Xiangqi pins and skewers immobilize enemy pieces along a line. Learn chariot pins, the absolute flying-general pin, and cannon skewers to win material.
Xiangqi pins and skewers are the quiet tactics that win games without fireworks, by freezing an enemy piece so it cannot do its job. A pin ties a piece to a more valuable one behind it, so moving it would expose the greater target; a skewer is the same idea reversed, forcing a valuable piece to move and abandoning the lesser one behind it. Both rely on the long-range line pieces of Chinese chess (象棋), and both take on special forms unique to this board.
In this guide you will learn how the chariot pins along ranks and files, why the flying-general rule creates the most absolute pin in the game, and how the cannon's screen mechanic produces pins and skewers that behave like no other piece. Master these and you will start winning material before your opponent even realizes the trap has closed.
How Pins and Skewers Work on the 9x10 Board
A pin and a skewer are two sides of one idea: a line piece attacks along a rank or file, and two enemy pieces stand on that line. In a pin, the less valuable piece is in front and cannot move without exposing the valuable one behind it. In a skewer, the valuable piece is in front, and when it moves to safety the piece behind it is captured. The only pieces that pin and skewer along straight lines are the chariot and the cannon.
The most valuable target on any line is the general, and because it is confined to a narrow file inside the palace, it is unusually easy to pin pieces against. Any enemy piece standing between your chariot and the enemy general on an open file is effectively pinned, since moving it would leave the general in check. Recognizing these frozen pieces is the first step to exploiting them.
A pinned piece is a piece that is only pretending to defend. It cannot capture, it cannot block, and it cannot flee, so you can pile more attackers onto it or ignore its defensive duties entirely. Half of practical tactics is noticing when an enemy piece has quietly become paralyzed.
The Chariot Pin and the Absolute Flying-General Pin
The chariot is the natural pinning piece. Point it down a file at an enemy chariot with the general sitting behind, and the front chariot is pinned: it cannot move without exposing its general to check. Now you can attack that pinned chariot a second time, perhaps with a horse or soldier, and win it, because it is not allowed to run.
The flying-general rule creates the strongest pin in xiangqi, an absolute pin that needs no chariot at all. Any piece standing alone on the open file between the two generals cannot legally move, because doing so would leave the generals facing each other, which is forbidden. That piece is frozen solid, and you can capture it or its defended partner at your leisure while it sits helpless.
This flying-general pin is a weapon many beginners overlook. Before you move any of your own pieces off the central file, check whether it is the only thing keeping the generals apart. And when attacking, hunt for enemy pieces stuck on that file, because they are among the easiest targets on the board to win.
Cannon Pins and Skewers: The Screen Changes Everything
The cannon pins differently from every other piece because it attacks only through a screen. A cannon does not pin the very next piece on its line; instead it threatens the second piece along the line, the one it could jump the screen to capture. This means a cannon can pin a piece that has another piece sitting in front of it, a pattern that constantly surprises players used to the chariot.
A classic cannon pin uses the enemy piece itself as the screen. If your cannon lines up so that an enemy piece is the platform and the general sits beyond it, that screen piece is pinned, because moving it would let the cannon check the general directly. The defender is trapped by its own body being the ammunition against its king.
Cannon skewers work the same way in reverse. Give check with a cannon along a file, and when the general steps aside, the cannon may capture a valuable piece that was standing behind it as a screen or beyond it on the line. Because the screen count changes as pieces move, always recount the line before assuming a cannon pin still holds.
Turning a Pin Into a Win
A pin or skewer is only worth as much as your follow-up. The standard plan against a pinned piece is to attack it again with a second, cheaper attacker. Since the pinned piece cannot move, the extra attacker wins it outright, or forces the defender to give up material trying to guard it. A pinned horse or chariot is often as good as captured already.
Skewers usually win material immediately. When you check the general and it must step aside, the piece revealed behind it falls at once. Look for chances to check along a rank or file where a valuable enemy piece is lined up behind the general, because a single skewering check can swing the whole game.
You can also use a pin to enable a bigger combination. A pinned defender cannot recapture or interpose, so it may open the door to a mate or a decisive sacrifice elsewhere. Whenever you find an enemy piece pinned against its general, ask not only how to win it, but whether its paralysis unlocks a knockout blow.
Practice Pins and Skewers on XiangqiPlay
These tactics become second nature only through repetition. On XiangqiPlay you can solve targeted puzzles that train your eye for frozen pieces and lined-up targets, with instant feedback whenever you find the winning idea.
Then take the hunt into your own games. Start every move by scanning the open files and ranks for pieces lined up in front of something valuable, especially the general. The player who sees the pins first is usually the player who wins the material.