---
title: "How to Defend Against a Cannon in Xiangqi · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Remove the screen, add a second one, block the line, or capture the cannon. Removing the screen is the answer most players overlook."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-you-defend-against-a-cannon
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# How do you defend against a cannon in xiangqi?

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
>
> Four answers, and most players only think of two. You can **capture the cannon**, **block its line** so it cannot move, **add a second piece** to the line so the screen count is wrong, or — the one that gets missed — **move the screen away**, which switches the threat off without touching the cannon at all.

## Check the screen first

When an enemy cannon threatens something, look at the piece in the middle before anything else. It is frequently *your own* piece, and moving it often solves the problem with a move you wanted to make anyway.

This is the single most useful defensive habit in the game and it has no chess equivalent, which is why chess players never look for it.

## Long-term defence

Against an opponent whose main weapon is cannons, keep your palace uncluttered and be willing to move elephants out of firing lines. In the endgame, trading off potential screens — including your own — is the standard plan, and against a lone cannon it draws outright.

## Related questions

Does blocking work against a cannon's check?

Adding a piece works because it makes the screen count two, not because it blocks. Same move, different reason — and it fails if the line was empty and you just supplied the screen.

Is trading cannons a good defence?

Often yes, especially heading into an endgame, where the cannon is the piece that fades anyway.

## Related xiangqi resources

How the cannon moves

Captures only by jumping exactly one screen

Cannon endgames

The piece that fades as the board empties

Cannon tactics

Screens, batteries and discoveries

## Try it on a real board

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