Shogi glossary
Lance
Japanese: 香車
In shogi, the lance (kyōsha, 香車) moves any number of empty squares straight forward and nowhere else. It is like a rook that can only go ahead, and each player starts with two, in the corners.
Moves any distance straight forward.
How it moves
Black's lances start on 1i and 9i, White's on 1a and 9a. A lance cannot move backward or sideways and cannot jump. On the last rank it would have no move, so a lance may not be dropped there and must promote if it arrives there.
How it is used
Its long forward line makes it the classic skewering piece. Dropped on a file in front of a rook with a gold behind it, it wins one of the two. It also pins pieces against a king on the same file.
Drop it from a distance when you can: from far down the file it hits the same target but is much harder to capture than a lance placed right next to it.
In the opening the lances usually stay home guarding the edge files. They come alive in edge attacks on the 1st and 9th files, and in the Anaguma castle the lance moves up to 9h so the king can hide in the corner behind it.
FAQ
Is the lance a weak piece?
On the usual scale it is worth 3, the cheapest piece after the pawn. In the endgame, though, a lance in hand can be decisive, because it attacks along an entire file and can skewer or pin pieces in front of the king.
Related
Terms:
Lessons: How the Pieces Move · Skewers and Pins · The Anaguma (Bear-in-the-Hole)
Openings: Static Rook Anaguma
I don't do defense. Hope you brought a castle!
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