No. 20: Horse, Cannon, Advisor and Elephant Win by Rule vs Horse, Two Advisors and One Elephant (2)

"No. 20: Horse, Cannon, Advisor and Elephant Win by Rule vs Horse, Two Advisors and One Elephant (2)" is a Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) puzzle from the collection Practical Endgames. Red moves first and wins in 10 moves; the key first move is H1+2. Below you will find the full solution, what each move achieves, where it could go wrong, and the alternative defences.

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Pieces on the board

Red has a General, a Advisor, a Elephant, a Horse, a Cannon. Black has a General, 2 Advisors, a Elephant, a Horse.

Solution move by move

1. Red H1+2
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 15 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
1. Black H4+6
1. Black H4+6
2. Red H2+3
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 15 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
2. Black H6+7 (check)
2. Black H6+7
3. Red K5-1
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 15 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
3. Black E5+7
3. Black E5+7
4. Red C7+1
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 13 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
4. Black A5-4
4. Black A5-4
5. Red C7=4 (check, the General has no escape square)
Why it works
Takes away the General's escape squares.
What to watch out forNo real drawback in this position.
5. Black A6-5
5. Black A6-5
6. Red H3-2
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 11 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
6. Black K6+1
6. Black K6+1
7. Red A6-5
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 11 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
The Advisor stands where it can be captured.
7. Black H7-5
7. Black H7-5
8. Red E7-5
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 9 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
8. Black H5-4
8. Black H5-4
9. Red A5+4 (check, the General has no escape square)
Why it works
Takes away the General's escape squares.
What to watch out forNo real drawback in this position.
9. Black A5+6
9. Black A5+6
10. Red H2+4 (captures the Advisor)
Why it works
Wins material: takes the Advisor.
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 13 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
10. Red H2+4

Variations and alternative defences

The source manual records 4 variations. Each branch starts from the move number shown.

Variation 1, from move 4: A5+4 5. C7=4+ A6-5 6. H3-4+ K6=5 7. H4+6+ Try it on the board
Variation 2, from move 4: H7+8 5. C7+2 A5-4 6. C7=4+ A6-5 7. H3-4+ K6=5 8. C4=8 K5=6 9. C8+6+ K6+1 10. H4+2+ K6+1 11. H2-3+ K6-1 12. H3+2+ K6+1 13. C8-1 A5+4 14. C8=1 Try it on the board
Variation 3, from move 3: K6+1 4. C7+1 A5-4 5. C7=4+ A6-5 6. H3-4+ A5+6 7. H4+2+ K6=5 8. H2+3+ K5-1 9. H3-4+ Try it on the board
Variation 4, from move 5: H7-6 6. H3-2 A4+5 7. H2-4 E5+7 8. H4-6 K6-1 9. H6+5 Try it on the board

Final position

The record ends here.

Questions about this puzzle

Who moves first in "No. 20: Horse, Cannon, Advisor and Elephant Win by Rule vs Horse, Two Advisors and One Elephant (2)"?

Red moves first, as in every puzzle of Practical Endgames.

How many moves does the solution take?

10 moves. The main line is shown above; alternative defences are covered in the variations section.

What is the key move?

The first move H1+2 starts the combination. Everything that follows depends on it.

Can I play this position myself?

Yes. Open it on ChessZing, where the board checks your moves and shows the solution if you get stuck.

← Previous puzzle: No. 19: Horse, Cannon, Advisor and Elephant Win by Rule vs Horse, Two Advisors and One Elephant (1)Next puzzle: No. 21: Horse, Cannon, Advisor and Elephant Win by Rule vs Horse, Two Elephants and One Advisor →