What is 起馬局, the horse-first opening?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws for movement, checkmate and both repetition rulings: a side that forces a repetition by perpetual check or perpetual chase loses rather than drawing. The chase half has not been validated against the official casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it before publishing.
Direct answer
起馬局 is any opening where Red's first move brings out a horse rather than the more common central-cannon or pawn-opening first move. It is flexible by design: Red delays committing to an attacking plan and often transposes into Screen Horses or another familiar setup a few moves later.
Why play a horse first at all
It develops a piece immediately without revealing whether Red intends a central-cannon attack or a quieter plan, which can make it harder for Black to choose the sharpest reply. It also sidesteps some of the most heavily analysed lines that follow directly from a first-move central cannon.
What it tends to become
Because it is a flexible move rather than a committal one, 起馬局 frequently transposes into standard middlegame structures, most often ones resembling Screen Horses, once both sides have developed further. It is less a fixed system than a starting move order that keeps options open.
Related questions
Is this a beginner-friendly opening?
Reasonably, since it avoids memorising sharp forcing lines, though the resulting positions still require understanding basic opening principles.
Does Black have a natural reply?
Developing symmetrically or heading toward Screen Horses of their own is a common and sound response.
.