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.

32 chapters

1. One soldier, across the river vs Bare general7 moves

   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. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 4. The mainline below is its line, 7 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not tak…

2. One soldier (with general and elephant) vs One advisor19 moves

   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. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 10. The mainlin…

3. Five soldiers, all on the last rank vs Bare general40 moves

   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. Pikafish at depth 26: +1.0. The mainline below is its line, 40 pl…

4. Two unadvanced soldiers vs Two advisors25 moves

   Two unadvanced soldiers versus Two advisors. Red wins. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 13. The mainline below is its line, 25 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

5. Two unadvanced soldiers vs Two elephants13 moves

   Two unadvanced soldiers versus Two elephants. Red wins. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 7. The mainline below is its line, 13 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

6. Two unadvanced soldiers vs A bare cannon19 moves

   Two unadvanced soldiers versus A bare cannon. Red wins. A cannon with no platform to jump is close to useless on defence. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 10. The mainline below is its line, 19 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

7. Two unadvanced soldiers vs One advisor and one elephant24 moves

   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. Pikafish at depth 26: +0.2. The mainline below is its line, 24 plies deep. Position buil…

8. Three unadvanced soldiers vs All four defensive pieces (士象全)29 moves

   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. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 15. The mainline below is its line, 29 plies deep. Position buil…

9. Three unadvanced soldiers vs A horse and two advisors15 moves

   Three unadvanced soldiers versus A horse and two advisors. Red wins. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 8. The mainline below is its line, 15 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

10. Three unadvanced soldiers vs A cannon and two elephants29 moves

    Three unadvanced soldiers versus A cannon and two elephants. Red wins. Pikafish at depth 26: +7.5. The mainline below is its line, 29 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

11. General and soldier vs Bare general13 moves

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 7. The mainline below…

12. Two soldiers and an elephant vs Two soldiers8 moves

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 4. The mainline below is its line, 8 plies…

13. A bare horse vs A bare advisor37 moves

    A bare horse versus A bare advisor. Red wins. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 19. The mainline below is its line, 37 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

14. A bare horse vs A bare elephant32 moves

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: +0.2. The mainline below is its line, 32 plies deep. Position built to represent the…

15. A bare horse vs A bare elephant, caught on one flank9 moves

    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 pieces37 moves

    A horse and one unadvanced soldier versus Three defensive pieces. Red wins. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 19. The mainline below is its line, 37 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

17. A horse and one unadvanced soldier vs All four defensive pieces22 moves

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: +0.1. The mainline below is its line, 22 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not t…

18. Two horses vs All four defensive pieces27 moves

    Two horses versus All four defensive pieces. Red wins. Two horses beat the full defence; a chariot, worth more than both, does not. Pikafish at depth 26: +10.3. The mainline below is its line, 27 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagra…

19. A bare cannon vs Bare general1 move

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: 0.0. The mainline below is its l…

20. A cannon and one advisor vs Two advisors27 moves

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 14. The mainline below is its line, 27…

21. A cannon with all four defensive pieces vs All four defensive pieces12 moves

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: 0.0. The mainline below is its line, 12 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a…

22. Horse and cannon, both sides with four defensive pieces vs A horse32 moves

    Horse and cannon, both sides with four defensive pieces versus A horse. Red wins. Pikafish at depth 26: +2.3. The mainline below is its line, 32 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

23. Horse and cannon, both sides with four defensive pieces vs A cannon25 moves

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: +1.1. The mainline below is its line, 25 plies deep. Posit…

24. A bare chariot vs All four defensive pieces23 moves

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: 0.0. The mainline below is its line, 23 pli…

25. A bare chariot vs Three defensive pieces11 moves

    A bare chariot versus Three defensive pieces. Red wins. Pikafish at depth 26: mate in 6. The mainline below is its line, 11 plies deep. 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 fortress25 moves

    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. Pikafish at depth 26: 0.0. The mainline bel…

27. A bare chariot vs A horse and two elephants, one elephant misplaced34 moves

    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)40 moves

    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...21 moves

    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...32 moves

    A chariot and cannon with all four defensive pieces versus A chariot with all four defensive pieces. Draw. Pikafish at depth 26: +0.4. The mainline below is its line, 32 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

31. Two chariots vs A chariot and all four defensive pieces16 moves

    Two chariots versus A chariot and all four defensive pieces. Draw. Drawn with good defensive placement. Pikafish at depth 26: 0.0. The mainline below is its line, 16 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a source diagram.

32. Two chariots vs Two horses and all four defensive pieces27 moves

    Two chariots versus Two horses and all four defensive pieces. Red wins. Two horses is the losing pair; other two-minor-piece combinations hold. Pikafish at depth 26: +5.4. The mainline below is its line, 27 plies deep. Position built to represent the class, not taken from a so…