The discovered attack is one of the most deceptive tactics in Chinese chess. Your opponent watches the piece you move and never notices the cannon already aimed through it.
1. What it is
The structure is simple: one piece moves, two attacks appear.
- one of your pieces is standing in front of your own chariot or cannon;
- that piece moves away — and brings a threat with it;
- the chariot or cannon behind it is now attacking, which is the second threat.
Two threats at once, and the opponent can usually answer only one.
2. Common shapes
- Horse or soldier steps aside to open a chariot — the chariot hits a major piece;
- Cannon uncovers a cannon — two cannons on one line, the front one moves and the rear one captures over a screen;
- Discovered check — the piece behind gives check, while the moving piece goes after something else; your opponent must answer the check first.
3. How to set one up
- Prepare in advance — deliberately place chariots and cannons on lines aimed at the opponent's weak side;
- Keep a useful blocker — the blocking piece should be worth something, so that moving it creates the second threat;
- Wait for the right moment — it works best when the opponent's pieces are badly placed.
4. How to defend
- Look through pieces — ask whether something is hiding behind the piece your opponent just moved;
- Do not step off the line carelessly — if you are the blocker on an enemy line, moving may expose what is behind you;
- Defuse it early — when you sense a discovered attack building, move the targeted piece or reinforce it beforehand.
5. Why it matters
Discovered attacks often appear in the middle of quiet exchanges, and a single move can settle the material balance. It is closely related to the fork and the double threat, but its defining feature is moving the blocker.
A good habit: in every replay, look for the moment when moving that piece would have opened a line behind it. Set up typical positions in the endgame editor and drill them.
Read next: the double threat and clearance guides.