Shogi glossary
Split silver (wariuchi)
Japanese: 割り打ちの銀
In shogi, the split silver (wariuchi no gin) is a silver dropped into the gap behind two enemy pieces, attacking both with its backward diagonal moves. A rook and gold standing two files apart are the classic targets.
A silver dropped between two enemy pieces, attacking both with its backward diagonals.
The geometry
A silver moves one square forward or to any of the four diagonals, so it attacks the two squares diagonally behind it. If White has a rook on 8b and a gold on 6b, a silver dropped on 7a hits both. Neither target can capture it: a rook does not move diagonally, and a gold has no diagonal step backward, which is where the silver sits.
That is why the trick needs a silver. A gold dropped on 7a would attack only the squares beside it and straight behind it, missing both pieces.
Before you drop
Check that nothing else defends the silver's square and that the two targets cannot protect each other. In the standard example a White pawn on 7b stops the rook from sliding over to guard the gold, so whichever piece escapes, the other falls.
How to defend
When the opponent has a silver in hand, avoid leaving two valuable pieces two files apart on the same rank with the square behind and between them unguarded. Moving one of the pair, or covering that square with the king or a gold, removes the threat.
Try it · from “Silver and Knight Tricks”
Use the split silver to attack the rook and the gold.
FAQ
Is the split silver a kind of fork?
Yes. It is a fork built on the silver's backward diagonals, so the opponent usually has to give up one of the two pieces.
I don't do defense. Hope you brought a castle!
Learn it by playing
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