象棋 Learn Xiangqi

The soldier

The weakest piece on the board, and the only one that changes at the river
Updated

A soldier moves one point straight forward. Once it has crossed the river it may also move one point sideways. It never moves backwards, and it is never promoted. The rule is on the rules page. This page is about how much that single crossing changes, and what it means for where your soldiers should stand.

One move, then three, then two

A soldier's range depends on which side of the river it stands on, which is true of no other piece. A soldier on its own side of the river has exactly one move. The same soldier across the river has up to three. And a soldier that has marched all the way to the last rank has lost its forward move for good, leaving it only the sideways ones.

Three red soldiers and the moves each one has 将 兵 兵 兵 帅
The whole board. The red soldier on c6, still on Red's side, has one move (c5). The soldier on g4, across the river, has three: g3, f4 and h4. The soldier on c0 has reached Black's back rank and has two, b0 and d0, both sideways. In the corner it would have only one.

That is why the conventional piece values put an uncrossed soldier at about one and a crossed one at about two. The endgame page has the other end of the story: a soldier that reaches the last rank has turned from an attacker into a spectator, and the traditional name for it is 老兵, the old soldier.

Two soldiers side by side defend each other — after the river

A soldier can only capture where it can move, so what it defends changes at the river too. Before crossing it defends only the point straight ahead. After crossing it also defends the points beside it, which means two crossed soldiers standing next to each other protect each other.

Two crossed soldiers side by side, each defending the other 車 将 兵 兵
Files c to g, ranks 0 to 4. Red soldiers on d3 and e3, both across the river. The black chariot on d0 can take the soldier on d3 (ringed) — and then the soldier on e3 can take the chariot, stepping sideways onto d3. Put the same pair on d6 and e6, before the river, and after the same capture the soldier on e6 still has only one move, straight ahead: the pair defends nothing.

Chinese players call a pair like this 连兵, linked soldiers. Taking either one costs the capturing piece, unless it is defended itself — so a linked pair is much harder to remove than two soldiers standing apart.

What to do with it in a game

Get a soldier across the river when it is safe to. On the far bank it has up to three moves instead of one, and since it can never be driven backwards it stays where it has got to.

Cross in pairs where you can. A lone crossed soldier is defended by nothing of its own kind; two side by side defend each other.

Do not push a soldier to the last rank without a reason. Once it is there it can never go forward again, and it has lost the move that made it dangerous. One rank short of the end, a soldier still threatens the points ahead of it and beside it.