Elephant's eye
象眼 · xiàng yǎn
The midpoint of an Elephant's two step diagonal move; a piece standing there makes the move illegal.
The Elephant travels from corner to corner of a two by two square, and the point in the middle of that path is its eye. Occupy the eye and the Elephant cannot pass, exactly as a blocked leg stops a Horse.
Because Elephants are the main defence against cannon attacks, blocking an eye at the right moment can be the difference between an attack that breaks through and one that bounces. It is a quiet move that wins loud games.
It matters most in cannon attacks. An Elephant that cannot reach the point it was going to defend is the same as an Elephant that is not there, and attacks in xiangqi are almost always aimed at whichever defender cannot arrive.
In practice
If an attack depends on the defending Elephant not arriving, check whether you can block its eye instead of capturing something.
Related terms
- Elephant象 / 相A defensive piece that moves exactly two points diagonally, cannot cross the river, and can be blocked by a piece sitting in the middle of its path.
- Hobbling the horse's leg蹩马腿Blocking the orthogonal first step of a Horse's move, which makes that move illegal because a xiangqi Horse cannot jump.
- Cannon炮 / 砲A piece that moves like a chariot but can only capture by jumping exactly one piece, called the screen, on its way to the target.
- Palace九宫The three by three square marked with a cross at each end of the board, which the General and the two Advisors may never leave.