What's the point of an edge horse?

It develops safely without revealing a plan, letting Red react to Black's setup.

Side Horse (Bian Ma Ju)

马八进九

A minimalist opening where Red simply advances an edge horse, keeping the position fluid and avoiding early commitments.

Side Horse is a waiting move that preserves options. It often transposes into Single Horse or Horse Opening lines.

Red may later play 炮二平五.

A natural transposition after 马二进三.

What's the point of an edge horse?: It develops safely without revealing a plan, letting Red react to Black's setup.

Horse Opening (Qi Ma Ju) 马二进三（或马八进七）Anti-Palace Horse (Fan Gong Ma) 炮8平6，马8进7，马2进3 Single Horse (Dan Ti Ma) 马二进三，马八进九 Bent-Foot Horse (Guai Jiao Ma) 马二进三，马三进四