How Fast Could You Lose A Game
“Have you ever lost a chess game in just a handful of moves? From the fool’s mate to the scholar’s mate, early-game checkmates are popular to study among beginning chess players since they can offer quick victory without much long-term strategy.”
The above is what GM Gary Kasporov said about Chess.
In Xiangqi, it is not possible to lose a game in just two moves like the Fool’s mate in chess. I make this fictional game to show you how you can lose a game in four moves. Call it the Eastern version of the Scholar’s Mate if you wish. In the video, playing Black is a beginner. He is completely unaware of the Stacked Cannons checkmate.
Red’s Cannon after the 3rd move C5+3 becomes a dangerous piece because of its position relative to the Black pieces within the Palace. Black cannot move an Adviser to cover his King Neither can the King move out of the Cannon’s firing range. Red can then deploy another piece to launch a fatal attack. It is known as 空头炮 in Chinese and has been literally translated as “Empty Headed Cannon”. I prefer to call it “Hovering Cannon”.
The motto is: Do not allow your opponent to plant a Hovering Cannon unless you are very very certain that it will do no harm to your majesty.