Five eight cannon xiangqi explained: Red's second Cannon jumps up file eight to Black's Soldier rank. The main line, Elephant choices, plans and slips.
The Five Eight Cannon (五八炮, wǔ bā pào) is a Central Cannon system in which Red's second Cannon never leaves its own file, file eight. Instead it usually jumps four points straight up that file onto Black's Soldier rank, where it can hit a Soldier, eye an Elephant or press on Black's right Horse.
As with the other Central Cannon systems, the numbers are files counted from Red's right: a Cannon on five and a Cannon still on eight. That makes the name a little slippery, so it is worth being precise. ECCO, the standard index of opening codes, files the four-point jump 炮八进四 as the Five Eight Cannon, C90 to C98. The shorter two-point step 炮八进二 also keeps the Cannon on file eight, but it counts as a separate system, the Central Cannon with River Cannon (中炮巡河炮), coded C80 to C86.
Chinese commentators sometimes call the far-advanced Cannon a 飞炮, a flying Cannon, because it leaps into the opponent's half so early. This guide follows it against the Screen Horses defense, where it is most at home.
The main line in notation and in words
A well-trodden route is 1.炮二平五 马8进7 2.马二进三 车9平8 3.车一平二 马2进3 4.兵三进一 卒3进1 5.炮八进四 象7进5 6.马八进九 卒1进1 7.炮八平七.
In words: after the standard Central Cannon and Screen Horses moves, both sides push the Soldier on their third file one point. Red's left Cannon then travels four points up file eight to Black's Soldier rank. Black lifts the left Elephant to the center of its own camp, Red jumps the left Horse to the edge, Black pushes the edge Soldier, and Red slides the advanced Cannon one file across so it stands directly in front of Black's right Horse.
4.兵三进一 卒3进1 is known as 互进三兵, both third Soldiers advanced. Each push frees a Horse. Red's right Horse can now jump forward with 马三进四, and Black's right Horse is no longer blocked by its own Soldier.
5.炮八进四 is the move that names the system. From Black's Soldier rank the Cannon looks along the rank, and with Black's central Soldier as its screen it can already take the Soldier on Black's seventh file. That is why Black's next decision, which Elephant to lift, matters so much.
After 5...象7进5 Black's left Elephant has moved up, so Red turns to the other wing. 6.马八进九 卒1进1 follows, a Soldier move that keeps Red's edge Horse quiet and clears the edge file for Black's right Chariot. Then 7.炮八平七 puts the Cannon on the point Black's right Horse uses as the leg for both of its forward jumps, so the Horse is stuck. The Cannon can also jump over that Horse at the Elephant still standing at home on Black's third file. Chinese players call this 平炮压马, pressing the Horse with a sideways Cannon move.
Two ways to meet the pressing Cannon
Black's two common answers are 7...车1进3 and 7...车1平2. The first uses the file the edge Soldier just cleared. The Chariot rises three points to Black's Soldier rank, next to Red's Cannon, and attacks it. A typical sequel is 7...车1进3 8.车九平八 车1平3 9.车八进七: Black's Chariot takes the Cannon, Red's Chariot takes Black's right Cannon in return, and the pressure on the Horse is gone.
That exchange works partly because the advanced Cannon has few ways home. It cannot drop back down file seven, since Black's own advanced third-file Soldier now stands right behind it, so apart from capturing the Elephant its only moves are sideways along Black's Soldier rank. A Cannon deep in enemy territory with short lines is always a target for Chariots.
The second answer, 7...车1平2 8.车九平八 炮2进4, puts the right Chariot on file two and sends the right Cannon over the river to stand in front of Red's left Chariot. Black's Chariot behind it guards it, the same blockading idea Black uses in the Left Cannon Blockade.
When Black lifts the other Elephant
If Black lifts the right Elephant instead, the left one stays at home on Black's seventh file, and the four-point Cannon has an obvious target. A typical order is 1.炮二平五 马8进7 2.马二进三 车9平8 3.车一平二 马2进3 4.兵三进一 卒3进1 5.马八进九 象3进5 6.炮八进四 卒7进1.
Why 6...卒7进1? If Black ignored the Cannon, 炮八平三 would take the seventh-file Soldier and then look straight through Black's left Horse at the Elephant behind it. Pushing the Soldier takes it off the Cannon's rank and offers it in exchange for Red's advanced third-file Soldier, which now faces it across the river. It is the usual reply in this structure, and Chinese descriptions of the opening explain why: once that Soldier falls, the Elephant left on Black's back rank tends to stay a weakness.
What each side is aiming for
Red's idea is to cause trouble behind Black's lines before Black is fully organized. The usual description in Chinese is that Red decides between hitting a Soldier to aim at an Elephant and pressing the Horse, depending on which Elephant Black lifts. The second Cannon does the harassing, while the Chariots and the Central Cannon wait for the weakness it creates.
Black's idea is to neutralize the flying Cannon. Because it sits deep in Black's half with short lines, Chariots that come out quickly can challenge it, trade it or cut off its retreat. Black also wants the right Chariot active early, which is why the edge Soldier push and the Chariot lift on that file appear so often.
Early slips to avoid
For Black, a classic error in the main line is 6...马3进4 instead of 6...卒1进1. It looks active, but the published answer is the full line 1.炮二平五 马8进7 2.马二进三 车9平8 3.车一平二 马2进3 4.兵三进一 卒3进1 5.炮八进四 象7进5 6.马八进九 马3进4 7.车九进一 卒3进1 8.炮八平三 卒3进1 9.车九平八. Red's Cannon swings across to take the seventh-file Soldier, Black's third-file Soldier crosses the river and takes Red's seventh-file Soldier, and Red's left Chariot comes into play with gain of time. The material is level, but the analysis rates Red's game as the more active one.
For Red, the danger is sending the Cannon in without a follow-up. On Black's Soldier rank it is strong while it hits something. If Black covers the targets and starts chasing it with Chariots, Red has spent two moves on a piece that ends up traded or retreating. Before playing 炮八进四, know where the Cannon goes next.
For both sides, count screens on that rank. The advanced Cannon's reach along Black's Soldier rank depends on Black's central Soldier acting as a screen. When that Soldier moves or is exchanged, everything the Cannon attacks along the rank changes.
Who should play it
The Five Eight Cannon suits Red players who want a concrete target early and are happy to commit a piece to get it. Compared with the Five Seven Cannon it is less of a slow squeeze and more of a probe: the Cannon goes in, asks a question, and the rest of Red's army follows the answer.
If you play Screen Horses as Black, learn the Elephant decision first. Lift the left Elephant and expect the pressing Cannon; lift the right one and be ready to trade the seventh-file Soldier.
The XiangqiPlay computer, with eight levels from Easy to God, will happily play both Elephant choices against you once you sign up for a free account. And when a flying Cannon turns into a mating attack, the 5,000 engine-proven puzzles at /puzzles are good practice for finishing the job.
XiangqiPlay Team
XiangqiPlay newsroom
