◇ Just read — no move neededCannon defends, palace still falls
With a cannon instead of a horse the defence is stiffer — the cannon can block checks from far away — yet the verdict is harsher: the engine calls this position a forced mate in five. The reason is the cannon's own clumsiness up close: it cannot run from a chariot that parks beside the palace, and once your chariot takes the e-file with the king's help, the screens the cannon needs are the ones you supply. Hunt slowly; the mating net here builds itself.