--- title: "Is There a Cannon in Chess? What the Xiangqi Cannon Has No Equal To · Xiangqi Master" description: "No. No standard chess piece captures by jumping a screen, which is why the cannon is the piece that most defines xiangqi." url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/is-the-cannon-the-same-as-anything-in-chess updated: 2026-09-22 source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # Is there anything like the cannon in western chess? 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 > > **No.** Nothing in standard chess captures by jumping over an intervening piece. The cannon is the piece that makes xiangqi its own game rather than a chess variant, and it is the single biggest adjustment for a chess player — because it inverts the intuition that clearing a line strengthens an attack. ## Why the intuition inverts In chess, you open lines to attack. With a cannon, an empty line is a line with *no* attack on it: the cannon needs exactly one screen to capture. So you can create a threat by **putting a piece in the way**, and destroy one by taking a piece out of the way. Both directions are everyday tactics here and neither has a chess analogue. ## The closest relatives Korean janggi has a cannon (포) that also jumps, but it cannot jump another cannon and cannot capture one, and it needs a screen to move as well as to capture. Shogi has nothing comparable. The xiangqi cannon is essentially unique. ## Related questions Is the cannon stronger than a knight? Slightly, in the opening — about 4.5 against 4 — and weaker in the endgame, when screens run out. Does janggi's cannon work the same? Similar but not identical: it needs a screen to move too, and cannot use or take another cannon. ## Related xiangqi resources How the cannon moves Captures only by jumping exactly one screen Xiangqi vs chess What carries over from western chess, and what does not 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.