Xiangqi basic endgames: what wins and what draws

The book verdicts of the basic endgames, each rooted at a representative position with Pikafish’s line as the mainline. Play them out against the engine rather than taking the verdict on trust. Where the verdicts come from, how they were checked, and the two the engine refused to confirm until a tablebase settled them: https://brianhliou.com/posts/xiangqi-basic-endgames/

35 chapters

1. One soldier, across the river vs Bare general

   One soldier, across the river versus Bare general. Red wins. Wins as long as the soldier has not reached the last rank, where it can no longer advance. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

2. One soldier (with general and elephant) vs One advisor

   One soldier (with general and elephant) versus One advisor. Red wins. Tempo decides it: Red to play wins, Black to play draws. The general rule is that any extra defensive piece draws, and this is the case that takes real technique. Position as diagrammed by the source.

3. Five soldiers, all on the last rank vs Bare general

   Five soldiers, all on the last rank versus Bare general. Draw. Soldiers cannot move backward, so on the last rank five of them still cannot force mate or stalemate. Material is not the same thing as mating power. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source di…

4. Two unadvanced soldiers vs Two advisors

   Two unadvanced soldiers versus Two advisors. Red wins. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

5. Two unadvanced soldiers vs Two elephants

   Two unadvanced soldiers versus Two elephants. Red wins. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

6. Two unadvanced soldiers vs A bare cannon

   Two unadvanced soldiers versus A bare cannon. Red wins. A cannon with no platform to jump is close to useless on defence. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

7. Two unadvanced soldiers vs One advisor and one elephant

   Two unadvanced soldiers versus One advisor and one elephant. Draw. The mixed pair defends where either pair alone does not: the advisor covers the palace, the elephant covers the approach. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

8. Three unadvanced soldiers vs All four defensive pieces (士象全)

   Three unadvanced soldiers versus All four defensive pieces (士象全). Red wins. The headline surprise of xiangqi endgames: three soldiers beat the full defence, while a chariot does not. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

9. Three unadvanced soldiers vs A horse and two advisors

   Three unadvanced soldiers versus A horse and two advisors. Red wins. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

10. Three unadvanced soldiers vs A cannon and two elephants

    Three unadvanced soldiers versus A cannon and two elephants. Red wins. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

11. General and soldier vs Bare general

    General and soldier versus Bare general. Red wins. Red wins with either side to move. 1.Gd1 is a waiting move that puts Black in zugzwang; the win comes from the red general seizing the middle file, not from the soldier alone. Position as diagrammed by the source.

12. Two soldiers and an elephant vs Two soldiers

    Two soldiers and an elephant versus Two soldiers. Red wins. Reciprocal zugzwang: whoever moves first loses. Set for Black to move, so the verdict is a Red win; flip the side to move and it is a Black win. Position as diagrammed by the source.

13. A bare horse vs A bare advisor

    A bare horse versus A bare advisor. Red wins. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

14. A bare horse vs A bare elephant

    A bare horse versus A bare elephant. Draw. The horse beats a lone advisor but not a lone elephant, which can shuttle between flanks faster than the horse can cut it off. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

15. A bare horse vs A bare elephant, caught on one flank

    A bare horse versus A bare elephant, caught on one flank. Red wins. The same material as above, but tempo-dependent: Red to play wins with 1.Hd7, cutting the elephant off from the far flank. Black to play draws with 1...Ee8. This is why the class verdict is a draw and this posit…

16. A horse and one unadvanced soldier vs Three defensive pieces

    A horse and one unadvanced soldier versus Three defensive pieces. Red wins. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

17. A horse and one unadvanced soldier vs All four defensive pieces

    A horse and one unadvanced soldier versus All four defensive pieces. Draw. The fourth defensive piece is the whole difference between this and the win above. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

18. Two horses vs All four defensive pieces

    Two horses versus All four defensive pieces. Red wins. Two horses beat the full defence; a chariot, worth more than both, does not. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

19. A bare cannon vs Bare general

    A bare cannon versus Bare general. Draw. A cannon needs a platform to capture, so with nothing to jump it cannot mate. Adding elephants does not help; it needs an advisor, which can screen on any of the three central files. Position built to represent the class, not taken from…

20. A cannon and one advisor vs Two advisors

    A cannon and one advisor versus Two advisors. Red wins. 1.Ge3 wins an advisor: 1...Gd9 runs into 2.Ae2#, and after 1...Ge10 2.Cxd8 the recapture is illegal because the advisor is pinned by the facing generals. Position as diagrammed by the source.

21. A cannon with all four defensive pieces vs All four defensive pieces

    A cannon with all four defensive pieces versus All four defensive pieces. Draw. A cannon needs at least an extra soldier to break the full defence. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

22. Horse and cannon, both sides with four defensive pieces vs A horse

    Horse and cannon, both sides with four defensive pieces versus A horse. Red wins. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

23. Horse and cannon, both sides with four defensive pieces vs A cannon

    Horse and cannon, both sides with four defensive pieces versus A cannon. Draw. Same attacking material, and the defending minor piece alone flips the result: a cannon holds where a horse does not. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

24. A bare chariot vs All four defensive pieces

    A bare chariot versus All four defensive pieces. Draw. The strongest piece on the board cannot break the full defence, though three soldiers or two horses can. Piece values do not survive into the basic endgames. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source di…

25. A bare chariot vs Three defensive pieces

    A bare chariot versus Three defensive pieces. Red wins. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

26. A bare chariot vs A horse and two elephants, in the drawing fortress

    A bare chariot versus A horse and two elephants, in the drawing fortress. Draw. This exact arrangement holds. Most other defensive placements of the same material lose, which is what makes it a fortress rather than a material verdict. Position as diagrammed by the source.

27. A bare chariot vs A horse and two elephants, one elephant misplaced

    A bare chariot versus A horse and two elephants, one elephant misplaced. Red wins. The fortress above with the g6 elephant moved to g10 instead. Same material, same attacker, and now Red wins starting with 1.Rb7. The pair is the clearest demonstration in the corpus that material…

28. A bare chariot vs A horse and cannon, no defensive pieces (單車難勝馬炮)

    A bare chariot versus A horse and cannon, no defensive pieces (單車難勝馬炮). Draw. The whole draw is one geometric relation: the cannon sits directly behind its own general, where it covers the back rank and cannot be skewered against it. Move that cannon one point sideways and the t…

29. A chariot and cannon, no defensive pieces vs A bare chariot holding the middl...

    A chariot and cannon, no defensive pieces versus A bare chariot holding the middle file. Draw. The defending chariot has to hold the middle file BELOW the attacking pieces, because the mate it is preventing (海底撈月) is executed at the bottom of that file. It also drives the red ge…

30. A chariot and cannon with all four defensive pieces vs A chariot with all fou...

    A chariot and cannon with all four defensive pieces versus A chariot with all four defensive pieces. Draw. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

31. Two chariots vs A chariot and all four defensive pieces

    Two chariots versus A chariot and all four defensive pieces. Draw. Drawn with good defensive placement. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

32. Two chariots vs Two horses and all four defensive pieces

    Two chariots versus Two horses and all four defensive pieces. Red wins. Two horses is the losing pair; other two-minor-piece combinations hold. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

33. A bare chariot vs A horse and cannon, cannon one point off23 moves

    A bare chariot versus A horse and cannon, cannon one point off. Red wins. The drawn fortress one point away from itself. Slide the defending cannon off the file behind its own general and the draw is gone: the database gives Red a forced mate. The cannon was not doing a cannon’s…

34. A chariot and cannon, no defensive pieces vs A bare chariot one rank too high40 moves

    A chariot and cannon, no defensive pieces versus A bare chariot one rank too high. Red wins. The defending chariot holds the middle file one rank too high, and that is the whole difference: Red plants the cannon underneath it, defended by the chariot on the same rank, and the da…

35. Three soldiers, pulled back one rank vs All four defensive pieces

    Three soldiers, pulled back one rank versus All four defensive pieces. Draw. The headline result of this corpus, undone by one rank. Three UNADVANCED soldiers beat the full defence; the same three soldiers a rank further back draw. An unadvanced soldier here means one standing o…