The General & Advisors
📋 What it is
The General (king) and its two Advisors must stay inside the 3×3 "palace" and never leave it.
🗣️ Coach says
The most important piece is the General — lose it and you lose. But it's a homebody: it can only move one step orthogonally and NEVER leaves its 3×3 palace. Its two Advisors also stay in the palace, moving one step diagonally to guard it. Protect the General at all costs.
🧠 Memory hook
General and Advisors never leave the palace. Guard the General or lose.
😂 Giggle
Why did the Cannon need a friend to attack?
Because it can only capture by jumping over exactly one piece!
😲 Whoa!
There's a special rule: the two Generals may never face each other directly down an open file — the "flying general" rule can deliver a surprise checkmate across the whole board.
✅ Quick check: Can the General (king) ever leave its 3×3 palace?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
No — the General is confined to the palace and moves one step orthogonally within it; the Advisors are palace-bound too.
The General and Advisors are restricted to the 3×3 palace at all times.
🪄 Trick question: True or false: the General can charge across the river to attack.
Careful — think it through, then reveal.
False — the General never leaves its palace; only other pieces cross the river to attack.
The General is palace-bound; it cannot cross the river.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Mark a 3×3 palace and move a "General" one step at a time, confirming it can never step outside.