Twelve named checkmate patterns

The patterns and the boards

A mating pattern is a checkmate with a recognisable shape: particular pieces on particular points around the opponent's general. Once you know the shapes, you can see a mate coming before it is on the board and steer the game toward it.

The twelve patterns here are the ones that the course in Xiangqi Arena's learn section teaches, and they appear in the course's order. Each one has its own section below, with its Chinese name and pinyin.

The boards depend on two rules. A player who has no legal move loses, and the two generals may not stand on the same file with no piece between them. Because of the second rule, a general on an open file keeps the other general off that file, and Red's general does this on four of the boards below.

Each board starts one move before the mate, except the board for the staggered chariots, which starts three moves before it. Red plays up the board. The points are named in the site's coordinates: files a to i from Red's left and ranks 0 to 9 from Red's back rank, so Black's general starts on e9.

A board first draws the mating move as an arrow and then plays it. A dashed red line shows the check, and after a pause more lines run from the pieces that cover the points next to the general. The board then marks each point next to the general that it cannot use; a point filled by one of the general's own pieces is marked without a line. Apart from the pieces the pattern needs, each board has only a few others.

Cannon Behind the Horse

The cannon behind the horse (马后炮, mahoupao) is a mate that a horse and a cannon give together. The horse limits the general's movement and is also the cannon's screen.

You can recognise it by the way the pieces line up. The cannon, the horse and the general stand on one line, with the horse two points in front of the general and the cannon behind the horse. To set it up, you need the horse on that point and a cannon that can reach the line behind it.

On the board, the horse already stands on e7, two points in front of Black's general on e9. Red's cannon moves from h3 to e3 and gives check up the e-file, with the horse as its screen. The same line covers e8, the point directly in front of the general.

The horse covers the other two points, d9 and f9, because its leg on e8 is empty. Black has no piece besides the general, so nothing can block the check or capture an attacker.

Stacked Cannons

In the stacked cannons (重炮, chongpao), the mate comes from two cannons on the same line as the opponent's general. The front cannon is the rear cannon's screen, and if the defender blocks the line with any piece, the front cannon gives check through that piece instead.

The pattern has one condition: the opponent must not be able to capture either cannon. When you set it up, make sure both cannons are safe before the second one lines up behind the first.

Black's advisors on d9 and f9 fill the points on either side of the general. With one cannon already on e6, Red moves the other from h4 to e4, and it checks up the e-file through the front cannon. Its line also covers e8.

An elephant moved to e7 or an advisor moved to e8 would only become a screen for the front cannon. No Black piece can reach e4 or e6, so the condition holds.

Iron Bolt

The iron bolt (铁门闩, also written 铁门栓, tiemenshuan) uses a central cannon to control the centre file. A chariot or a soldier then seals the general's door, and other pieces help to complete the mate.

You can spot the sealing piece beside the general, on one of the advisors' starting points, protected by another piece, usually its own general or a chariot. The defender's advisor cannot capture it, because the central cannon pins that advisor. So the order matters: set up the cannon first, then bring in the piece that seals the door.

Red's cannon on e6 holds the centre file through Black's elephant on e7, and Black's advisor on e8 stands behind that elephant. The chariot moves from f3 to f9, one of the advisors' starting points, and checks the general from beside it.

Black's advisors fill d9 and e8, but the one on e8 cannot take the chariot, because leaving e8 would put its general in check from the cannon. The general cannot take the chariot either: on f9 it would face Red's general on f0 along the open f-file.

Trench Horse

The trench horse (卧槽马, wocaoma) is a horse on the point where the opponent's second rank crosses the third or seventh file. Working with other pieces, it can create a mating attack from there, and it is a common mating move.

The trench point is easy to find: it is the point in front of an elephant on its home point. Early in a game, a horse that reaches it can also give check while attacking a chariot that has not yet moved, and so win the chariot.

Red's horse jumps from h6 to g8, one of the two trench points on Black's side (the other is c8), and checks the general on e9 through its leg on f8. Black's own advisors fill d9 and e8, and Red's chariot on f4 covers f9 along the open f-file.

No Black piece can reach f8 to block the horse's leg, and none can capture the horse on g8. Note that the horse stands in front of Black's elephant on its home point, g9.

Staggered Chariots

In the staggered chariots (双车错, shuangchecuo), two chariots attack the opponent's general in turn, staggered vertically or horizontally. Think of this mate when the general lacks the protection of other pieces.

The pattern has one condition: the opponent must not be able to capture either chariot. Before you start the checks, make sure no defending piece can reach the points where your chariots will stand.

The board plays three moves. First, Red's chariot goes from h2 to h8 and checks the general on e8 along rank 8, so the general cannot step to d8 or f8. Red's soldier on e6 covers e7, so Black's only legal reply is to step back to e9.

The second chariot then moves from a1 to a9 and checks along rank 9, where its line covers d9 and f9, while the chariot on h8 still covers e8. Black has no piece here besides its general, so neither chariot can be taken.

Smothered Palace

The smothered palace (闷宫, mengong) is aimed at a general that is still on its starting point, where its own advisors restrict its moves. One advisor stands beside it on the back rank and the other in the centre of the palace.

When the advisors stand like that, a single cannon gives the mate directly. Watch for this shape in your opponent's palace whenever one of your cannons can reach the back rank.

Black's general is on its starting point, e9, with one advisor beside it on f9 and the other in front of it on e8. Red's cannon moves from g4 to g9 and checks along rank 9, with the advisor on f9 as its screen. The remaining point, d9, is empty, but it lies on the same line, so the cannon covers it too.

The advisor on f9 cannot step aside to remove the screen, because its only move is to e8, where the other advisor stands. No move by the advisor on e8 stops the check.

Corner-Hanging Horse

The corner-hanging horse (挂角马, guajiaoma) is a horse that gives check from one of the two corners of the opponent's palace nearest the river. With other pieces, it can create a mating attack from there.

The horse needs help to mate: the other points next to the general must be filled by the defender's own pieces or covered by yours. On the board, Black's advisors and a Red soldier take care of them.

Here the horse jumps from g5 to f7, a corner of Black's palace nearest the river, and checks the general on e9 through its leg on f8. Black's advisors fill d9 and f9.

The third point, e8, is covered by Red's soldier on d8, which has crossed the river and can therefore move sideways. No Black piece can reach f8 to block the check, and neither advisor can reach f7 to capture the horse.

Scooping the Moon from the Sea

Scooping the moon from the sea (海底捞月, haidi laoyue) brings pieces to the bottom rank and attacks the opponent's general from behind. The bottom rank here is the defender's own back rank, which is rank 9 on these boards because Red attacks up the board. Look for it when the enemy general has stepped off that rank and your pieces can get behind it.

Black's general has left its starting point and stands on d8, while Red's chariot and cannon both stand on rank 9. The chariot moves from h9 to d9 and checks the general from behind, down the d-file. That line also covers d7, the point in front of the general.

The general cannot take the chariot, because Red's cannon on a9 guards d9 through the elephant on c9. It cannot step to e8 either, where it would face Red's general on e0 along the open e-file.

Two Ghosts Pounding the Gate

Two ghosts pounding the gate (二鬼拍门, ergui paimen) is a mate in which two soldiers invade the opponent's palace and lock its two side files. They then attack with the help of other pieces. The name is also used for two chariots, or a chariot and a soldier, closing in on the opponent's palace.

The points to aim for are the elephants' eyes on the palace's side files. To set it up, bring two soldiers across the river and onto those points, one on each side of the palace.

Red's soldiers start on d8 and f8, which are the elephants' eyes on Black's side files. The soldier on f8 captures the advisor on f9 and checks the general on e9 from the side.

The soldier on d8 covers both d9 and e8, since a soldier that has crossed the river can move forward or sideways. The general cannot take the soldier on f9: on that point it would face Red's general on f0 along the f-file, which the soldier opened when it left f8.

Heaven-and-Earth Cannons

The heaven-and-earth cannons (天地炮, tiandipao) pair a central cannon, the heaven cannon, with a cannon on the opponent's bottom rank, the earth cannon. The cannons can use the opponent's advisors and elephants as screens, and other pieces, most often a chariot, help to complete the mate.

A saying holds that when the heaven-and-earth cannons fire, even divine soldiers can hardly stop them. Like the iron bolt, the pattern rests on a central cannon, and as with the stacked cannons, it works only if neither cannon can be captured.

Both cannons on this board use Black's elephants as screens. The central cannon on e5 looks through the elephant on e7 at the advisor on e8, which cannot move without exposing its general.

The second cannon moves from a3 to a9 and checks along rank 9 through the elephant on c9, so its line covers d9 and, beyond the general, f9. That elephant cannot step away to lift the screen, since Red's soldier on b8 blocks its eye on the way to a7 and Black's other elephant stands on e7.

White-Face General

The white-face general (白脸将, bailianjiang), also called 对面笑 (duimianxiao), is a mate that uses the rule against the two generals facing each other. Whenever the two generals are on the same file, at least one piece must stand between them.

In this pattern your own general does part of the work: from an open file, it keeps the enemy general off that file. Look for it when the file in front of your general is clear.

Black's general stands on d9, and Red's general on e0 has an open e-file in front of it. Red's soldier moves from d7 to d8 and checks the general from directly in front.

The only other point the general could use, e9, lies on the e-file, where it would face Red's general. The general cannot take the soldier, because Red's horse on b7 covers d8 through its leg on c7.

Double Check

Double check (双将, shuangjiang) is a check given by two pieces with a single move. Unlike a double check in chess, one in xiangqi can sometimes be blocked, and in one case a piece other than the general can answer it by a capture.

One notation system for xiangqi marks a check with a plus sign and a double check with two. In a game, a double check can rule out the usual defence. An advisor may be unable to take a checking soldier, because the other check would remain, so the general may have to take the soldier itself.

The board shows one way to set it up. Before the move, Red's horse on e5 stands between the chariot on e2 and Black's general on e9. The horse jumps to d7 and checks the general through its leg on d8, and its departure opens the e-file, so the chariot gives check at the same moment.

The chariot's line covers e8, and Black's advisors fill d9 and f9. An advisor that steps to e8 would block the chariot but leave the horse's check in place, and no Black piece can reach d8 or capture the horse. The horse could give the same mate from f7.

Puzzles for each pattern

Xiangqi Arena's learn section has a page for each of these twelve patterns, with puzzles to solve. The site's puzzles use the same names, so when a puzzle names a pattern, you can come back to its section in this guide.

Take one pattern at a time: read its section, solve its puzzles, then look for the same shape in your games against the computer. Knowing the shapes will not win every attack, but it shows you what to aim for.