair of soldiers that can defend each other's next square forces the defence to commit more material to stop both, and every piece spent blockading soldiers is a piece not defending the general elsewhere. ## The practical approach to advancing them Push the soldiers together rather than racing one far ahead of the other, keeping them close enough to support each other's advance. If the defence has to choose which soldier to deal with first, look for the moment that choice leaves the other one free to break through or to tie down more of the defender's pieces than they can spare. ## Related questions Are three connected soldiers usually enough to win outright? Often yes, especially combined with even modest additional material, since the defensive burden becomes very hard to manage. What is the single biggest mistake with multiple soldiers? Advancing them too far apart, which lets the defence deal with each one individually instead of facing them as a coordinated threat. ## Related xiangqi resources Soldier endgames Why a crossed soldier is worth double How the soldier moves Forward only, until it crosses the river Xiangqi endgames What beats what, and why ## Try it on a real board Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.