: Written by: Jim Png

Chapter 7: Dislodge 逐

Chasing away or dislodging an enemy piece is a type of midgame tactic that is worthy of study. This tactic is used when fighting for the important lines, to fight for the initiative,gaining the positional advantage, capturing material etc.
Clever use of this tactic can often lead to players coming back from behind and seizing the initiative. It is especially useful when both colors are entangled or when both colors are attacking each other. The 'obscure' characteristic of this tactic would often result in the neemy letting his guard down and it would thus allow for a player to snatch and seize the initiative.
At this point, the differences between the dilodging capabilities of the major pieces is discussed. Among the Chariot, Horse and Cannon, the Cannon is used most frequently. It can be used sometimes to harass an enemy piece, create discovered attacks, sometimes used for clearance attacks or even ambushes.
In this chapter, it must be stressed that the three different major pieces have differenct capabilities when dislodging enemy material. Among the three major pieces of the Chariot, Horse, and Cannon, the Cannon offers perhaps the most tactical options when using this tactic.
It can be used to harass enemy material, set up discovered attacks, sometimes using the clearance tactic and also create ambushes.
In this chapter most of the examples listed based on the different capbablities of each individual piecs. Special emphasis will be placed on the Cannon and what it is capable of in Xiangqi.
The dislodging tactic can be divided into three major themes for discusssion:
a) direct dislodging (直接驱赶),
b) dislodging after leveraging the situation (借势驱逐), and
c) ambushing a piece that was not in immediate contact (隔子埋伏).
They will be discussed in detail as follows.

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

C) Ambushing a piece that was not in immediate contact (隔子埋伏)

This tactic is very versatile. On the surface, it would appear that the player was protecting his own pieces, but in reality, there is a hidden threat of a checkmate, dislodging enemy pieces and seizing the initiative.
This type of tactic has the element of the clearance tactic and its intentions are often seemingly obscure. The element of surprise would often give the player to come back from behind to gain the advantage.