Same-Direction Cannons

SAME-DIRECTION CANNONS: NEW VARIATIONS

A 111-study Xiangqi opening manual on the oldest opening in the game, built as a branching tree, not a list of games. 9,427 half moves, 545 variation lines, 1,505 annotations in Chinese, English and Vietnamese, a hands-on Learn mode, and a neural network engine. Offline.

NINE WORDS FROM 1632

The oldest systematic opening advice surviving in Chinese chess is the 全旨, printed at the front of the 1632 manual 橘中秘. It takes the openings one by one. It begins with this one, and this is all it says:

顺手炮，先要活车。
In the Same-Direction Cannons, the first requirement is a live chariot.

Not a word about the cannons. Now count this book. Seven of its nine parts are headed by a chariot. Across the 111 study titles the character 车, chariot, appears 125 times. 炮, cannon, the piece the opening is named after, appears 59 times.

Both central cannons go down on move one and are then finished. Everything after is decided by what the four chariots do: straight or sideways, early or late, to the river or across it. The cannons name the opening. The chariots win it.

SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS OLD

The two earliest complete games in Xiangqi history survive in the Yuan edition of 事林广记; one is a Same-Direction Cannons win. The recorded history of Xiangqi begins in this exact position. By 1632 it was the centre of theory: the very first game in 橘中秘 is the 弃马十三着, in which the horizontal chariot beats the straight chariot. Part 9 here is twenty studies of that matchup, 390 years later.

The modern turn came in September 1979, at the national final in Beijing. Hu Ronghua, behind on points and holding Black, played this opening and simply did not bring his chariot out. He won his tenth consecutive title, and the delayed chariot grew into the largest division of the system. Part 8 here, 26 studies, is the largest part of the book.

COUNTED FROM THE DATABASE

• 111 studies in nine parts, all from the standard opening array.


• 9,427 half moves: 3,900 on main lines, 5,527 inside the variations. Fifty nine per cent of the book is in the side lines.


• 545 variation lines. All 111 studies branch; in 96, a variation forks again.


• 1,505 annotated points, all of them and all 111 titles in Chinese, English and Vietnamese.


• 红优 Red is better in 188 notes, 黑优 Black is better in 101, 对攻 mutual attack in 80.


• 14 classification codes, every one in volume D. A monograph, not an anthology.

HONEST ABOUT THE ENGINE ERA

We will not claim this is the sharpest weapon in professional play any more. But below that level it is everywhere, and it is a cannon duel: the armies touch early and games end with a winner. Best of all, the engine that made it unfashionable is now on your side of the table. A full strength NNUE neural network runs entirely on your device, so when a note says 黑优 and you cannot see why, one button gives you an evaluation and a best line.

HOW YOU STUDY IT

• Browse and replay. Four dropdowns, then step a half move at a time. Notes surface where they belong, variations at their branch points.


• Learn. Nothing moves by itself. You play both sides by hand, with optional arrows for the book moves. Step back, or jump to the previous branch point.


• Go off book. Play a move the compiler did not print, explore, then return to where you left.


• Ask the engine. Full strength NNUE from any position, no network call.

SETTINGS

• English, Vietnamese or Chinese across titles and all 1,505 notes.


• Thirteen board sizes, 1.0x to 2.2x, and thirty five board themes.


• Six study-board themes, five highlight colours, five board fonts, light or dark.

棋虽曲艺，义颇精微。
Chess may be a minor art, but its principles are exceedingly subtle.

Genuinely offline. No account, no ads, no tracking, no permissions.