---
title: "How Do You Know When Your General Is in Danger in Xiangqi? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Count how many enemy pieces can reach the palace in three moves against how many defenders you can bring back in the same span. If theirs is larger, danger is real."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-you-know-when-your-general-is-in-danger
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 know when your general is in danger 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
>
> Count attackers against defenders, on a clock. Ask how many enemy pieces could reach your palace within roughly **three moves**, and how many of your own pieces could get back to help in the same span. If the attacker's number is larger, real danger exists whatever the current position looks like, even with no check on the board yet.

## Why this beats waiting for a direct threat

By the time a concrete check appears, the attacker has often already brought enough pieces to follow it up. Counting potential attackers early, rather than reacting to the first actual threat, is the difference between meeting an attack in time and meeting it a move too late.

## The specific things worth checking

- Is an enemy cannon on, or one move from, your general's file?
- Have you still got both advisors, or has one already gone?
- Can an enemy horse reach the edge of your palace within a few moves?

Any two of these together is worth treating as a live attack, not a distant possibility.

## Related questions

Is material safety a reliable substitute for this count?

No. Being ahead on material does not protect a palace that is under-defended; the two are separate questions entirely.

What should I do if I am behind on the attacker count?

Trade a piece to remove an attacker, or bring a defender home immediately, rather than continuing your own plans elsewhere.

## Related xiangqi resources

Attacking the palace

How xiangqi attacks are built

Advisors and elephants

The defence that decides most endgames

Common mistakes

The errors that decide most club games

## Try it on a real board

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