The Pin

A pin in Xiangqi is a status where a piece is attacked and cannot move because it would result in the capture of a more valuable piece behind it.

Pins restrict the opponent's piece and limit their options, as they cannot move the pinned piece without exposing a more valuable piece to capture.

There are generally three types of pin in Xiangqi:

1.      Horizontal pin

2.     Vertical pin

3. Horse pin

In this example, we can observe that the red chariot, the black horse, and the black chariot are all on rank G.

The red chariot is now pinning the black horse, since the black chariot will be exposed and captured if the black horse moves away now.

On the other hand, the black chariot cannot move vertically as that will leave the black horse unprotected and being captured by the red chariot.

Red can move the F3 soldier to F4, and then he can capture the horse by the soldier.

In this example, the black general, the black chariot, and black horse are all on file 6. Red can make a vertical pin by moving the C9 cannon to C6, using the black horse as a mount to capture the black chariot

The black chariot cannot escape horizontally, and the black horse is immobilised, as their movements would expose the black general to the attack by the red cannon. Black has no choice but to give up his chariot.

In this example, the attack by the red horse on the black general was blocked by the black cannon.

The cannon is therefore pinned by the horse, as the black general would be captured if the cannon tries to move.

Therefore, red can advance the H8 solider to I8 to attack the black cannon. The cannon cannot escape.

In this Xiangqi tutorial, we talked about the pin, which is a strategy in xiangqi that involves immobilizing an opponent's piece by placing it in a position where it cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece to capture. If we can make use of the pin, then we can more likely gain material advantage or to restrict the opponent's mobility on the board.

Below is an exercise on pin. Try out the puzzle to see whether you can apply what you learn in this tutorial!

Practice makes perfect