Shogi glossary
Attack by numbers
Japanese: 数の攻め
In shogi, attack by numbers (kazu no seme) means bringing more attackers to a square than your opponent has defenders. With more pieces bearing on the square, the chain of captures ends with your piece standing there.
Bringing more attackers to a square than the opponent has defenders.
How to count
List every piece that attacks the target square, including pieces lined up behind one another: a rook behind a pawn on the same file counts, because it joins in once the pawn has captured. Do the same for the defenders. In a typical case your pawn on 5e, silver on 4e and rook on 5h all hit a White silver on 5d that only a gold defends, three against one.
The order of capture
Numbers alone are not enough; capture with the cheapest piece first and keep the most valuable for last. In the example, the pawn takes the silver. If the gold recaptures, your silver takes the gold, and the rook still covers the square.
Numbers in openings and endgames
The same arithmetic drives whole strategies: Climbing Silver aims silver and rook at 2d, and the Right Fourth-file Rook stacks rook, silver and pawn on one file. Near the enemy king, a mating square needs one more attacker than it has defenders. Drops change the count instantly for both sides, so recount whenever a piece arrives from hand.
Try it · from “Counting Attackers and Defenders”
Three of your pieces attack the silver on 5d; one gold defends it. Start the exchange correctly.
FAQ
Is attack by numbers the same as counting attackers and defenders in chess?
It is the same counting idea. The difference is that both players can add attackers or defenders by dropping pieces from hand, so the count can change in a single move.
Related
Terms:
Lessons: Counting Attackers and Defenders · Climbing Silver (Bogin)
Openings: Climbing Silver · Right Fourth-file Rook
I don't do defense. Hope you brought a castle!
Learn it by playing
20 interactive lessons, 10,000 tsume puzzles and eight AI rivals — and every game you play is reviewed in plain English, with terms like “attack by numbers” explained when they happen on your board.
Free on iPhone & Android. Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play. Privacy