---
title: "Tactics That Only Exist in Xiangqi · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Screen-based cannon tactics, the flying general pin, and leg-blocking against the horse. None has a western chess equivalent."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-tactics-are-unique-to-xiangqi
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# 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.

## Related xiangqi resources

Cannon tactics

Screens, batteries and discoveries

Xiangqi vs chess

What carries over from western chess, and what does not

The pin

The piece that cannot move

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