Horse Opening
起马局 · qǐ mǎ jú
The Horse Opening does the one thing nobody can criticise: it puts a piece on a good square and keeps every option open. No cannon is committed, no file is declared, and Red can still head for a central battery, a quiet elephant setup or a flank plan depending on what Black does next. It is the most flexible first move in xiangqi, and far more dangerous than it looks.
The moves
1 move from the starting position. Step through them on the board.
- Red. The horse steps out toward the centre, ready to support a central cannon later or to guard the middle if Black gets there first.
Flexibility is the point
Every other first move tells your opponent something. This one tells them almost nothing. You have improved a piece and kept the right to choose your structure after seeing theirs.
That matters more here than in most games, because the two great structures, a central battery and a screen of horses, want different pieces on different squares. Choosing second is worth real points.
Where it usually goes
- Into a Central Cannon anyway, one move later and better informed.
- Into a quiet elephant and horse structure if Black plays sharply.
- Into a position where Red's horse already covers the middle while Black's central cannon has nothing useful to jump.
The one thing to watch
A horse can be blocked. It moves one step straight then one diagonal, and any piece sitting on the straight step stops it completely. Develop to a square where nobody can cheaply plant something in its path, and check that path again every time your opponent advances a soldier.
Try it on a real board
Reading an opening and playing one are different skills. Set this line up against the computer, get it wrong a few times cheaply, then take it into a rated game.
Common questions
- Is the Horse Opening passive?
- No. It is uncommitted, which is different. The horse stands on a useful square in every structure you might choose, so nothing is lost and information is gained.
- What does Black play against the Horse Opening?
- Usually take the centre with a cannon, which is a fair try, or mirror the development and play a slow game. Both are sound.
Read next
- Horse Opening vs Central Cannon起马对中炮Red develops a horse, Black grabs the middle file. How to handle a central cannon when you have not built a battery of your own.
- Elephant Opening飞相局Red shores up the centre and invites Black to commit first. The Elephant Opening explained: the idea, the structures it leads to, and why patient players win with it.
- Central Cannon中炮Red's cannon swings to the middle file and points straight at the enemy General. The plan behind the Central Cannon, the replies you will face, and the trap that ruins most attacks.
- Palcorner Cannon士角炮The cannon takes the advisor's file instead of the centre. A sound, less charted alternative to the Central Cannon, with the plans that make it work.
Every named line is listed on the xiangqi openings index. New to the game? Start with the rules of Chinese chess, or learn the Chinese characters on the pieces.