The Reverse Palace Horse is a major answer to the Central Cannon and a frequent guest in modern tournaments. Its appeal is simple: it holds quickly and hits back quickly, using a flexible formation to absorb Red's central pressure.

1. The structure

The core idea: a horse goes to its natural post, then a cannon goes to the palace file, giving an elastic set-up. Compared with the Screen Horse, the pieces are spread further apart but support each other more tightly.

The benefits:

  • the centre is still solid, so Red's cannon cannot win material directly;
  • the cannon is flexible — it can cross the river, swing to the centre file, or move sideways;
  • the formation can advance or retreat, so Red cannot disrupt it with a single move.

2. Choosing between this and the Screen Horse

The Screen Horse is solid and deep with a vast body of theory — the best foundation. The Reverse Palace Horse is more mobile and elastic, and rewards understanding over memorisation.

  • Want to build a rock-solid defensive base? Start with the Screen Horse.
  • Want more initiative and more varied play? Try the Reverse Palace Horse.

They are not mutually exclusive; in practice the two often transpose into each other after a few moves.

3. Standard counter-attacks

Black's attack usually starts on the wings:

  • Pawn 7 forward — frees the 7-file horse, preparing Horse 7 to 6 or Cannon up the file;
  • Cannon up the file — crosses the river to harass Red's centre and right wing, hunting for horse or soldier targets;
  • Chariot out — onto an open file, ready to support a central counter;
  • Horse 7 to 6 — steps out through the centre to combine with the cannon.

The rule: counter only from a complete formation. Never break your own structure to force the pace.

4. What Red tries

Against the Reverse Palace Horse, Red typically:

  1. keeps the cannon pressing the centre, forcing Black to commit;
  2. develops both chariots onto open files to squeeze Black's space;
  3. pushes a soldier to free a horse and build up for the middlegame.

Black's answer is to stay flexible: hold the centre first, then pick the wing that Red has left weakest.

5. Practical points and mistakes

  • Do not settle too early. The value of the system is its elasticity; fixing your pieces prematurely throws that away.
  • Mind the cannon's retreat. A cannon that goes over the river with no way back can be trapped.
  • Keep the chariot and cannon connected. The counter depends on them working together.
  • Watch the cross-river chariot. Decide whether to hold or to drive it off, and avoid losing material by butting against it.

This system is complex: study it after you have a Screen Horse base. Play it consistently against the AI, review each game, and the word "elastic" will start to make sense.

Read next: the Screen Horse guide for the foundation, and the Central Cannon guide for Red's attacking logic.