its target must be empty. The color of the screening piece does not matter; it may be friend or foe, or even face down. While a cannon may capture any piece, it must jump a screen to do so. Since a cannon must jump to capture, it cannot capture a piece in an adjacent square. The Mainland Chinese version is similar to the Taiwanese version, except that cannons cannot jump. The rank of a cannon is just above that of a soldier, so the ranking is: General>Advisor>Minister>Chariot>Horse>Cannon>Soldier. Another difference is that a General/Marshal may capture a Soldier/Pawn if the General/Marshal moves first. There are many other variations on the cannon capture rule that may add variety if desired: One variation gives cannons the ability to capture soldiers and other cannons directly, without jumping over a screen. In other words, the cannon acts like the other pieces, ranking between horse and soldier, but with the added ability of capturing any piece by catapulting. Another popular variation allows the attempted capture of a face-down piece, which if it can be captured is done so. If the piece cannot be captured due to its rank or color, then it is left face-up, and no movement takes place. A popular variation with children, allows multiple captures on the same turn for already exposed pieces as well as face-down pieces as long as they are successful. A variation that may change the strategy is that the cannon can not use a face down piece for a screen but can capture multiple pieces in a single turn. The cannon can not capture face down pieces in this variant. Stalemate A stalemate threat occurs when one player forces an endless cycle of moves. In a typical stalemate, the instigator repeatedly attacks, but cannot capture, an enemy piece. The legality of stalemating varies by culture: Some players consider stalemate illegal. This is consistent with the rules of Chinese Chess, which require the instigator to cease the continual attack, else the victim wins. Some players consider stalemate a legal strategy. The ability to instigate a stalemate in an otherwise losing game is one of the ways that skill can overcome luck, since the victim must accept either a drawn game or the loss of a piece. Handling a stalemate situation requires skill for the winning player, as well — the necessity of heading off a potential stalemate adds spice