Shogi glossary
Pieces in hand
Japanese: 持ち駒
In shogi, pieces in hand (mochigoma, 持ち駒) are the enemy pieces you have captured and kept off the board. They now belong to you, and on any later turn you may drop one onto an empty square as your move.
Captured pieces you hold and may drop later.
How it works
Captured pieces are placed on a small stand beside the board, the komadai, where both players can see them. Promoted pieces go there in their basic form: a captured dragon becomes a rook in hand, a captured tokin a pawn. There is no limit to how many pieces you may hold, and they stay in hand until you choose to drop them.
Why it matters
Your hand is part of your material. When judging who is ahead, add the pieces in hand to those on the board. A king surrounded by defenders can still be mated by drops, so the opponent's hand tells you how safe your king really is.
Even a single pawn in hand is valuable: it can block a check, tap an enemy piece forward or prepare a tokin. The rook-pawn exchange in many openings is played partly to gain one.
Reading a diagram
Diagrams list each player's pieces in hand beside the board. Check them before every move, just as you would check the board itself.
FAQ
Do pieces in hand count as material in shogi?
Yes. A piece in hand is often just as useful as one on the board, since it can be dropped almost anywhere. Count it when judging a trade or the overall balance.
I don't do defense. Hope you brought a castle!
Learn it by playing
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