Xiangqi checkmate patterns
The mating patterns Chinese chess players know by name, grouped by the piece that does the work, each with a full guide.
Xiangqi’s named checkmates are recurring mating patterns that Chinese players have given vivid names, such as 马后炮, the cannon behind the horse, or 闷宫, the smothered palace. Each name describes where the attackers stand and which escape points they take away. Below are all 18 of our guides, grouped by the piece that does the main work.
New to checkmates? Start with the five every beginner should know, then come back for the named ones.
Horse mates
The Horse checks from a point on or beside the palace, or quietly takes the General's escape points away while another piece gives the check.
Palcorner horse
挂角马guà jiǎo mǎ
A Horse lands on a front corner of the palace and checks the General on its home point while another piece seals its last escape.
Lying trough horse
卧槽马wò cáo mǎ
A Horse checks from the trough point beside the palace. Paired with a Chariot it mates quickly, and the same check can win a Chariot.
Double horse mate
双马饮泉shuāng mǎ yǐn quán
Both Horses gather on one side: one shuts the General's side exits while the other rolls around it, checking until no room remains.
Golden hook horse
金钩马jīn gōu mǎ
A Horse waits on the enemy second rank; a Chariot sacrifice drags the centre Advisor away, then the Horse checkmates from the palace corner.
Angler horse
钓鱼马diào yú mǎ
A Horse on the enemy third rank, outside the palace, covers a back corner and the palace centre so a Chariot or Soldier can mate.
Eight corner horse
八角马bā jiǎo mǎ
A Horse on one palace corner freezes the General on the diagonally opposite corner, covering both its steps, and another piece delivers the check.
Tiger silhouette
侧面虎cè miàn hǔ
A Horse on the enemy soldier rank controls two palace points, leaving the General one line to move along, and a Chariot checks it there.
Cannon mates
Mates built on the Cannon's screen rule: it checks only over exactly one piece, friend or foe, so arranging the screen is half the pattern.
Cannon behind the horse
马后炮mǎ hòu pào
A Horse two points in front of the General screens for a Cannon behind it and covers the General's sideways escapes at the same time.
Smothered mate
闷宫mèn gōng
A single Cannon checks along the back rank, using a corner Advisor as its screen, while the General's own Advisors box it in.
Double cannon mate
重炮chóng pào
Two Cannons line up with the General: the front one screens the rear one's check, and any blocker just gives the front Cannon a screen.
Heaven and earth cannons
天地炮tiān dì pào
A central Cannon pins the middle defenders while a second Cannon on the back rank pins the pieces there, leaving the General without moves.
Chariot mates
The strongest piece on open ranks and files, checking from behind, taking turns with a partner or crashing into the centre of the palace.
Double chariot mate
双车错shuāng jū cuò
Two Chariots take turns checking and sealing lines until the General runs out of palace. The guide also covers the Iron Bolt (铁门栓).
Big blade cuts the heart
大刀剜心dà dāo wān xīn
A Chariot, backed by other pieces, captures the Advisor on the palace centre, usually as a sacrifice, tearing the defence open for a forced mate.
Fishing the moon
海底捞月hǎi dǐ lāo yuè
A Chariot and Cannon go round to the defender's back rank and check the General from behind, with your own General holding the central file.
Soldier mates
Soldiers are slow and never step back, but once they reach the palace they take points from the General at close range, or give the checks themselves.
Two ghosts knocking at the door
二鬼拍门èr guǐ pāi mén
Two Soldiers reach the middle points of both palace sides, covering the centre and both back corners so another attacker can finish the frozen General.
Eunuch chasing the emperor
太监追皇帝tài jiān zhuī huáng dì
A single Soldier checks again and again, pushing the General back through its palace, while other pieces, often your own General, take away its escapes.
Combined attacks
Patterns defined by teamwork rather than one piece: your own General's grip on an open file, or three attackers massed on one wing.
White faced general
白脸将bái liǎn jiàng
Your General controls an open file under the flying general rule while a Chariot, Cannon or Soldier checks the enemy General on another file.
Flanking trio
三子归边sān zǐ guī biān
Three different attackers, most often Chariot, Horse and Cannon, gather on one wing of the enemy palace and mate the General together.
How to learn them
- One family at a time. The horse mates share one piece and one ring of points around the palace, so learning them together makes each one easier to remember than learning all 18 in a row.
- Set the position up and play it out. Every guide walks through a position you can build on a board. Try each defence yourself until you can see why none of them works.
- Learn a solving routine. Read the position, list the forcing moves, count the General’s escape points. How to solve xiangqi puzzles sets out the method step by step.
- Drill until you see them without looking. Our Chinese chess puzzles serve a new position every day, and the puzzle library holds 5,000 engine-verified mates in one, two and three, each with its full solution.
Before the named mates
The basics, and the tactics every pattern above is built from.
5 checkmate patterns every beginner should know
The starter set, from the Chariot on the back file to the flying general finish.
Mate in one
How to spot the one-move kill with the Chariot, Cannon, Horse and General.
Mate in two
Sacrifices, decoys and batteries: the forcing moves behind two-move mates.
Cannon and chariot mates
The hollow cannon, the iron bolt and the back-rank nets this pair weaves.
Double check
Two pieces check at once, so a single block or capture rarely answers both.
Removing the defender
Capture, deflect or block the piece guarding the General before you strike.