No. 15: Horse, High Soldier and Advisor Win by Rule vs Two High Soldiers and Advisor

"No. 15: Horse, High Soldier and Advisor Win by Rule vs Two High Soldiers and Advisor" is a Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) puzzle from the collection Practical Endgames. Red moves first and wins in 18 moves; the key first move is P5+1. 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 Horse, a Soldier. Black has a General, a Advisor, 2 Soldiers.

Solution move by move

1. Red P5+1
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 9 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
1. Black K6=5
1. Black K6=5
2. Red H5+6
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 10 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
2. Black A5-4
2. Black A5-4
3. Red K5=4 (threatens mate next move)
Why it works
Creates an immediate mating threat that must be answered.
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 5 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
3. Black P5=6
3. Black P5=6
4. Red H6+4 (check, the only legal reply)
Why it works
Forcing: the opponent has only one reply, so the line cannot be avoided.
What to watch out forNo real drawback in this position.
4. Black K5=6
4. Black K5=6
5. Red H4-5
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 7 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
5. Black P4=5
5. Black P4=5
6. Red H5+6
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 5 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
6. Black K6+1
6. Black K6+1
7. Red H6+8
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 5 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
7. Black A4+5
7. Black A4+5
8. Red H8-9
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 8 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
8. Black P5+1
8. Black P5+1
9. Red K4+1
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 9 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
9. Black A5+4
9. Black A5+4
10. Red H9+7
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 6 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
10. Black K6-1
10. Black K6-1
11. Red P5=6 (captures the Advisor)
Why it works
Wins material: takes the Advisor.
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 6 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
11. Black K6=5
11. Black K6=5
12. Red P6=5
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 7 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
12. Black K5=6
12. Black K5=6
13. Red P5+1
Why it works–
What to watch out for
Not forcing: the defender has 4 replies, so compare each one before playing it.
13. Black P6+1 (check)
13. Black P6+1
14. Red A5+4 (captures the Soldier, sacrifices the Advisor)
Why it works
Wins material: takes the Soldier.
What to watch out for
Gives up the Advisor; the follow-up must be exact or the sacrifice is wasted.
14. Black P5=6 (captures the Advisor, check)
14. Black P5=6
15. Red K4=5
15. Black P6+1 (check)
15. Black P6+1
16. Red K5+1
16. Black P6=7
16. Black P6=7
17. Red H7-5 (threatens mate next move)
Why it works
Creates an immediate mating threat that must be answered.
What to watch out forNo real drawback in this position.
17. Black P7=6
17. Black P7=6
18. Red H5+3 (checkmate)
Why it works
Ends the game: no legal reply remains.
What to watch out forNo real drawback in this position.
18. Red H5+3

Variations and alternative defences

The source manual records 7 variations. Each branch starts from the move number shown.

Variation 1, from move 9: A5+6 10. H9+7 A6-5 11. H7+5 K6-1 12. H5-3+ K6+1 13. H3+2+ K6-1 14. P5+1 Try it on the board
Variation 2, from move 8: A5+4 9. H9+7 K6-1 10. P5=6 K6+1 11. P6=5 K6-1 12. P5+1 P5+1 13. H7-5 Try it on the board
Variation 3, from move 9: 9. P5=6 P5+1 Try it on the board
Variation 4, from move 2: A5-6 3. H6+4+ K5=4 4. P5=6 Try it on the board
Variation 5, from move 1: K6+1 2. H5+6 A5-4 3. P5=4+ K6-1 4. A5-6 P4=3 5. H6-4 K6=5 6. P4+1 A4+5 7. H4-5 A5+4 8. A6+5 P3=4 9. H5+6 K5=4 10. K5=6 K4+1 11. H6-8 P4=5 12. H8+7+ K4-1 13. P4=5 Try it on the board
Variation 6, from move 4: P5+1 5. K5=4 P5=6 6. A6+5 A4+5 7. H6+5 P6=5 8. P4+1+ K6=5 9. H5-7 Try it on the board
Variation 7, from move 1: A5-4 2. H5+7 K6+1 3. H7+9 K6-1 4. H9+8 K6=5 5. H8-6+ K5=6 6. P5=4 Try it on the board

Final position

Red wins after 18 moves. The General has no legal move.

Questions about this puzzle

Who moves first in "No. 15: Horse, High Soldier and Advisor Win by Rule vs Two High Soldiers and Advisor"?

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

How many moves does the solution take?

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

What is the key move?

The first move P5+1 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. 14: Horse and High Soldier Win by Rule vs High Soldier, Advisor and Elephant Next puzzle: No. 16: Horse, High Soldier and Advisor Win by Rule vs Two High Soldiers and Two Elephants →