📚 Yuanshen Haikua — a Qing-dynasty endgame manual
Red to move. Black is the better-equipped side: two Rooks, a Cannon, three Pawns and a full Advisor–Elephant guard; Red also has two Rooks and a Cannon, but only one Pawn and no palace guard at all. The classical manual Uyên Thâm Hải Khoát (No. 36) concludes: draw — Red must find a way to hold against a more complete army. This position has not been verified by engine; the result follows the old book. The name recalls how Gia Cát Lượng won over the young general Khương Duy: not by beating him in battle, but by erasing his road home until serving Zhuge Liang was his only option left. The story is told in this page's Anecdotes section. In your view, short on material and stripped of defenders, what can Red rely on to force Black to accept the draw?
Zhuge Liang 'erased the way home' of a young general — leaving him only one road: to follow him
To win over a gifted enemy general, Zhuge Liang did not defeat him on the battlefield. He erased his way home — until heaven and earth alike believed he had already defected. The young general was Jiang Wei of Tianshui, the first man to see through Zhuge Liang's ambush, set a counter-trap, and…
Stories around this position — storytelling, not part of the engine-verified content.
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