--- title: "Why You Keep Missing Xiangqi Tactics · Xiangqi Master" description: "Usually because you are not checking what the opponent's last move attacked. Most missed tactics are failures to look, not failures to calculate." url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/why-do-i-keep-missing-tactics updated: 2026-09-22 source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # Why do I keep missing tactics 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 > > Almost always because you are **not asking what your opponent's last move attacked**. Most missed tactics are failures to look rather than failures to calculate — the tactic was visible, nobody looked at that part of the board. Two questions every move fix the majority of it. ## The two questions 1. **What did their last move attack?** Including lines it opened or screens it created. 2. **What does my intended move stop defending?** Including cannon screens it removes. That is the whole method. It takes a few seconds and it catches more than any amount of deeper calculation on the wrong part of the board. ## The xiangqi-specific trap A cannon threat can appear *without the cannon moving*, because any piece arriving on its line becomes the screen. So a quiet developing move three files away can create a threat against your general. This is the single most commonly missed thing in the game. ## Related questions Does this get better with calculation training? Less than you would think. Looking beats calculating for this particular failure. Should I slow down? Yes. Play some longer games — you cannot build the habit at three minutes a game. ## Related xiangqi resources Common mistakes The errors that decide most club games Xiangqi tactics Forks, pins and discovered attacks How the cannon moves Captures only by jumping exactly one screen ## Try it on a real board Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.