Chinese Chess Problem

The Game Room
1

I ran across this problem online this week. What’s the solution?

2

Here’s my attempt at analysis:The two halves of the board are basically uncoupled. Black has mate in two on the bottom half, with … S2.3 … S3.4# (the elephants are actually white elephants, and the Red horse can only delay this checkmate briefly), so the goal is to keep Black busy on the top half.

Mate in 4:[spoiler]Start by putting Black in check with one soldier; Black only has one response. Move the other soldier in position to trap him.

  1. S2.3+ G6-1
  2. S6+1

Black has three possible responses–move his advisor, or move toward mate on the bottom half:

  1. … A5-4x

  2. H5+6 (don’t care)

  3. S3.4# (or S3+1#)

  4. … A5+4

  5. H5+6x (don’t care)

  6. S3.4# (or S3+1#)

  7. … S2.3 (moving the bottom pieces toward checkmate), or any other move

  8. S3+1+ G6+1

  9. H5+7#[/spoiler]

3

Thanks! I kept losing track of which moves I’d tried. The rest of my response is in the spoiler.

The computer opponet always captures the soldier on red line 4 (black line 6) after moving it to the back rank. For that reason, the next move had to be to move the horse on five to line 4, not 6. Black then moved his assistant on his line 4 to his line 5 (center point of the fortress), followed by red mating the general with the soldier on red’s line 6.

Again, thanks! It was driving me crazy.