---
title: "Defending With Advisors and Elephants in Xiangqi · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Keep all four if you can, move them only for a reason, and remember advisors stop cannons and chariots while elephants stop horses and soldiers."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-you-defend-with-advisors-and-elephants
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 an endgame with advisors and elephants?

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
>
> **Keep all four and move them as little as possible.** Advisors stop cannons and chariots by filling palace points; elephants stop horses and soldiers by covering the points they want to land on. Every advisor move changes which points are covered, and the one you vacate is very often the one the attacker needs.

## Losing one of each is worse than losing two of a kind

Because the two defend against different things. Against chariot-and-cannon the advisors matter; against horse-and-soldier the elephants do. Losing one of each opens a hole in both defences at once, which is why attackers aim for exactly that.

## The exception to leaving them alone

Advisors on the wrong points trap your own general — that is precisely how 重炮 works. Before a quiet advisor move ask which point it takes away from your general, and before refusing to move one, ask the same question.

## Related questions

Is two elephants and no advisors defensible?

Much weaker against cannons and chariots. Advisors are the more important pair against the common attacking material.

Should I trade an elephant to remove a screen?

Against a lone cannon, often yes — removing the screen can be worth more than the piece.

## Related xiangqi resources

Advisors and elephants

The defence that decides most endgames

How the advisor moves

One point diagonally, five points in total

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.