Which pieces defend the palace 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
Advisors and elephants, and defence is the whole of their job — neither can ever cross into the enemy half. Roughly: advisors stop cannons and chariots, by filling palace points and removing mating squares; elephants stop horses and soldiers, by covering the points they want to land on.
They are not interchangeable
Against a chariot-and-cannon attack, the advisors matter more. Against horses and soldiers, the elephants do. That is why losing one of each is considerably worse than losing two of the same kind — you have opened a hole in both defences at once.
The arithmetic
- Chariot against two advisors and two elephants — a draw in the manuals.
- Chariot against a defence missing one advisor — usually a win.
- Horse and cannon against a full defence — difficult, often drawn.
Which is why a strong player will give a soldier to take an advisor without hesitating.
Related questions
Can chariots defend the palace?
Yes, and well — but a chariot tied to defence is a chariot not attacking, which is usually the worse trade.
Should I ever move my advisors?
Only for a concrete reason. Each move changes which points are covered, usually for the worse.
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