What is the minimum material needed to win in xiangqi?
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
A single chariot forces mate against a bare general — using your own general, which holds the file the enemy would otherwise escape to. So does a lone horse, in every position, and a lone soldier wins unless it has already reached the last rank. A lone cannon cannot even give check. Horse and cannon, two horses, and horse and soldier all win.
The full table
- Chariot — wins.
- Horse and cannon — wins.
- Two horses — wins.
- Cannon and advisor — wins; the advisor is the screen.
- Horse and soldier — wins; cannon and soldier — wins 86.8% of positions.
- Lone horse — wins, in at most 7 moves.
- Lone soldier — wins, unless it has already reached the last rank.
- Two soldiers — win 98.4% of positions.
- Lone cannon — cannot force mate.
Every line is counted position by position on the proven endgame verdicts.
Against a real defence it is harder
These are all against a bare general. Add two advisors and two elephants and the requirements change completely: a lone chariot against a full defence is a standard draw, and horse-and-cannon is often held too. Count the defence separately from the attackers, always.
Related questions
Why can a lone cannon not mate?
It needs a screen to check at all, and an empty palace offers none.
Does the general help?
Yes, essentially. It denies the enemy general a whole file, and several of these mates do not work without it.
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