---
title: "What Is 起馬局, the Horse-First Opening? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "起馬局 opens with a horse move instead of a cannon or soldier, aiming for a flexible setup that often transposes into Screen Horses or other quiet systems."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-qi-ma-ju-the-horse-first-opening
updated: 2026-09-23
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# 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 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
>
> **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.

## Related xiangqi resources

Screen Horses

The main defence to the Central Cannon

Opening principles

What the first ten moves are actually for

Xiangqi openings

The opening reference

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