Which tactics are unique to 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
Three families, none with a chess equivalent. Screen tactics — switching cannons on and off by adding or removing a piece. The flying general pin, where a piece between the generals cannot move at all. And leg blocking, where you neutralise a horse by occupying the point it steps through.
Screen tactics are the biggest
Because they invert the chess instinct. Blocking a line can create a threat; clearing one can destroy your own. A single quiet move can switch a cannon on three files away, which is why cannon threats appear from nowhere and why chess players miss them for weeks.
The other two
The flying general pin is absolute — illegal to move, not merely costly. Leg blocking means a horse can be neutralised by any piece at all, including your own general in an endgame, which makes horses far more containable than knights.
Related questions
Do pins and forks transfer from chess?
Yes, those work the same. It is everything cannon-related that does not.
What is the hardest to learn?
Screen tactics, by a distance — they require unlearning rather than learning.
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