of unoccupied spaces, including none, may exist between the cannon, screen, and the piece to be captured. Cannons can be exchanged for horses immediately from their starting positions. Soldier Soldiers (or pawns) are labelled 卒 ("pawn" or "private") for Black and 兵 ("soldier") for Red. Each side starts with five soldiers. Soldiers begin the game located on every other point one row back from the edge of the river. They move and capture by advancing one point. Once they have crossed the river, they may also move and capture one point horizontally. Soldiers cannot move backward, and therefore cannot retreat; after advancing to the last rank of the board, however, a soldier may still move sideways at the enemy's edge. The soldier is sometimes called the "pawn" by English-speaking players, due to the pieces' similar movements. Approximate relative values of the pieces These approximate values do not take into account the position of the piece in question (except the soldier in a general sense), the positions of other pieces on the board, or the number of pieces remaining. Other common rules of assessment: A horse plus a cannon is generally better than two horses or two cannons. The chariot is not only the strongest piece, but it is also generally stronger than any combination of two minor pieces (horse/cannon). When the relative values of both sides' pieces are approximately even, the side with more chariots generally has the advantage, especially when one side has a chariot and one side does not (Chinese: 有車壓無車). However, the chariot is not particularly strong in basic endgames: For example, chariot vs 2 advisors and 2 elephants is generally a draw, while if the offensive side instead has two horses or even three unadvanced soldiers it is a win. In the earlier stages, the cannon is stronger than the horse. In the endgame, the horse is stronger as an attacking piece, but the cannon generally has better defensive abilities. The values of soldiers vary in different stages of the game. In the opening and the middlegame, the initiative and mobility of pieces often require sacrificing soldiers. In these stages, soldiers closer to the middle file are generally more valuable, since they can effectively join the offence. With few attacking pieces on the board, soldiers have more power and can cross the river more easily. In this stage, advanced soldiers are generally less powerful, since soldiers