The Horse Opening (起马局)
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Direct answer
起马局 opens with a horse rather than a cannon, which declines to commit to the centre on move one. Red keeps every plan available, avoids the enormous body of Central Cannon theory, and accepts in exchange that Black gets a free hand to take the middle. It is the practical choice of a player who would rather play a game than a memorised line.
The opening moves
Red develops; Black takes the centre that Red declined.
Xiangqi position. Red: soldier a3, soldier c3, soldier e3, soldier g3, soldier i3, cannon b2, cannon h2, chariot a0, horse b0, elephant c0, advisor d0, general e0, advisor f0, elephant g0, horse h0, chariot i0. Black: chariot a9, horse b9, elephant c9, advisor d9, general e9, advisor f9, elephant g9, horse h9, chariot i9, cannon b7, cannon h7, soldier a6, soldier c6, soldier e6, soldier g6, soldier i6. Red to move.
What declining the centre is worth
Beginners are told to take the centre, which is good advice, so it is worth being precise about why a strong player would not.
- Theory avoidance is a real advantage. The Central Cannon lines are the most heavily studied in the game. A player who knows them is dangerous; a player who does not is on equal footing in 起马局.
- Flexibility has value. After a horse move Red can still play any cannon plan, an elephant setup, or a wing attack. The commitment is deferred rather than lost.
- The cost is real too. Black genuinely does get the centre, and the centre genuinely is the best place to have pieces. This is a trade and not a free lunch.
It belongs to the same family as the Elephant Opening and the Pawn Opening: quiet first moves whose shared idea is to let the opponent commit first.
Where it goes from here
Red's game is usually about the wings and about timing a central advance once Black's pieces are committed. Black's is to use the central file before Red arranges anything, which in practice means getting a chariot onto a clear line and keeping the cannon's pressure.
The practical reason to learn this opening is the one nobody admits: it is very hard to lose quickly with it. If you keep being blown off the board in the first fifteen moves, a quiet first move buys you the time to find out why.
Related questions
What is 起马局?
An opening in which Red develops a horse on the first move instead of taking the central file with a cannon. It keeps every plan available and avoids the heavily studied Central Cannon theory.
Is it bad to give up the centre in xiangqi?
It is a concession, not a mistake. You trade the best squares for flexibility and for a game your opponent has not memorised. Strong players use quiet openings deliberately for exactly that.
Which quiet opening should I learn first?
The Elephant Opening is the easiest to play well, because the move also improves your defence. 起马局 is the most flexible. The Pawn Opening commits least of all.
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