Screen horses
屏风马 · píng fēng mǎ · folding screen horses
The defensive setup where both horses stand in front of the General protecting each other, like a folding screen.
Screen Horses is the standard answer to a central cannon and the most analysed structure in the game. The two horses defend one another and the central soldier, so the cannon aimed down the middle file has nothing cheap to hit.
It is a shape, not a move order, which is why it appears from several different openings and why the name describes what the position looks like rather than who invented it.
There is a mirrored cousin worth knowing too, the single horse setup, where only one horse takes the central job and the middle file stays clear. It is looser and more flexible, and it exists because not every position wants a wall.
In practice
Finish the screen before you counterattack. Half a screen is just two loose horses.
Related terms
- Horse马 / 马A knight that moves one point straight then one diagonally, and which unlike a western knight can be blocked by a piece standing in its way.
- 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.
- Opening开局The first phase of the game, where both sides develop pieces, choose a structure and fight for the open files.
- Initiative先手Having the move that forces the opponent to react; in xiangqi it also names Red's advantage of moving first.