I was just thinking, is it possible to have a position in which the two players conspire to repeat the position? I mean, if someone moves to attack, and a player has several choices and so is not forced to repeat, but his move forces a repeat so that the first player does not lose material/initiative, does the onus fall on the first or second player to stop the repetition? I suppose I've answered my question, the first player since he began the repetition, but it is an interesting to think about.

The horse is a close fighting piece, which means when it gets into the battle it can really influence the game. Also when there is one cannon remaining it loses a lot of its checkmating power, which is one thing that makes them so cool. Chessmec, that funny mate you talked about with the two cannons is legendary in China and is known as the "Double Pow". Pow stands for cannon, which I always thought was appropriate and funny.

Just wanted to say thanks Fencer, I've been thinking of where to get my chinese chess fix for some time, and couldn't seem to find it. Ya'll spend a lot of time thinking about, upgrading and maintaining the site, and you're appreciated very much for it.