Learn › Unit 1: The board and pieces

The pawn

The pawn 歩兵 moves one square straight forwards. That is all it ever does — and, unlike chess, it also captures straight forwards. There is no double first step, no diagonal capture and no en passant.

One square forwards.ihgfedcba987654321
One square forwards.
The pawn captures the piece directly in front of it — not the one on the diagonal.ihgfedcba987654321
The pawn captures the piece directly in front of it — not the one on the diagonal.

Pawns are the cheapest pieces, but in shogi a captured pawn goes into your hand and can be dropped back later (see the drops unit). A single pawn in hand wins a surprising number of games.

Try it

Try it: Capture Gote's pawn with one of yours.

Sente: king e1, pawn g4, pawn c5. Gote: pawn c6, king e9.ihgfedcba987654321

You now know how every piece moves. Next: what happens when they reach the far side of the board.

Finish the exercise above to complete this lesson.