Lesson 3: Captures, Protection and Exchanges
First: what counts as winning?
Checkmate wins: the opposing general is attacked with no legal escape. Having no legal move also loses in xiangqi even without check (stalemate), unlike chess.
Capturing a rook or cannon, or giving one check, does not itself win. Check whether the opponent can move the general, block or capture the attacker.
Guided practice teaches the assigned moves. Decide whether the final position is mate by checking legal replies, not by the completion of a progress bar.
Learn protection, recapture and exchange through a complete move sequence and a pre-move checklist.
A capture moves your piece onto an enemy piece's point and removes that piece; the two pieces do not stack. A recapture is your opponent then taking the piece that just captured. An exchange is a sequence in which both sides lose pieces.
Suppose your chariot takes a soldier and an enemy horse then takes your chariot: you won a soldier but lost a chariot — a bad trade. Pieces have different strengths, but don't rely only on point values: delivering mate, keeping your general safe and stopping threats often matter more.
This is an arranged position, not an opening: a red chariot on a1, a black soldier on a7, a black horse on c8, the generals on e1 and e10, and a black soldier on e6 keeping them apart. Choose Try the moves. Before capturing anything, find every point the black horse can reach.
A piece is protected when another of your pieces can legally recapture. Being close is not enough: a chariot needs a clear line, a horse an unblocked leg, and a cannon exactly one screen. A recapture that exposes your own general does not count.
Move one, Red a1→a7: the chariot runs up the empty a-file, captures the soldier and stays on a7. Don't judge yet. Move two, Black c8→a7: the horse steps across to b8, then diagonally to a7; b8 is empty, so it captures the chariot that just arrived. Now a black horse stands on a7, and both the red chariot and the original soldier are gone.
Count the cost: Red lost a chariot, Black lost a soldier. A chariot can roam whole open lines while a soldier barely moves, and Red gets no mate or other compensation here. Capturing first is not the same as gaining. The black horse was protecting a7 all along. Step back two moves and explain in your own words why taking the soldier was a mistake. This example warns of a risk; it is not a recommended move for Red.
Demo moves
a1 → a7 / c8 → a7
From the starting position: Red e4→e5, Black a7→a6; Red e5→e6 crosses the river, Black a6→a5; finally Red e6→e7 captures the black soldier on e7. The first four moves are ordinary moves; only the fifth lands on an enemy piece, so only it is a capture.
After each move, check that the starting point is now empty, who stands on the destination, and whose turn it is. After the capture the red soldier stays on e7; it does not disappear along with the black soldier. This line just shows how a soldier moves and captures; it is not advice for Black to ignore the centre.
Demo moves
e4 → e5 / a7 → a6 / e5 → e6 / a6 → a5 / e6 → e7
On paper, make two columns: "what Red lost" and "what Black lost", including any recaptures that are certain. Then ask whose general is now in more danger and whose chariot gained an open line. If the opponent might not recapture, write the "recapture" and "no recapture" cases separately.
Quick self-check: can a cannon capture a chariot over two pieces? No. Does a friendly horse standing nearby always protect a point? No — check its move, its leg and your general's safety. First learn not to lose pieces for nothing; flashy combinations can come later.