---
title: "Why Is the Horse Harder to Calculate Than the Cannon? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "A cannon's threats depend on one visible condition, its screen. A horse's threats depend on eight separate destinations and four separate blocking points, all of which can change with a single unrelated move anywhere nearby."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/why-is-the-horse-harder-to-calculate-than-the-cannon
updated: 2026-09-23
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Why is the horse considered trickier to calculate than the cannon, even though the cannon has the extra screen rule?

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 a horse's threats depend on far more moving parts.** A cannon's capture depends on one condition you can check at a glance, is there exactly one screen between it and a target. A horse's threats depend on up to eight destination squares and four separate leg points, any of which can appear or disappear the instant an unrelated piece moves nearby, which makes tracking a horse's real attacking range far harder to hold in your head.

## The cannon's simplicity

Once you know a cannon's screen and target, its threat is fixed and easy to verify; either the condition holds or it does not. Reassessing a cannon after a random move elsewhere on the board is usually a quick check of one or two lines.

## The horse's complexity

A single piece moving anywhere near a horse can silently open or close one of its eight potential moves by clearing or blocking a leg point, without that piece ever coming close to the horse's actual destinations. Keeping an accurate mental picture of what a horse threatens means re-checking all four of its legs after almost any nearby change, not just the obvious ones.

## Related questions

Does this mean horses are stronger than cannons?

Not necessarily, it means they are harder to calculate accurately, which is a different question from raw strength. See [piece values](https://xiangqimaster.com/learn/piece-values) for how the two typically compare.

Does experience fix this problem?

Largely, yes. Strong players develop an instinct for a horse's real range that beginners have to calculate square by square.

## Related xiangqi resources

How the horse moves

An L-shape that can be blocked — it never jumps

How the cannon moves

Captures only by jumping exactly one screen

The horse fork

One horse, two targets

## Try it on a real board

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