What is a battery 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
Two pieces stacked on one line so that the rear one acts through the front one. In xiangqi the term covers two distinct things: doubled chariots, where the rear one supports the front one, and cannon batteries, where the front piece is literally the screen the rear cannon needs to fire.
The three that matter
- 重炮 — cannon behind cannon. The front one is the screen; mate if it is defended.
- 馬後炮 — cannon behind horse. The horse is the screen and covers the escape points.
- Doubled chariots — ordinary support, and the basis of 雙車錯.
Building one
Batteries are slow: the second piece takes moves to arrive, and the defender gets those moves. The usual failure is firing before the battery is complete, which hands the defender a free tempo to bring a piece home.
Count how many pieces you can bring to the palace in three moves, and how many the defender can. If their number is larger, the battery is not ready.
Related questions
Is a battery the same as in chess?
The doubled-chariot kind is. The cannon kind has no chess equivalent, because the front piece enables rather than blocks.
Can a battery use an enemy piece?
Yes — a cannon's screen may be any piece, including your opponent's.
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