: Written by: Jim Png

Chapter 5: Pin 牵制

The Pin is a commonly used tactic in the midgame that restricts the movement of the enemy pieces. If this tactic was mastered and properly applied, it would be easy to limit the movement of the enemy pieces in actual play.
This tactic would make use of the fact that friendly pieces of little value is used to control enemy pieces of greater value or which are important pieces in a particular situation.
The enemy would be forced into passive play and Horse e would not be able to increase his advantage or dangerous situations would be resolved. The pinned enemy pieces could also be targeted and eventually captured.
Pins can be broadly categorized as pins by the:
a) Cannon
b) Chariot and King
c) Horse and Elephant.

Note: The examples have also been made into short videos with corresponding tags to offer a clearer explanation. The URL would be: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSgklQ5ZjutrQ24JjNmVwnkp82VKWHgHQ

a) Pin by Cannon

Amongst all the pieces, the Cannon is the strongest piece adept at this technique. A single Cannon can be used to pin 2-3 enemy pieces at the same time, and often this can be done over a broad area on the board.
The following six examples will be given to demonstrate the power of the Cannon pin.
The first three examples will demonstrate the Cannon pin which would ultimately lead to the demise of the enemy king.