Why do my own advisors help checkmate me?
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
Because the general has only nine points, and an advisor standing on one of them removes it as an escape square. Several standard mates — 重炮 most obviously — work precisely because the defender's own advisors have blocked the general's sideways steps.
The tension
Advisors are also the pieces that hold endgames together: two advisors draw many positions that one advisor loses. So you cannot simply avoid having them in the palace. The skill is knowing which point each one should be on, and that depends on what is attacking.
Against cannons, you want them filling the points cannon mates need. Against chariots on the back rank, you may want one somewhere else entirely.
The habit
Before any quiet advisor move, ask one question: which point does this take away from my own general? That single check prevents most self-inflicted mates, and it takes a second.
Related questions
Should I move an advisor to make space?
Sometimes, yes — a spare point for the general is a real defensive asset. But every advisor move changes what is covered, so it needs a reason.
Which mate depends on this most?
重炮. The front cannon is defended, so the general cannot take it, and its own advisors block the escape.
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