How does the cannon move in xiangqi?
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Direct answer
The cannon moves like a chariot — any distance along a rank or file, over empty points only. Capturing is different: to take a piece the cannon must jump exactly one piece, of either colour, standing anywhere between it and its target. That piece is the screen (炮架). No screen, or two or more, and the capture is illegal.
Moving and capturing are two different rules
Every other piece in xiangqi captures the same way it moves. The cannon does not, and holding the two apart is the whole skill of using it.
- Moving (to an empty point): exactly like a chariot. Any distance, straight lines, nothing in the way.
- Capturing: there must be exactly one piece between the cannon and the piece it takes. The screen can be yours or your opponent's — it makes no difference.
In the position below the red cannon is on e4. A black soldier on e6 is the screen; a black chariot sits on e8 behind it. The cannon can jump the soldier and take the chariot. It cannot take the soldier itself — there is nothing between them.
Take the chariot on e8 by jumping the soldier on e6.
Xiangqi position. Red: cannon e4, general e0. Black: general d9, chariot e8, soldier e6. Red to move.
Why the cannon changes everything
The cannon is the reason xiangqi opens the way it does. Because it needs a screen, its power is at its greatest when the board is full — the exact opposite of every western chess piece. A cannon in the opening, aimed down the central file at a crowded palace, is the most dangerous piece on the board. The same cannon in a bare endgame may be unable to capture anything at all.
Two consequences worth internalising:
- Trades weaken cannons. If you are defending against a cannon attack, simplifying is often enough on its own.
- Your own pieces arm the enemy. Moving a piece into the line between an enemy cannon and your general is how beginners lose to a check they never saw.
The most popular first move in the game — the Central Cannon — swings a cannon to the middle file on move one, pointing straight at the enemy general.
Common mistakes
Trying to capture an adjacent piece
A cannon can never take something standing right next to it — there is no room for a screen. Adjacent enemy pieces are entirely safe from it, which is often the cleanest way to neutralise one.
Jumping two pieces
Exactly one, never two. If a second piece moves into the line, the capture disappears — and that is a standard defensive resource, not an accident.
Forgetting the screen can move away
A cannon aimed through an enemy piece loses its threat the moment that piece steps aside. Worse, moving the screen can be a discovered attack — the piece that leaves does damage of its own.
Related questions
Can a cannon capture without a screen?
No. Capturing requires exactly one intervening piece. Without a screen the cannon may still move along the line, but it cannot take anything on it.
Can the screen be one of my own pieces?
Yes. The screen's colour is irrelevant — your own piece works exactly as well as your opponent's. This is why moving a piece into a line can accidentally hand the enemy cannon a capture.
Is the cannon stronger than the horse?
Roughly comparable, and it depends on the position. The cannon is stronger while the board is crowded, typically in the opening and early middlegame; the horse grows stronger as pieces come off and screens become scarce.