---
title: "Which Pieces Defend the Palace in Xiangqi? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Advisors and elephants, and they do nothing else. Advisors stop cannons and chariots; elephants stop horses and soldiers."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/which-pieces-defend-the-palace
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Which pieces defend the palace in 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
>
> **Advisors and elephants**, and defence is the whole of their job — neither can ever attack anything. 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 — normally a draw.
- 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.

## Related xiangqi resources

Advisors and elephants

The defence that decides most endgames

Attacking the palace

How xiangqi attacks are built

How the advisor moves

One point diagonally, five points in total

## Try it on a real board

Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.