Shogi

How Shogi is played

Shogi is Japanese chess. Its big difference: a captured piece is not out of the game, it changes sides and can come back onto the board for the side that took it. The goal is to checkmate the opposing king: to attack it so that no move can save it. An attacked king is in check, and no move may leave your own king attacked.

The board

Nine by nine squares of one colour. The pieces of both sides look alike: whose a piece is shows only in which way its point faces. The side that moves first is called sente, the other gote. The three ranks farthest from you are your promotion zone.

The pieces

The king steps one square in any direction. The rook moves any number of squares straight (forward, back or sideways), the bishop any number of squares diagonally, and neither passes over another piece. The gold general steps one square in any direction but diagonally back, the silver one square diagonally or straight forward. The knight only jumps two squares forward and one to the side, over whatever stands between. The lance goes straight forward as far as it likes. The pawn steps one square forward and also captures straight forward. A piece captures by moving onto an enemy piece.

Promotion

A piece that moves into, within or out of the promotion zone may promote: you choose. The rook becomes the dragon and the bishop the horse, which also step one square in the directions they could not before. The silver, the knight, the lance and the pawn (as the tokin) move like a gold general. King and gold never promote. A pawn or lance on the last rank and a knight on the last two must promote.

Drops

A captured piece joins your hand, unpromoted, and plays for you from then on. Instead of moving, you may drop one piece from your hand on any empty square. It lands unpromoted, even in the zone, and may promote on a later move.

Three limits on drops

A pawn may not be dropped on a file where you already have an unpromoted pawn (nifu). No piece may be dropped where it could never move (a pawn or lance on the last rank, a knight on the last two). A dropped pawn may not give checkmate; a pawn moved there may, and so may any other dropped piece.

Winning

Checkmate wins; a side without a legal move loses too. When the kings have entered each other’s camps and neither can be mated, the impasse decides: you win at the start of your turn if your king is in your promotion zone and not in check, at least ten other pieces of yours are there too, and those pieces with your hand make 28 points for sente or 27 for gote, rook and bishop 5 each, every other piece 1.

Repetition

When the same position (with the same pieces in hand and the same side to move) occurs for the fourth time, the game is drawn. If one side gave check with every move of the repetition, that side loses.

Where it comes from

Like chess, shogi descends from the Indian chaturanga, which most likely reached Japan through China or Korea. Its present form was played as early as the 15th century, and the drops were probably invented then. The name means “the general’s board game”. Japanese names of the pieces: gyokushō or ōshō (the king), hisha (rook), kakugyō (bishop), kinshō and ginshō (gold and silver general), keima (knight), kyōsha (lance), fuhyō (pawn); the promoted ryūō (dragon), ryūma (horse) and tokin.

Handicaps

Shogi has the most settled handicaps (komaochi): the stronger player (uwate) plays gote without some pieces and moves first. From the mildest: the lance, the bishop, the rook, the rook and lance, two pieces (rook and bishop), four (and both lances), six (and both knights); for teaching eight (and both silvers) and ten (only the king and pawns). The Japan Shogi Association matches them to the difference in ranks. The bot can give them, or you can (the setup’s "Handicap").

More games

Chess and variants

• Chess · Classic chess or Chess960 with a shuffled back rank, against a bot.
• Chess960 · Fischer random chess: the back rank starts in one of 960 setups.
• Antichess · Losing chess: give away all your pieces, captures are compulsory.
• Atomic chess · Every capture is an explosion that clears the pieces around it.
• Crazyhouse · Captured pieces change sides and can be dropped back onto the board.
• Duck chess · After every move you move the duck, which blocks everyone. No check.
• Fog of War · You only see where your pieces can move. Capture the king to win.
• Friendly Chess · Nothing is captured: pieces unite and set off chain reactions.

The chess family

• Chaturanga · India’s ancient chess, the root of the family: take the king to win.
• Shatranj · The medieval ancestor of chess, with a weak ferz and a jumping alfil.
• Makruk · Thai chess: a slow, strategic game with a counting rule.
• Ouk Chatrang · Cambodian chess: Makruk with a leap for the king and the met.
• Sittuyin · Burmese chess: set up your pieces, then promote on the diagonals.
• Xiangqi · Chinese chess: a river, palaces and a cannon that jumps to capture.
• Janggi · Korean chess: no river, palace diagonals and a cannon that always jumps.
• Minishogi · Shogi on a 5 × 5 board: six pieces a side, short and sharp games.

More players

• Chaturaji · India’s four-handed chess: kings can be captured, captures score.
• Four Seasons Chess · Alfonso X’s chess for four from 1283: four seasons, the last king wins.
• Three-player chess · Three armies on a hexagonal board: you against two bots.
• Four-player chess · Four armies on a cross-shaped board: in teams or all against all.
• Eight-player chess · Eight armies on a board of 516 squares: all against all, in pairs or four against four.