---
title: "How Many Moves Does It Take a Cannon to Reach the Enemy Palace? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Often just one or two, since the starting position hands both cannons a clear central line from move one. Reaching a useful attacking square is faster for a cannon than for almost any other piece."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-many-moves-does-it-typically-take-a-cannon-to-reach-the-enemy-palace
updated: 2026-09-23
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# How many moves does it typically take a cannon to reach the enemy palace?

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
>
> Often just **one or two moves**. Because the starting position already gives both cannons a clear line across the whole board, a single traverse, 炮二平五, puts a cannon on the central file aimed straight at the enemy palace from the very first move. Few other pieces can create a genuine threat that quickly.

## Why the cannon is the fastest piece to threaten something

A chariot needs a file opened first; a horse needs several moves to cross the board even without obstruction. The cannon's starting line is already open, so its speed advantage is built into the setup rather than earned through play, which is exactly why a cannon move is so often the very first move of a game.

## Speed is not the same as follow-up

Arriving fast only matters if a second attacker can arrive in time to support it. A cannon alone on the central file is pressure, not a winning attack, see [how to attack the palace](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-you-attack-the-palace) for what actually needs to follow it.

## Related questions

Is the cannon always the fastest piece to get involved?

Usually, yes, though a horse defending the central soldier is close behind it in typical openings.

Does a second cannon arrive just as quickly?

Not usually, see [the fastest way to activate a cannon](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-the-fastest-way-to-activate-a-cannon) for why the second one should generally wait.

## Related xiangqi resources

The Central Cannon

The most played first move in the game

Attacking the palace

How xiangqi attacks are built

How the cannon moves

Captures only by jumping exactly one screen

## Try it on a real board

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