◇ Just read — no move neededStrangled, not checked
困毙 — the stalemate — is the rule newcomers forget: a player with no legal move loses, whether or not he is in check. A chess player expects a draw here; xiangqi hands the full point to the strangler. That turns the quiet squeeze into a weapon as sharp as any mate. The recipe: cover the squares the king would flee to, pin or jam every piece that could still move, and never once give check — the king stands in perfect health and has already lost.