In xiangqi, the horse moves one point straight and then one point diagonally outward. The path traces the Chinese character 日 (a tall rectangle of two squares), which is why players say "the horse walks 日". Unlike the knight in chess, it cannot jump over pieces: if the point it steps through first is occupied — by either side — it cannot go that way. This is called hobbling the horse. The horse may cross the river and may move backwards; each side has two.
傌
馬Names and origin
Red's horse is written 傌 and Black's 馬; sets in simplified Chinese write both as 马. Red and Black use different characters only so that you can tell the sides apart by the glyph alone (the chariot works the same way: Red writes 俥). The moves are identical. The boards on this site always show these Chinese characters, so it is worth learning to recognise them.
The pieces are laid out like an ancient army: the general sits in the camp, the chariots, horses and cannons are the main force, and the soldiers hold the front line. The horse is the cavalry — quick and able to go round obstacles, but useless if something trips its leg, which is exactly what the hobbling rule pictures. One account says the chariot, horse, cannon and soldier were added to the game during the Tang dynasty, and that the board and the 32 pieces settled into today's form in the Song dynasty.
The 日 jump: up to eight moves
Step one point up, down, left or right, then one point diagonally outward. Four directions, each splitting two ways, so in open space a horse has up to eight moves.
A common beginner mistake is to think of it as "two straight, then turn". It is "one straight, one diagonal". When you count on the board, first find the point touching the horse (up, down, left or right), then go diagonally out from there.
Hobbling the horse
The point the horse steps through first is its "leg". If anything stands on the leg, both moves in that direction are impossible. In Chinese this is 蹩馬腿 (biē mǎ tuǐ). It makes no difference whether the blocking piece is yours or your opponent's.
Hobbling is the most common way to deal with an enemy horse: instead of chasing it, put a piece where it wants to step. The reverse matters too — before you bring your own horse out, check whether your own pieces are standing on its legs. At the start of the game, the soldier and elephant next to each horse often are.
How the horse captures
If an enemy piece stands on a point the horse can reach, the horse may capture it. The move is exactly the same as a normal move, and it can still be hobbled.
Because a horse attacks along a bent line, it is easy to overlook. Make it a habit: before every move, glance at where the opponent's horses can jump.
How much is a horse worth? Why an edge horse is weak
A common rule of thumb is chariot 9, horse and cannon about 4 each, soldier 1 (2 once it has crossed the river). Treat these as rough guides. The more crowded the board, the better the horse, because it can slip through gaps; in the endgame, with more space and fewer pieces, the cannon struggles to find screens and the horse is usually the more useful of the two.
A horse's strength depends a lot on where it stands. In the centre it has eight moves; on the edge it has half that, and in a corner only two:
Experienced players will tell you that a horse on the edge loses half its strength. Unless you have a good reason, keep your horses off the side files.
Openings: bring the horses out
The horses are among the first pieces to move. The most common opening has Red put a cannon in the centre and Black answer by jumping both horses out to guard the central soldier. This is the Central Cannon vs Screen Horses (中炮對屏風馬):
The move list under each diagram uses WXF notation, the same notation the game's move list shows in English.
| Opening | First move | What the horses do |
|---|---|---|
| Horse Opening (起馬局) | Red jumps a horse on move one | Gets a horse out and waits to see Black's plan |
| Screen Horses (屏風馬) | Black jumps both horses towards the centre | Guard the central soldier together and blunt the central cannon |
| Reverse Palace Horses (反宮馬) | The horses go to either side and one cannon moves to a palace corner | Cannon and horses hold the centre together |
| Single-Lifted Horse (單提馬) | One horse to the normal square, the other to the edge | Lets a chariot come out early |
You don't need to memorise any of this. Just remember: in the opening, put your horses where they won't be hobbled and can protect each other, then bring the chariots out.
Checkmating with the horse
A horse gives check from a diagonal angle, so the check cannot be blocked by putting a piece in between — the defender can only move the general or capture the horse (or block the horse's leg). Two of the best-known mates:
Horse in the Trough (臥槽馬): the horse lands on the point diagonally in front of the enemy palace and checks directly. If the general is boxed in by its own advisors and a soldier covers the point in front, there is nowhere to go.
Horse and Cannon (馬後炮, "cannon behind the horse"): the horse takes away the general's escape squares and the cannon checks from behind it, using the horse as its screen. It is one of the most famous mates in xiangqi.
In Chinese, 馬後炮 has also become an everyday expression for advice that comes too late — but on the board it is anything but late.
Frequently asked questions
Can the horse cross the river?
Yes. The horse has no territory restrictions and moves the same way on either side of the river. The piece that cannot cross is the elephant.
Can the horse move backwards?
Yes. All eight directions of the 日 shape are allowed, including jumps back towards your own side.
What is the difference between 傌 and 馬?
Only the character: Red writes 傌 and Black writes 馬. They move in exactly the same way. Some sets use 馬 for both sides and rely on the colour.
Which is stronger, the horse or the cannon?
They are about equal, roughly 4 points each. With lots of pieces on a crowded board the cannon is often better (plenty of screens); in the endgame, with few pieces left, the horse is usually more useful.
Does it count as hobbling if the blocking piece belongs to the opponent?
Yes. Whoever owns the piece on the horse's leg, the horse cannot jump in that direction.
Try it yourself
The best practice is to play a game where you try to win material with your horses. Play xiangqi online against the computer: when you select a horse, the board marks every point it can reach, and hobbled directions simply don't light up. To see all seven pieces, go back to Xiangqi pieces; to start from the beginning, visit the xiangqi home page.
