Basic checkmates
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Direct answer
A single chariot forces mate against a bare general, and it does it with help from your own general, which controls the file opposite it under the flying general rule. A horse and a cannon together also mate. A lone horse or a lone cannon cannot force mate without a soldier or an advisor to help.
Your general is an attacking piece
This is the idea most players arriving from chess miss, and it changes every basic mate. Two generals may never face each other down a clear file. That means your general controls the whole of the file it stands on, from the defender's point of view: the enemy general can never step onto it while the file is clear.
In practice your general is a second attacker that costs nothing to bring. In the position below the red chariot mates in one, and it only works because the red general is holding a file the black general would otherwise escape to.
Red to play and mate in one with the chariot.
Xiangqi position. Red: chariot a1, general e0. Black: general d9. Red to move.
What forces mate and what does not
| Material | Against a bare general |
|---|---|
| Chariot | Wins. Forced mate. |
| Horse and cannon | Wins. |
| Two horses | Wins. |
| Cannon and soldier | Wins with the soldier still on the board. |
| Horse and soldier | Wins. |
| Lone horse | Cannot force mate. |
| Lone cannon | Cannot force mate. A cannon needs a screen, and a bare general gives it none. |
| Cannon and advisor | Wins. The advisor is the screen the cannon needs. |
The lone cannon case is the one worth remembering, because it is unique to this game. A cannon with nothing to jump over is harmless, so a cannon on its own cannot even give check to a general standing in an empty palace.
The technique, in one rule
Drive the general to the edge of its palace, then cover the points it has left. Because the palace is only nine points, this takes far fewer moves than the equivalent in chess, and it is usually a matter of two or three accurate moves rather than a long manoeuvre.
Bring your own general up the moment the enemy pieces are gone. It costs nothing, it is completely safe once there is nothing left to attack it, and it is often the difference between a mate and a draw by the sixty move rule.
Common mistakes
Leaving your own general at home
In a bare endgame your general is an attacker. Walking it up the board is usually the fastest way to finish, and it is the only way some mates work at all.
Trading down to a lone cannon
A cannon alone cannot mate, because it has nothing to jump. Keep a soldier or an advisor with it, or keep something else on the board.
Checking without a plan
Random checks let the general improve its position and burn moves against the sixty move rule. Take the escape points first, then check once.
Related questions
Can a single chariot checkmate in xiangqi?
Yes. A chariot forces mate against a bare general, using your own general to hold the file the enemy general would otherwise escape to.
Why can a lone cannon not checkmate?
Because a cannon captures and checks only by jumping exactly one piece. Against a bare general in an empty palace there is nothing to jump, so the cannon cannot even give check. See how the cannon moves.
How many moves before a draw is declared?
Sixty moves without a capture is a draw. That is more than enough for any of the basic mates here, but it is a real constraint if you spend twenty moves checking aimlessly first.
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