--- title: "Cannon Endgames in Xiangqi ยท Xiangqi Master" description: "A cannon needs something to jump over, so it fades as the board empties. How to keep a cannon dangerous in an endgame, and why the defender wants to trade everything off." url: https://xiangqimaster.com/endgames/cannon-endgames updated: 2026-09-07 source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # Cannon endgames Every position, move and legality claim on this page is verified programmatically against our open rules engine, which implements the WXF laws and is tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. > Direct answer > > A cannon captures only by jumping exactly one piece, so an empty board makes it weak. A cannon needs a screen to do anything, which is why a cannon and an advisor beat a bare general while a cannon alone cannot even give check. The defender's plan against a cannon is to remove every possible screen. ## The screen problem Every other piece in xiangqi gets simpler as the board empties. The cannon gets harder. It can move along any clear line, but it can only capture by jumping exactly one piece, and in a bare endgame that piece often does not exist. The consequence is worth stating plainly, because it decides many endgames: a cannon alone cannot give check to a general in an empty palace. There is nothing to jump. A player who trades down into cannon against bare general has thrown away a win. ## Keeping a cannon dangerous - **Keep an advisor.** Your own advisor is a screen you control. Cannon and advisor beats a bare general, and it is the standard way to convert. - **Use the enemy pieces.** A screen does not have to be yours. Defenders who keep their elephants at home are supplying the screens the cannon needs. - **Attack along the general's file.** The palace is where screens are most likely to exist, because that is where the defender's remaining pieces are. ## Defending against a cannon The defence is the mirror image. Trade or advance every piece that could serve as a screen, including your own, and keep your general on a file where the cannon has nothing to jump. This is why a defender in a lost looking position will sometimes give away an elephant for nothing. Removing the screen can be worth more than the piece, and against a lone cannon it can turn a loss into a draw outright. ## Common mistakes #### Trading your last advisor while holding a cannon The advisor is the screen that makes the cannon work. Without it a cannon cannot force mate against a bare general. #### Keeping elephants at home when defending Your own pieces are the screens the enemy cannon needs. Sometimes the right move is to move them out of the firing line entirely. #### Valuing the cannon by its opening strength A cannon is strong when the board is full and weak when it is empty. Trade it while it is still worth something. ## Related questions Can a cannon checkmate alone in xiangqi? No. Against a bare general in an empty palace a lone cannon cannot even give check, because it has nothing to jump over. It needs a screen, which usually means keeping one of your own advisors. Is a cannon or a horse better in the endgame? The horse, in most endgames. See [horse endgames](https://xiangqimaster.com/endgames/horse-endgames) for why the two pieces swap places in value as the board empties. What is the best defence against a cannon? Remove the screens. Trade off or advance the pieces the cannon could jump over, including your own elephants, and keep your general on a line where the cannon has nothing to use. ## Related xiangqi resources How the cannon moves The screen rule in full Horse endgames The piece that gains Cannon tactics Screens and batteries ## Put it into practice Play a game against the computer or a real opponent. It is free, it starts instantly, and there is nothing to install.