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The Cannon comes from Xiangqi, Chinese Chess. It is indiginous to China, where gun powder and cannons were both invented. Fairy Chess problemists commonly call it a Pao, which is a transliteration of its Chinese name. But in Chess variants, it is more commonly called a Cannon.
The Cannon has been used in the following variants. Except for two games by the same person, it has been called a Cannon in every one of these variants.
When the Cannon does not take, it moves like a Rook, i.e., on an orthogonal line an arbitrary number of empty squares. When it takes, it must jump: when taking, the Cannon also moves over an orthogonal line, jumps over the first piece it meets (which may either be friendly or from the opponent) and then continues over the line until the next piece it sees: if that is from the opponent, the Cannon can take it by moving to that position.
The Cannon on d5 can take the bishop on b5 and the rook on d1, and move to the squares marked with a black circle.
To make a capture, a Cannon must jump over a screen. This is an intervening piece, which may be of either color, that must stand between the Cannon and its target. Without a screen between the Cannon and its target, it cannot capture the piece. The Cannon moves as a Rook without capturing, and once it jumps over its screen, it continues along as a Rook but only to capture. It cannot jump the screen to make a non-capturing move. When a Cannon attacks, it can be blocked by two pieces, or the opponent can defuse the Cannon's attack by moving the screen out of its path.
While a Cannon uses a screen only for capturing, another type of piece, known as a hopper, requires a screen for both moving and capturing. The best known hopper is the Grasshopper. Other pieces that use a screen only for capturing include the Vao and the Leo.
Click on an image to view the full piece set it belongs to.
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The above was authored by: Fergus Duniho.
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Created on: September 07, 1998. Last modified on: December 15, 2001.
| Date | Name | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
David Paulowich  | None | The position White: King b4, Cannon b6, Ferz c3 and Black: King a2 leads to 1.Cc6 Ka1 2.Kb3 Kb1 3.Fe2 Ka1 4.Ch6 Kb1 5.Ch1 Ka1 Fe1 mate. Note that 5.Fe1 Kc1 6.Ch1 also mates.
I am not sure if King and Cannon and Alfil can force mate. Starting with White: King b4, Cannon b6, Alfil c5 and Black: King a2, how can we force the Black King back to the first rank, allowing the White King to move to b3? Note that the White Alfil cannot attack any square on the second rank. | |
| Joost Aan de Brugh | None | For two Camels, two Knights or a Wildebeest we can prove that the longest forced mate is one move, because the geometry allows only a few mating patterns. This two-move example with two cannons is not trivial. Is it possible to prove that two moves is the maximum. Known is that the mating patterns is always with the Black King on the side (X1), White's King on X3 or on b3 against when X = a. And White's cannons are at Y1 and Z1 with Y between X and Z and Y not adjacent to Z. The last move is a vertical move by a cannon (C YA-Y1 or C ZA-Z1). Blacks last move is a horizontal King move, which can only be forced if the end file is involved (Second rank squares can only be covered by the White King), so this must be Ka1-b1, which means that X = b. One retromove by a cannon later, c1 must be covered. This is impossible. With two (Cannon + passive Bishop)-pieces (passive Bishop is a Bishop that does not capture), it should work (from: White CmB on c4 and c5, White King King b3, Black King b1, Black to move) 1. ...,Kb1-a1 2. CmB c4-f1, Ka1-b1 3. CmB c5-g1#. Probably (not certainly, it should be possible to force this with two CmB's and a King against a lone King. It would be interesting to prove this (and of course the King+Cannon+Knight against King) | |
| David Paulowich | Excellent | The longest possible forced mate with King and two Knights against a lone King on the standard 8x8 board is exactly one move long (the result of a blunder). Consider the following endgame. White: King b3, Cannon d3, Cannon d4, Black: King b1, with the moves 1.Cd3-f3 Kb1-a1?? 2.Cf3-f1 Ka1-b1 3.Cd4-d1 mate. Black's first move leads to a forced mate in two moves here, but there is no hope for a win if Black does not blunder.
And now for some good news. After playtesting Mir Chess, I have concluded that King and Cannon and Knight are strong enough to force a lone King into the corner and checkmate him. | |
| David Cannon | Excellent | The movement of the Cannon is one of three significant differences between Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) and Changgi (Korean Chess) [the other differences concern the Elephant and the design of the board - Changgi has no river). The Koreans have somewhat simplified the movement of the Cannon. Unlike its Chinese cousin, the Korean cannon moves as it captures : it cannot move at all without flying over a 'screen' piece. The effect of all this is that the Korean cannon tends to be an immensely powerful piece in the early and mid-stages of the game, equal or superior to the CHA (rook), but practically useless in the endgame, when there are few pieces left to leap over. Part of the strategy of Changgi is knowing just when to exchange the Cannon for another piece. Another distinctively Korean feature of the Cannon is that, unlike its Chinese counterpart, it cannot capture an enemy cannon, or leap over a fellow-cannon, friend or foe. Shades of blood brothers? |
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Last modified: Sunday, August 21, 2005
