Shogi

Further information: Chess (disambiguation) a grid of 9 ranks (rows) by 9 files (columns). The rectan-
gles are undifferentiated by marking or color. The board
is nearly always rectangular; square boards are uncom-
Shogi (将棋 shōgi) (/ˈʃoʊɡiː/, Japanese: [ɕo̞ ːɡi] or [ɕo̞ ːŋi]),
also known as Japanese chess or the Generals' Game, mon. Pairs of dots mark the players' promotion zones.
is a two-player strategy board game in the same fam- Each player has a set of 20 wedge-shaped pieces of
ily as Western (international) chess, chaturanga, makruk, slightly different sizes. Except for the kings, opposing
shatranj, janggi and xiangqi, and is the most popular of pieces are undifferentiated by marking or color. Pieces
a family of chess variants native to Japan. Shōgi means face forward (toward the opponent's side); this shows
general's (shō 将) board game (gi 棋). who controls the piece during play. The pieces from
The earliest predecessor of the game, chaturanga, origi- largest (most important) to smallest (least important) are:
nated in India in the 6th century. Shogi in its present form
was played as early as the 16th century, while a direct an- • 1 king
cestor without the drop rule was recorded from 1210 in
• 1 rook
a historical document Nichūreki, which is an edited copy
of Shōchūreki and Kaichūreki from the late Heian period • 1 bishop
(c. 1120).
• 2 gold generals
Shogi was the earliest chess variant to allow captured
pieces to be returned to the board by the capturing • 2 silver generals
player.* [1] David Pritchard compares this rule to the
practice of 16th century mercenaries switching loyalties • 2 knights
when captured.* [1] • 2 lances
• 9 pawns
1 Equipment
Several of these names were chosen to correspond to their
rough equivalents in international chess, and not as literal
translations of the Japanese names.
Each piece has its name written on its surface in the form
of two kanji (Chinese characters used in Japanese), usu-
ally in black ink. On the reverse side of each piece, other
than the king and gold general, are one or two other char-
acters, in amateur sets often in a different color (usually
red); this side is turned face up during play to indicate
that the piece has been promoted.
Following is a table of the pieces with their Japanese rep-
resentations and English equivalents. The abbreviations
are used for game notation and often when referring to
the pieces in speech in Japanese.
A traditional shōgi-ban (shogi board) displaying a set of koma * The kanji ⻯ is a simplified form of ⿓.
(pieces). The pieces on the far side are turned to show their pro- English speakers sometimes refer to promoted bishops
moted values. The stands on either side are komadai used to
as horses and promoted rooks as dragons, after their
hold captured pieces. The board itself is raised for the comfort of
Japanese names, and generally use the Japanese term
players seated on tatami mats (background), and is hollowed un-
derneath to produce a pleasing sound when the pieces are moved. tokin for promoted pawns. Silver generals and gold gen-
erals are commonly referred to simply as silvers and golds.
Two players, Sente 先⼿ (Black; more literally, person The characters inscribed on the reverse sides of the pieces
with the first move) and Gote 後⼿ (White; person with the to indicate promotion may be in red ink, and are usu-
second move), play on a board composed of rectangles in ally cursive. The characters on the backs of the pieces

1
2 2 SETUP AND GAMEPLAY

traditional pieces are already iconic by size, with more

powerful pieces being larger. As a result, Westernized
pieces have never become popular. Bilingual pieces with
both Japanese characters and English captions have been
developed as have pieces with animal cartoons.

2 Setup and gameplay

Closeup of shogi pieces. Top: +R, R, K (reigning), K (challeng-

ing), B, +B. Bottom: +L, L, +S, S, G, N, +N, P, +P

An example set of“international”pieces. In this set, those pieces

that do not have their equivalents in chess have symbols that icon-
ically show their movement (e.g. the silver general's crown and
ribbons point towards its possible directions of movement).
Shogi starting setup; Black (at bottom) moves first.

Each player sets up his pieces facing forward (toward his

opponent).

• In the rank nearest the player:

• the king is placed in the center file;
• the two gold generals are placed in files adja-
cent to the king;
Animal character pieces (Cf. dōbutsu shōgi). • the two silver generals are placed adjacent to
each gold general;

that promote to gold generals are cursive variants of ⾦
'gold', becoming more cursive (more abbreviated) as the
value of the original piece decreases. These cursive forms
have these equivalents in print: 全 for promoted silver, 今
for promoted knight, 仝 for promoted lance, and 个 for
promoted pawn (tokin). Another typographic convention
has abbreviated versions of the original values, with a re-
duced number of strokes: 圭 for a promoted knight (桂),
杏 for a promoted lance (⾹), and the 全 as above for a
promoted silver, but と for tokin.
The suggestion that the Japanese characters have de-
terred Western players from learning shogi has led to
"Westernized" or“international”pieces which use iconic
symbols instead of characters. Most players soon learn to
recognize the characters, however, partially because the
• the two knights are placed adjacent to each sil-
ver general;
• the two lances are placed in the corners, adja-
cent to each knight.
That is, the first rank is
or
• In the second rank, each player places:
• the bishop in the same file as the left knight;
• the rook in the same file as the right knight.
• In the third rank, the nine pawns are placed one per
file.
 3

Traditionally, the order of placing the pieces on the board side of the higher-ranked player and tosses the pawn
is determined. There are two commonly used orders, pieces onto a silk cloth.* [4] In friendly amateur games,
the Ōhashi order ⼤橋流 and the Itō order 伊藤流.* [2] a player will ask their opponent to toss the pawns out of
Placement sets pieces with multiples (generals, knights, politeness. Otherwise, the person who tosses the pawns
lances) from left to right in all cases, and follows the or- can be determined by Rock–paper–scissors.* [5]
der: After the piece toss furigoma, the game proceeds. If mul-
tiple games are played, then players alternate turns for
1. king who goes first in subsequent games. (The terms“Black”
and“White”are used to differentiate sides although there
2. gold generals
is no difference in the color of the pieces.) For each turn,
3. silver generals a player may either move a piece that is currently on the
board (and potentially promote it, capture an opposing
4. knights piece, or both) or else drop a piece that has been previ-
ously captured onto a square of the board. These options
In ito, the player now places: are explained below.

5. pawns (left to right starting from Professional games are timed as in international chess,
the leftmost file) but professionals are never expected to keep time in their
games. Instead a timekeeper is assigned, typically an ap-
6. lances
prentice professional. Time limits are much longer than
7. bishop in international chess (9 hours a side plus extra time in the
8. rook prestigious Meijin title match), and in addition byōyomi
(literally “second counting”) is employed. This means
In ohashi, the player now places: that when the ordinary time has run out, the player will
5. lances from that point on have a certain amount of time to com-
plete every move (a byōyomi period), typically upwards
6. bishop
of one minute. The final ten seconds are counted down,
7. rook and if the time expires the player to move loses the game
8. pawns (starting from center file, immediately. Amateurs often play with electronic clocks
then alternating left to right one file that beep out the final ten seconds of a byōyomi period,
at a time) with a prolonged beep for the last five.

3 Rules

3.1 Objective

The game ends when one player captures the opponent's

king and the game is won by the capturing player. Thus,
the aim of the game is to capture the opponent's king be-
fore the opponent manages to do so.

3.2 Movement

Deciding who goes first: Furigoma

Most shogi pieces can move only to an adjacent square.
A few may move across the board, and one jumps over
A furigoma 振 り 駒'piece toss' is used to decide who intervening pieces.
moves first. One of the players tosses five pawns. If The lance, bishop, and rook are ranging pieces: They can
the number of tokins (promoted pawns, と) facing up move any number of squares along a straight line limited
is higher than unpromoted pawns (歩), then the player only by intervening pieces and the edge of the board. If
who tossed the pawns plays gote 後 ⼿'white' (that is, an opposing piece intervenes, it may be captured by re-
they have the second move).* [3] Among amateur tour- moving it from the board and replacing it with the mov-
naments, the higher-ranked player or defending cham- ing piece. If a friendly piece intervenes, the moving piece
pion also performs the piece toss. In professional games, must stop short of that square; if the friendly piece is ad-
the furigoma is done on the behalf of the higher-ranked jacent, the moving piece may not move in that direction
player/champion by the timekeeper who kneels by the at all.
4 3 RULES

A king (⽟/王) moves one square in any direction, makes a sudden sound effect, bringing the piece to the
orthogonal or diagonal. attention of the opponent. This is also true for capturing
A rook (⾶) moves any number of squares in an orthog- and dropping pieces. On a traditional shogi-ban, the pitch
onal direction. of the snap is deeper, delivering a subtler effect.

A bishop (⾓) moves any number of squares in a diag-

onal direction. Because they cannot move orthogonally, 3.3 Promotion
the players' unpromoted bishops can reach only half the
squares of the board, unless one is captured and then A player's
dropped. promotion zone (yellow)
△ pieces in hand: –
A gold general (⾦) moves one square orthogonally, or
▲ pieces in hand: –
one square diagonally forward, giving it six possible des-
tinations. It cannot move diagonally backwards.
A player's promotion zone consists of the furthest one-
A silver general (銀) moves one square diagonally, or
third of the board – the three ranks occupied by the op-
one square straight forward, giving it five possible desti-
ponent's pieces at setup. The zone is typically delineated
nations. Because an unpromoted silver can retreat more
on shogi boards by two inscribed dots. When a piece is
easily than a promoted one, it is common to leave a silver
moved, if part of the piece's path lies within the promo-
unpromoted at the far side of the board. (See Promotion).
tion zone (that is, if the piece moves into, out of, or wholly
A knight (桂) jumps at an angle intermediate to or- within the zone; but not if it is dropped into the zone –
thogonal and diagonal, amounting to one square straight see Drops), then the player has the option to promote the
forward plus one square diagonally forward, in a single piece at the end of the turn. Promotion is indicated by
move. Thus the knight has two possible forward destina- turning the piece over after it moves, revealing the char-
tions. The knight cannot move to the sides or in a back- acter of the promoted piece.
wards direction. The knight is the only piece that ignores
If a pawn or lance is moved to the furthest rank, or a
intervening pieces on the way to its destination. It is not
knight is moved to either of the two furthest ranks, that
blocked from moving if the square in front of it is oc-
piece must promote (otherwise, it would have no legal
cupied, but neither can it capture a piece on that square.
move on subsequent turns). A silver general is never re-
It is often useful to leave a knight unpromoted at the far
quired to promote, and it is often advantageous to keep a
side of the board. A knight must promote, however, if it
silver general unpromoted. (It is easier, for example, to
reaches either of the two furthest ranks. (See Promotion.)
extract an unpromoted silver from behind enemy lines;
A lance (⾹) moves any number of squares directly for- whereas a promoted silver, with only one line of retreat,
ward. It cannot move backwards or to the sides. It is often can be easily blocked.)
useful to leave a lance unpromoted at the far side of the
Pieces that promote
board. A lance must promote, however, if it reaches the
△ pieces in hand: –
furthest rank. (See Promotion.)
▲ pieces in hand: –
A pawn (歩) moves one square straight forward. It
cannot retreat. Unlike international chess pawns, shogi
Promoting a piece changes the way it moves. The various
pawns capture the same as they move. A pawn must pro-
pieces promote as follows:
mote if it arrives at the furthest rank. (See Promotion.)
In practice, however, a pawn is usually promoted when-
ever possible. There are two restrictions on where a pawn • A silver general, knight, lance, or pawn has its nor-
may be dropped. (See Drops.) mal power of movement replaced by that of a gold
general.
All pieces but the knight move either horizontally, verti-
cally, or diagonally. These directions cannot be combined • A rook or bishop keeps its original movement and
in a single move; one direction must be chosen. gains the power to move one square in any direction
(like a king). For a promoted bishop, this means it is
Every piece blocks the movement of all other non-
able to reach any square on the board, given enough
jumping pieces through the square it occupies.
moves.
If a piece occupies a legal destination for an opposing
piece, it may be captured by removing it from the board • A king or a gold general does not promote; nor can
and replacing it with the opposing piece. The capturing a piece that is already promoted.
piece may not continue beyond that square on that turn.
Shogi pieces capture the same as they move. When captured, a piece loses its promoted status. Other-
wise promotion is permanent.
Normally when moving a piece, a player snaps it to the
board with the ends of the fingers of the same hand. This A promoted rook (“dragon king”, ⿓王 Ryūō) moves
as a rook and as a king. Alternate forms: ⿓, ⻯.
3.5 Check and checkmate 5

A promoted bishop (“dragon horse”, ⿓⾺ Ryūma) moved accordingly. This is called dropping the piece, or
moves as a bishop and as a king. Alternate form: ⾺. simply, a drop. A drop counts as a complete move.
A promoted silver (成銀 narigin) moves the same as a A drop cannot capture a piece, nor does dropping within
gold general. Alternate forms: 全, cursive ⾦. the promotion zone result in immediate promotion. Cap-
ture and/or promotion may occur normally, however, on
A promoted knight (成桂 narikei) moves the same as a
gold general. Alternate forms: 圭, 今, cursive ⾦. subsequent moves of the piece.

A promoted lance (成⾹ narikyō) moves the same as a A pawn, knight, or lance may not be dropped on the fur-
gold general. Alternate forms: 杏, 仝, cursive ⾦. thest rank, since those pieces would have no legal moves
on subsequent turns. For the same reason, a knight may
A promoted pawn (と⾦ tokin) moves the same as a gold not be dropped on the penultimate (player's 8th) rank.
general. Alternate forms: と, 个.
There are two additional restrictions when dropping
pawns:
3.4 Drops
1. Two Pawns (Japanese: ⼆歩 nifu): A pawn can-
not be dropped onto a file (column) containing an-
other unpromoted pawn of the same player (pro-
moted pawns do not count). A player with an un-
promoted pawn on every file is therefore unable to
drop a pawn anywhere. For this reason it is com-
mon to sacrifice a pawn in order to gain flexibility
for drops.

2. Drop Pawn Mate (Japanese: 打 ち 歩 詰 め

uchifuzume): A pawn cannot be dropped to give an
immediate checkmate. (Although other pieces may
be dropped to give immediate checkmate.) A pawn
may, however, be dropped to give immediate check
as long as it is not also mate. It is also permissible to
mate a king with a pawn that is already on the board.

It is common to keep captured pieces on a wooden stand

Traditional piece stands for pieces in hand
(駒台 komadai) which is traditionally placed so that its
bottom left corner aligns with the bottom right corner of
the board from the perspective of each player. It is not
permissible to hide pieces from full view.
It is common for players to swap bishops, which oppose
each other across the board, early in the game. This leaves
each player with a bishop in hand to be dropped later. The
ability for drops in shogi give the game tactical richness
and complexity. The fact that no piece ever goes entirely
out of play accounts for the rarity of draws.

3.5 Check and checkmate

Piece stands next to shogi board
Captured pieces are retained in hand and can be brought
back into play under the capturing player's control. The
Japanese term for piece(s) in hand is either 持 ち 駒
mochigoma or ⼿駒 tegoma. On any turn, instead of mov-
ing a piece on the board, a player may select a piece in
hand and place it – unpromoted side up and facing the
opposing side – on any empty square. The piece is then
one of that player's active pieces on the board and can be
Checkmate by Black
△ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: –
The most common basic checkmating patterns involve golds
When a player's move threatens to capture the opposing
king on the next turn, the move is said to give check to
the king; the king is said to be in check. If a player's king
is in check, the only way for that player to avoid a defeat
is to respond with a move that removes the check (either
by moving the king away from the threat, capturing the
6 3 RULES

threatening piece, or placing another piece between the player is able to take back their move and replay a new
king and the threatening piece). Note, though, that unlike legal move.* [9]* [10]
in international chess, there is no official rule that requires
a player to defend a king that is being attacked; however,
failing to do so is a blunder, as the opponent would then be 3.6.2 Repetition (Draw)
entirely free to capture it on the next move, thus winning
the game.* [6] If the same game position occurs four times with the same
player to move, either player loses if his or her moves
If the king is in check and there is no possible move
during the repetition (sennichite) are all checks (perpetual
which could protect the king, the move is said to give
check), otherwise the game is considered a draw. How-
checkmate (tsumi 詰み) to the king. Checkmate effec-
ever, in Shogi a draw is not counted for. Players have to
tively means that the opponent is about to win the game,
restart their game(s) until a winner is declared. This is
since the king can always be captured on the opponent's
a significant difference from Western Chess, in which a
next move. Note that a checkmate is not sufficient for
player can play specifically to obtain draws for gaining
a win; the king must be captured on the next move for
points. In Shogi there can be only one victorious through
the opponent to win the game.* [6] However, the check-
wins. When a draw situation in Shogi occurs, the play-
mated player is still allowed to withdraw from the game
ers have to start a new game in which the players switch
by resigning (see below).
colours. The player who was white, becomes black and
vice versa. Furthermore, depending on the tournament,
3.6 Winning players who have reached“sennichite”need to start and
play their new game in the remainder of their allowed
The usual way for shogi games to end is for one side to game time. This rule also contributes to making senni-
capture the other side's king. However, there are three chite a rare occurrence. Repetition draws in Shogi are
other possible ways for a game to end: repetition (千⽇⼿ also rare to achieve, since through the four iterations, ev-
sennichite), impasse (持将棋 jishōgi), and an illegal move ery iteration needs contain the same positions. For two
(反則⼿). The first two – repetition and impasse – are positions to be considered the same, even the pieces in
particularly uncommon. Illegal moves are also uncom- hand must be the same as well as the positions on the
mon in professional games although this may not be true board. Although rare among professional players, Repe-
with amateur players (especially beginners). tition Draws are even rarer in amateur games.
Resignation. The losing player will resign at this point, Pre-1983 sennichite. The rule used to be that it hap-
although in practice play up to the checkmate point rarely pened if a sequence (and not a position) caused three rep-
occurs, as players normally resign as soon as a loss is etitions. The rule was changed to its current form in May
deemed inevitable. In traditional tournament play, a for- 1983.
mal resignation is required – that is, a checkmate is not Historical sennichite. There was yet another repetition
a sufficient condition for winning.* [7] The resignation is rule used historically by rule codifier Sōko Ōhashi who
indicated by bowing and/or saying 'I lost' (負けました was the second Meijin from 1635 until his death in 1654:
makemashita) and/or placing the right hand over the piece the player that started a repetition lost the game.* [11]
stands. Placing the hand over the piece stand is a vestige
of the older practice of gently dropping one's pieces in
hand over the board in order to indicate resignation. In Example Repetition Draws have historically been as-
western practice, a handshake may be used. sociated with the traditional Double Yagura opening (es-
*
To announce check in Japanese, one can say ōte (王⼿). pecially the Complete Yagura formation). [12] However,
However, this is an influence of international chess and is a surprising Repetition Draw occurred in the endgame of
not required, even as a courtesy.* [8] Announcing a check a game between Akira Watanabe (Black) and Yoshiharu
vocally never happens in serious play. Habu on October 3, 2012.* [13] The opening was Third
File Rook.
After the 121st move (= 61st move in western notation),
3.6.1 Illegal move
White (Habu) found himself in a threatmate situation
In professional and serious (tournament) amateur games, where Black (Watanabe) had a possible 9-move mate se-
a player who makes an illegal move loses immediately. quence of 62. R*8c Gx8c, 63. Sx8c+ Kx8c, 64. R*8b
This includes violating the Two Pawns (nifu) and Drop Kx7d, 65. N*6f K-6c (or K-6d), 66. G*5d [mate]. In or-
Pawn Mate (uchifuzume) restrictions. The loss stands der to prevent Black's future knight drop (N*6f), White
even if play continued and the move was discovered later dropped a silver to the 6f square (61. ...S*6f) forcing
in game. However, if neither the opponent nor a third Black to capture it with his pawn (62. Px6f) leaving the
party points out the illegal move and the opponent later 6f square occupied and unable to accept a knight drop.
resigned, the resignation stands as the result. In friendly After this, White found the Repetition sequence starting
amateur games, this rule is sometimes relaxed, and the with 62. ...G*8i. Dropping the gold to the 8i square puts
3.6 Winning 7

Black in his own threatmate situation as White is threat- 3.6.3 Impasse

ening the mate-in-one 63. ...Bx8h+ [mate] on his next
move. The game reaches an Impasse or Deadlock (jishōgi) if
Therefore, Black defends the 8h square in the only way both kings have advanced into their respective promotion
he can by dropping a rook to the seventh file (63. R*7h). zones and neither player can hope to mate the other or
He cannot remove White's gold with his own gold on 8h to gain any further material. An Impasse can result in
(63. Gx8i) since that gold is pinned by White's bishop on either a win or a draw. If an Impasse happens, the winner
7i. is decided as follows: each player agrees to an Impasse,
then each rook or bishop, promoted or not, scores 5 points
White, then, trades his golds via the 8h square (63. ... for the owning player, and all other pieces except kings
Gx8h). This move is actually forced as Black is threaten- score 1 point each. A player scoring fewer than 24 points
ing to create a 3-move brinkmate sequence via 64. S*8b loses. (If neither player has fewer than 24, the game is no
Gx8b, 65. Nx8b+. And, since White does not have any contest̶a draw.) Jishōgi is considered an outcome in its
checkmate sequence available to him, after this, Black own right rather than no contest, but there is no practical
will have a mate-in-one with +N8c (or G*8c or R*8c). difference.
Thus, White must defend against the brinkmate by cre-
ating another threatmate against Black with 63. ...Gx8h. As an Impasse needs to be agreed on for the rule to be
This threatens the 3-move mate sequence: 64. ...Gx7h, invoked, a player may refuse to do so if they think that
65. K-9h B-8h+ [mate]. that can win the game in future moves. If that happens,
there is no official rule about the verdict of the game.* [14]
Black, of course, must defend against the threatmate by
capturing White's gold with his rook (64. Rx8h). Amateur resolutions. However, for amateur games
there are various guidances. Fairbairn reports a practice
After White's gold is removed, the board position is very (considered a rule by the Shogi Association for The West)
similar to the position at after the 123rd move (the first where the dispute is resolved by either player moving all
diagram shown above). The only difference is that instead their pieces into their opponent's promotion zone and then
of Black having a gold on the 8h square Black has a rook the game ends with points tallied.* [15]
on 8h. However, this is sufficiently similar to force Black
into a Repetition sequence in that Black's rook like the Another resolution is the 27-Point (27 点法) rule used
*
previous gold cannot capture White's bishop on 7i and for some amateur tournaments. [16] One version of this
also is pinned by the same bishop. And, since White stil is simply the player who has 27 or more points is the win-
has a gold available to drop, he drops a gold again to the ner of the Impasse. Another version is a 27-Point Dec-
8i square (64. ...G*8i). This creates another threatmate laration rule. For instance, the Declaration rule on the
(threatening again the same mate-in-one ...Bx8h+). online shogi site, 81Dojo, is that the player who wants
to declare an Impasse win must (i) declare they want to
Black must again stop the threatmate by defending the 8h win via Impasse, (ii) their king must be in their promo-
square – this time with a gold (65. G*7h). tion zone (in their opponent's camp), (iii) 10 other pieces
Similarly, White captures the rook on 8h with their gold must be in their promotion zone, (iv) their king is not in
creating the same threatmate as above (65. ...Gx8h). It check, (v) they have time remaining, and (vi) they must
is here on the 130th move that the Repetition sequence have 28 points if Black or 27 points if White. If all of
technically starts. these conditions are met, then the Impasse declarer will
win the game regardless of whether their opponent ob-
White must again remove the threatmate by capturing
jects.* [17]
White's gold (66. Gx8h).
Yet another resolution to a refusal to agree to Impasse is
After these eight moves, we have a near identical position
the so-called Try Rule (トライルール). In this case, af-
to the position after the 122nd move (62. Px6f). How-
ter both kings have entered their corresponding promo-
ever, there is a small difference in that now White has a
tion zones, then the player who can move their king to
rook in hand instead of the two golds and Black has a gold
their opponent's king's start square (5a for Black, 5i for
in hand instead of two rooks. Thus, although very similar
White) first will be the winner.* [18]* [19]
(and functionally the same in terms of game play), this
is not a repetition of the board position at move 122 and
why the actual Repetition sequence starts at move 130.
After 66. ...G*8i, 67. G*7h Gx8h, there is a second 3.6.4 Draws in tournaments
repeat of the position at move 130. After 68. Gx8h G*8i,
69. G*7h Gx8h, there is a third repetition. And, after 70. Impasse position of Katoh vs Nakahara 1982
Gx8h G*8i, 71. G*7h Gx8h, White makes the fourth △ pieces in hand: 銀 1 桂 2 ⾹ 2 歩 7
repetition leading to a Repetition Draw. After this, a new ▲ pieces in hand: ⾦ 1 銀 1 歩 6
game was started with Habu playing Black and Watanabe Katoh played +N-3f, and Nakahara then agreed to a draw via
playing White. impasse. Katoh has 29 points, Nakahara 25 points.
8 5 NOTATION

In professional tournaments, the rules typically require

drawn games to be replayed with sides reversed, possi-
bly with reduced time limits. This is rare compared to
chess and xiangqi, occurring at a rate of 1–2% even in
amateur games.
The 1982 Meijin title match between Makoto Nakahara
and Hifumi Katoh was unusual in this regard with an im-
passe draw in the first (Double Yagura) game on April
13–14 (only the fifth draw in the then 40-year history of
the tournament). This game (with Katoh as Black) lasted
for 223 moves with 114 minutes spent pondering a sin-
gle move. One of the reasons for the length of this game
was that White (Nakahara) was very close to falling be-
low the minimum of 24 points required for a draw. Thus,
the end of the endgame was strategically about trying to
keep White's points above the 24-point threshold.* [20]
In this match, sennichite occurred in the sixth and eighth
games. Thus, this best-of-seven match lasted eight games
and took over three months to finish; Black did not lose a
single game and the eventual victor was Katoh at 4–3.

4 Player rank and handicaps

A shogi game record
Amateur players are ranked from 15 kyū to 1 kyū and then
from 1 dan to 8 dan. Amateur 8 dan was only honorarily
given to famous people. While it's now possible to win There are two commons systems used to notate piece
amateur 8 dan by actual strength (winning amateur Ryu- movements in shogi game records. One is used in
oh 3 times), this has yet to be achieved. Japanese language texts while a second was created for
Professional players operate with their own scale, from 6 western players by George Hodges and Glyndon Town-
* *
kyū to 3 dan for pro-aspiring players and professional 4 hill in the English language. [23] [24] Other systems are
dan to 9 dan for formal professional players. [21] Ama- used to notate shogi board positions.
*

teur and professional ranks are offset (with amateur 4 dan In western piece movement notation, the format is the
being equivalent to professional 6 kyū).* [22] piece initial followed by the type of movement and finally
the file and rank where the piece moved to. The piece
initials are K (King), R (Rook), B (Bishop), G (Gold), S
4.1 Handicaps (Silver), N (Knight), L (Lance), and P (Pawn). Simple
movement is indicated with -, captures with x, and piece
6-Piece Handicap drops with *. The files are indicated with numerals 1–9
△ pieces in hand: – while ranks are indicated by letters a–i.Thus, Rx2d indi-
▲ pieces in hand: – cates 'rook captures on 2d'. Promoted pieces are notated
Main article: Handicap (shogi) with + prefixed to the piece initial (e.g. +Rx2d). Piece
promotion is also indicated with + (e.g. S-2a+) while un-
Shogi has a handicap system (like go) in which games be- promotion is indicated with = (e.g. S-2a=). Piece ambi-
tween players of disparate strengths are adjusted so that guity is resolved by notating which square a piece is mov-
the stronger player is put in a more disadvantageous posi- ing from (e.g. N6e-5c+ means 'knight from 6e moves to
tion in order to compensate for the difference in playing 5c and promotes').
levels. In a handicap game, one or more of White's pieces The Japanese notation system uses Japanese characters
are removed from the setup, and instead White plays first. for pieces and promotion indication and uses Japanese
numerals instead of letters for ranks. Movement type
aside from drops is not indicated, and the conventions for
resolving ambiguity are quite different from the western
5 Notation system. As examples, the western Rx2d would be 2 四
飛 in Japanese notation, +Rx2d would be 2 四龍, S-2a+
Main article: Shogi notation 2 一銀成, S-2a= 2 一銀不成, and N6e-5c+ could be ei-
ther 5 三桂左成 or 5 三桂右成 depending on whether
 9

the knight moved from the left or right. Shogi piece sets may contain two types of king pieces,
王 (king) and ⽟ (jewel). In this case, the higher classed
player, in either social or genuine shogi player rank, may
6 Strategy and tactics take the king piece. For example, in titleholder system
games, the current titleholder takes the king piece as the
higher.
Main article: Shogi strategy and tactics
The higher-ranked (or older) player also sits facing the
door of the room and is the person who takes the pieces
Shogi is similar to chess but has a much larger game tree
out of their piece box.* [4]
complexity because of the use of drops greater number of
pieces, and larger board size.* [25] In comparison, shogi Shogi does not have a touch-move rule as in western chess
games average about 140 moves per game where as west- tournament play or chu shogi. However, in professional
ern chess games average about 80 moves per game and games, a piece is considered to be moved when the piece
minishogi averages about 40 moves per game.* [26] Like has been let go of. In both amateur and professional play,
chess, however, the game can be divided into the open- any piece may be touched in order to adjust its central-
ing, middle game and endgame, each requiring a differ- ization within its square (to look tidy).* [27]
ent strategy. The opening consists of arranging one's de- Taking back moves (待った matta) in professional games
fenses usually in a castle and positioning for attack, the is prohibited. However, in friendly amateur games in
mid game consists of attempting to break through the Japan, it is often permitted.
opposing defenses while maintaining one's own, and the
endgame starts when one side's defenses have been com- Professional players are required to follow several ritual-
promised. istic etiquette prescriptions such as kneeling exactly 15
centimeters from the shogi board, sitting in the formal
seiza position, etc.* [28]
7 Etiquette
8 History
Main article: History of shogi
From The Chess Variant Pages:* [1]

Two men playing shogi outside in Ueno Park, 2014

Shogi players are expected to follow etiquette in addi-

tion to rules explicitly described. Commonly accepted
etiquette include following:

• greetings to the opponent both before and after the

game
• avoiding disruptive actions both during the game and
after, for instance:
• not changing the move once realized on the
board
• fair withdrawal without any disruption, such as
scattering pieces on the board to demonstrate
frustration
Boys playing shogi (18th century)
• announcing one's resignation
10 8 HISTORY

The world's first chess variant, chaturanga

Playing shogi in Japan (ca. 1916–1918)
arose in India in approximately the seventh
century AD. From there it migrated both west-
ward and northward, mutating along the way.
The western branch became shatranj in Arabia
and Orthodox Chess in Europe. The northern
branch became xiangqi in China and janggi in
Korea. Sometime in the 10th to 12th centuries,
'chess' crossed the channel to Japan where it
spawned a number of interesting variants. One
of these was called 'Small Shogi'. Eventu-
ally, Small Shogi (though it went through many
forms) won out over the larger variants and is
now referred to simply as 'Shogi'. It is cer-
tain that Shogi in its present form was played
in Japan as early as the 16th century.

It is not clear when chess was brought to Japan. The

earliest generally accepted mention of shogi is Shin Saru
Gakuki (新猿楽記) (1058–1064) by Fujiwara Akihira.
The oldest archaeological evidence is a group of 16 shogi
pieces excavated from the grounds of Kōfuku-ji in Nara
Prefecture. As it was physically associated with a wooden
tablet written on in the sixth year of Tenki (1058), the
pieces are thought to date from that period. These sim-
ple pieces were cut from a writing plaque in the same
five-sided shape as modern pieces, with the names of the
pieces written on them.
The dictionary of common folk culture, Nichūreki (⼆
Human shogi 中 歴) (c. 1210–1221), a collection based on the two
works Shōchūreki (掌中歴) and Kaichūreki (懐中歴),
describes two forms of shogi, large (dai) shogi and small
(shō) shogi. These are now called Heian shogi (or Heian
small shogi) and Heian dai shogi. Heian small shogi is the
version on which modern shogi is based, but the Nichūreki
states that one wins if one's opponent is reduced to a sin-
gle king, indicating that drops had not yet been intro-
duced. According to Kōji Shimizu, chief researcher at
the Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefec-
ture, the names of the Heian shogi pieces keep those of
chaturanga (general, elephant, horse, chariot and soldier),
and add to them the five treasures of Buddhism (jade,
gold, silver, katsura tree, and incense).
Around the 13th century the game of dai shogi devel-
oped, created by increasing the number of pieces in Heian
shogi, as was sho shogi, which added the rook, bishop,
and drunken elephant from dai shogi to Heian shogi.
Around the 15th century, the rules of dai shogi were sim-
plified, creating the game of chu shogi in a form close to
the modern game. It is thought that the rules of standard
shogi were fixed in the 16th century, when the drunken
elephant was removed from the set of pieces. There is no
clear record of when drops were introduced, however.
Kōzō Masuda ( 三) in 1952 In the Edo period, shogi variants were greatly expanded:
tenjiku shogi, dai dai shogi, maka dai dai shogi, tai shogi,
and taikyoku shogi were all invented. It is thought that
these were played to only a very limited extent, how-

ever. Both standard shogi and Go were promoted by the
Tokugawa shogunate. In 1612, the shogunate passed a
law giving endowments to top shogi players (Meijin (名
⼈)). During the reign of the eighth shogun, Tokugawa
Yoshimune, castle shogi tournaments were held once a
year on the 17th day of Kannazuki, corresponding to
November 17, which is Shogi Day on the modern cal-
endar.
The title of meijin became hereditary in the Ōhashi and
Itō families until the fall of the shogunate, when it came to
be passed by recommendation. Today the title is used for
the winner of the Meijin-sen competition, the first mod-
ern title match. From around 1899, newspapers began to
publish records of shogi matches, and high-ranking play-
ers formed alliances with the aim of having their games
published. In 1909, the Shogi Association (将棋同盟社)
was formed, and in 1924, the Tokyo Shogi Association
(東京将棋連盟) was formed. This was an early incarna-
tion of the modern Japan Shogi Association (⽇本将棋
連盟 nihon shōgi renmei), or JSA, and 1924 is considered
by the JSA to be the date it was founded.* [29]
In 1935, meijin Kinjirō Sekine stepped down, and the
rank of meijin came to be awarded to the winner of a
Meijin title match (名⼈戦 meijin-sen). Yoshio Kimura
(⽊村義雄) became the first Meijin under this system in
1937. This was the start of the shogi title matches (see
titleholder system). After the war other tournaments were
promoted to title matches, culminating with the Ryūō title
match (⻯王戦 ryūō-sen) in 1988 for the modern line-up
of seven. About 200 professional shogi players compete.
Each year, the title holder defends the title against a chal-
lenger chosen from knockout or round matches.
After the Second World War, SCAP (occupational gov-
ernment mainly led by US) tried to eliminate all“feudal”
factors from Japanese society and shogi was included in
the possible list of items to be banned along with Bushido
(philosophy of samurai) and other things. The reason for
banning shogi for SCAP was its exceptional character as
a board game seen in the usage of captured pieces. SCAP
insisted that this could lead to the idea of prisoner abuse.
But Kozo Masuda, then one of the top professional shogi
players, when summoned to the SCAP headquarters for
an investigation, criticized such understanding of shogi
and insisted that it is not shogi but western chess that po-
tentially contains the idea of prisoner abuse because it
just kills the pieces of the opponent while shogi is rather
democratic for giving prisoners the chance to get back
into the game. Masuda also said that chess contradicts
the ideal of gender equality in western society because
the king shields itself behind the queen and runs away.
Masudaʼ s assertion is said to have eventually led to the ex-
emption of shogi from the list of items to be banned.* [30]
The closest cousin of shogi in the chaturanga family is
makruk of Thailand. Not only the similarity in distribu-
tion and movements of the pieces but also the names of
shogi pieces suggest intimacy between shogi and makruk
11
by its Buddhist symbolism (gold, silver, Cassia and In-
cense), which is not recognized in Chinese chess at all.
In fact, Chinese chess and its East Asian variants are far
remoter relatives than makruk. Though some early vari-
ants of chaturanga more similar to shogi and makruk are
known to have been played in Tang dynasty China, they
are thought to have been extinguished in Song dynasty
China and in East Asia except in Japan probably owing
to the popularity of Chinese chess.
9 Tournament play
2013 World Shogi Open Championship (amateur) tournament in
Minsk.
There are two organizations for shogi professional play-
ers in Japan: the JSA, and the Ladies' Professional Shogi-
players' Association of Japan (⽇本⼥⼦プロ将棋協会
nihon joshi puro shōgi kyōkai), or LPSA. The JSA is the
primary organization for men and women's professional
shogi* [29] while the LPSA is a group of women profes-
sionals who broke away from the JSA in 2007 to estab-
lish their own independent organization.* [31] Both orga-
nize tournaments for their members and have reached an
agreement to cooperate with each other to promote shogi
through events and other activities.* [32] Top professional
players are fairly well-paid from tournament earnings.
In 2016, the highest tournament earners were Yoshiharu
Habu and Akira Watanabe who earned ¥91,500,000
and ¥73,900,000. (The tenth highest earner, Kouichi
Fukaura, won ¥18,490,000.)* [33]
The JSA recognizes two categories of shogi professionals:
Professional (棋⼠ kishi), and Female Professional (⼥流
棋⼠ joryūkishi). Sometimes kishi are addressed as seik-
ishi (正棋⼠), a term from Go used to distinguish kishi
from other classes of players. JSA professional ranks
and female professional ranks are not equivalent and each
has their own promotion criteria and ranking system. In
2006, the JSA officially granted women “professional
status”. This is not equivalent, however, to the more
traditional way of “gaining professional status”, i.e.,
being promoted from the“Shoreikai System”(奨励会):
12 13 SEE ALSO

leagues of strong amateur players aspiring to become a On April 20, 2013, GPS Shogi defeated 8-dan profes-
professional. Rather, it is a separate system especially de- sional shogi player Hiroyuki Miura in a 102-move game
signed for female professionals. Qualified amateurs, re- which lasted over 8 hours.* [39]
gardless of gender, may apply for the“Shoreikai System” The highest rated player on Shogi Club 24 is com-
and all those who successfully “graduate”are granted puter program Ponanza, rated 3455 on December 13,
kishi status; however, no woman has yet to accomplish 2015.* [40]
this feat (the highest women have reached is Kana Satomi
in “Shoreikai 3 dan league”, currently one step away On April 10, 2016, Ponanza defeated Takayuki Ya-
from kishi status), so kishi is de facto only used to refer to masaki, 8-dan in 85 moves. Takayuki used 7 hours 9
male shogi professionals.* [34] minutes.* [41]
The JSA is the only body which can organize tournaments From a computational complexity point of view, general-
for professionals, e.g., the seven major tournaments in the ized shogi is EXPTIME-complete.* [42]
titleholder system and other professional tournaments. In
1996, Yoshiharu Habu became the only kishi to hold all
seven existing major titles at the same time. For female 11 Shogi video games
professionals, both the JSA and LPSA organize tourna-
ments, either jointly or separately. Tournaments for am-
Main article: List of shogi video games
ateurs may be organized by the JSA and LPSA as well
as local clubs, newspapers, private corporations, educa-
tional institutions or municipal governments for cities or Hundreds of video games were released exclusively in
prefectures under the guidance of the JSA or LPSA. Japan for several consoles.
Since the 1990s, shogi has grown in popularity outside
Japan, particularly in the People's Republic of China,
and especially in Shanghai. The January 2006 edition of 12 In popular culture
Kindai Shogi (近代将棋) stated that there were 120,000
shogi players in Shanghai.* [35] The spread of the game In the manga series Naruto, shogi plays an essential part
to countries where Chinese characters are not in common in Shikamaru Nara's character development. He often
use, however, has been slower. plays it with his teacher, Asuma Sarutobi, apparently al-
ways beating him. When Asuma is fatally injured in bat-
tle, he reminds Shikamaru that the shogi king must al-
ways be protected, and draws a parallel between the king
10 Computer shogi in shogi and his yet-unborn daughter, Mirai, whom he
wanted Shikamaru to guide.
Main article: Computer shogi Shogi has been a central plot point in manga and anime
Shion no Ō, manga and anime series March Comes in Like
Shogi has the highest game complexity of all popular a Lion * [43] and manga and television series 81diver.
chess variants. Computers have steadily improved in In the manga and anime Durarara!!, the information bro-
playing shogi since the 1970s. In 2007, champion Yoshi- ker Izaya Orihara plays a twisted version of chess, othello
haru Habu estimated the strength of the 2006 world com- and shogi, where he mixes all three games into one as a
puter shogi champion Bonanza at the level of two-dan representation of the battles in Ikebukuro.
shoreikai.
The JSA prohibits its professionals from playing comput-
ers in public without prior permission, with the reason 13 See also
of promoting shogi and monetizing the computer–human
events.* [36]
• Shogi strategy and tactics
On October 12, 2010, after some 35 years of devel-
opment, a computer finally beat a professional player, • Shogi variant
when the top ranked female champion Ichiyo Shimizu
• Chu shogi
was beaten by the Akara2010 system in a game lasting
just over 6 hours.* [37] • Dai shogi
On July 24, 2011, computer shogi programs Bonanza and • Dōbutsu shōgi
Akara crushed the amateur team of Kosaku and Shinoda
• Tsumeshogi
in two games. The allotted time for the amateurs was one
hour and then three minutes per move. The allotted time • Chess variant
for the computer was 25 minutes and then 10 seconds per
move.* [38] • Crazyhouse

• Computer shogi
• List of world championships in mind sports
14 Notes
[1] “Shogi: Japanese Chess”. The Chess Variant Pages.
Retrieved 8 March 2012.
[2] “Sono Hoka no Goshitsumon: Koma no Narabikata ni Ki-
mari wa Aru no Deshōka?" その他のご質問: 駒の並べ
⽅に決まりはあるのでしょうか？ [Other questions:
Is there a certain way to set up the pieces?] (in Japanese).
⽇本将棋連盟 (Japan Shogi Association). Retrieved 17
December 2014. 江⼾時代は, それぞれの家元に「⼤
橋流」「伊藤流」という並べ⽅がありました。現在
のでも, その並べ⽅を⽤いている棋⼠は少なから
ずおります. ただし, 決まりとして「このような並
べ⽅をしなければならない」というものはありま
せん. [In the Edo Era, each Iemoto had their own respec-
tive way of setting up the pieces: the 'Ohashi-style' and the
'Ito-style'. Although these two styles are still used today
by many professionals, there is really no rule specifying
that 'the pieces must be set up in this particular way'.]
[3] Grimbergen, Reijer. “Shogi Terms”. www.shogi.net.
Retrieved 22 July 2016.
[4] Hosking 1997, p. 19–20.
[5] Hodges, George, ed. (1982). “Who moves first?". Shogi
(40): 13.
[6] GNU Shogi manual: The rules of shogi
[7] Hosking (1997: 17)
[8] “Shōgi no Ruru ni Kansuru Goshitsumon ̶Q:
Taikyokuchū ni Ōte wo Kaketara, "Ōte wo Kaketa noni,
'Ōte' to Hasseishinai no wa Hansoku da”to Iwaremashita.
Sonoyō na Kitei wa Aru no Deshōka.”将棋のルールに
関するご質問̶Q: 対局中に王⼿をかけたら, ｢王⼿
をかけたのに,『王⼿』と発声しないのは反則だ｣と
⾔われました。そのような規定はあるのでしょう
か。 [Questions about the Rules of Shogi ̶Q: I've been
told that not saying“Ote”when you place your opponent
in check is against the rules. Is there really such a rule?].
⽇本将棋連盟 (Japan Shogi Association). Retrieved 9
December 2014. A: たまにそういう主張をされる⽅
がいらっしゃいますが, そのような規定は⼀切あ
りません。[A: Occasionally you will hear such a thing
being asserted, but there is absolutely no such rule at all.]
[9] Hansoku
[10] Fairbairn (1986: 135–136)
[11] Fairbairn (1986: 134, 136–138)
[12] Fairbairn, John (1981).“How to play the fortress opening
part 1”. Shogi (29): 4–6.
[13] http://live.shogi.or.jp/ouza/kifu/60/ouza201210030101.
html
[14] Fairbairn (1986: 138–139)
13
[15] Fairbairn (1986: 139)
[16] https://www.shogi.or.jp/faq/rules
[17] http://81dojo.com/documents/Rules_and_Manners_of_
Shogi#27-point_Declare_System
[18] 近代将棋 magazine Nov 1983
[19] 将棋世界 magazine Aug 1996
[20] Fairbairn (1986: 158–161)
[21] “Shōreikai Gaiyō" 奨励会概要 [Outline of Shoreikai]
(in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved 21
September 2015.
[22] “Title offset illustration”. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
[23] Hosking 1997, p. 20–21.
[24] Hosking 1997, p. 263–265.
[25] Hitoshi Matsubara, Reijer Grimbergen. “Differences
between Shogi and western Chess from a computational
point of view”. Proceedings: Board Games in Academia.
[26] Xiaohong Wan, Daisuke Takano, Takeshi Asamizuya; et
al. (2012). “Developing intuition: Neural correlates of
cognitive-skill learning in caudate nucleus”. Journal of
Neuroscience (28): 17492–17501.
[27] Hosking 1997, p. 20.
[28] Fairbairn (1986: 143)
[29] “Sōritsu・Enkaku”創⽴・沿⾰ [Founding and History]
(in Japanese). ⽇本将棋連盟 (Japan Shogi Association).
Retrieved 16 August 2012.
[30] Masuda, Kozo (2003). Meijin ni Kyosha wo Hiita Otoko
名⼈に⾹⾞を引いた男 [The Man Who Gave A Lance
Handicap To A Meijin]. Chuokoron-Shinsha. p. 223.
ISBN 978-4122042476.
[31] “Enkaku”沿⾰ [LPSA History] (PDF) (in Japanese).
⽇本⼥⼦プロ将棋協会 (Ladies' Professional Shogi-
players' Association of Japan). Retrieved 26 June 2014.
[32] “Nihon Joshi Puro Shōgi Kyōkai (LSPA) to Gōisho
Teiketsu”⽇本⼥⼦プロ将棋協会 (LPSA) と合意書
締結 [Agreement signed with LPSA] (in Japanese). ⽇
本将棋連盟 (Japan Shogi Association). 2 June 2014.
Retrieved 26 June 2014.
[33] https://www.shogi.or.jp/news/2017/02/201610.html (ac-
cessed 2017 Feb 19)
[34] “Yoku Aru Goshitsumon: Naze, Dansei wa“Kishi”na no
ni, Josei wa“Joryūkishi”to Naru no Desuka”よくある
ご質問：なぜ、男性は「棋⼠」なのに、⼥性は「⼥流
棋⼠」となるのですか。[FAQ: Why are men referred
to as “kishi”and women referred to as “joryūkishi"?]
(in Japanese). ⽇本将棋連盟 (Japan Shogi Association).
Retrieved 28 June 2014.
[35] “shogi population of 120,000 people”.
14 16 EXTERNAL LINKS

[36] “Shogi pros warned not to play computers”. The Japan
Times. Tokyo, Japan. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 28
November 2011.
[37] “Top female 'shogi' pro falls to computer”. Japan Times.
Kyodo. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
[38] “Shōgi Sofuto ni Amagumi Kanpai: Hijutsu, Ikki ni
Semetsubusareru”将棋ソフトにアマ組完敗秘術、⼀
気に攻めつぶされる [Shogi computer programs crush
amateurs]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 2 August
2011. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
[39] “Dainikai Shōgi Denōsen Daigokyoku Miura Hiroyuki vs
GPS Shōgi”第 2 回将棋電王戦第 5 局三浦弘⾏⼋段
vs GPS 将棋 [Second Shogi Denosen, Game 5: Hiroyuki
Miura 8 dan vs. GPS Shogi] (in Japanese). Niwango. Re-
trieved 17 December 2014.
[40] “Computer program Bonkras highest rated player on
Shogi Club 24” (in Japanese). Shogi Club 24.
[41] Shinji, Fukamatsu. “AI beats top shogi player in first
match of tournament final：The Asahi Shimbun”. The
Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
[42] H. Adachi; H. Kamekawa; S. Iwata (1987).“Shogi on n ×
n board is complete in exponential time”. Trans. IEICE.
J70-D: 1843–1852.
[43] “A Lion's Play of Words”. Nihonden. 2017-03-08.
Retrieved 2017-03-09.
• Pritchard, D. B. (1994).“Shogi”. The Encyclopedia
of Chess Variants. Games & Puzzles Publications.
pp. 269–79. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.
• Yebisu, Miles (2016). Comprehensive shogi guide
in English: How to play Japanese chess. Laboratory
Publishing.
16 External links
• Shogi Shack
• Reijer Grimbergen's Shogi Page
• Shogi.Net
• Shogi Hub portal for current information about the
shogi world (tournaments, news, etc.)
• Shogi-L shogi mailing list
• Ricoh Shogi Page
• Japanese–English shogi glossary
• Hans Geuns' Basic Shogi Vocabulary
Rules

• 40 shogi lessons on YouTube by HIDETCHI

15 References
• An Introduction to Shogi for Chess Players
• SHOGI Magazine (70 issues, January 1976 –
• Shogi by Hans Bodlaender and Fergus Duniho, The
November 1987) by The Shogi Association (edited
Chess Variant Pages
by George Hodges)
• Rules and Manners of Shogi by Tomohide Kawasaki
• Aono, Teruichi (1983). Better Moves for Bet-
(a.k.a. HIDETCHI)
ter Shogi. translated by John Fairbairn. Tokyo,
Japan: Sankaido Publishing Co., Ltd. ISBN 978- • Shogi, the Japanese Chess by Jean-Louis Cazaux
4381005977.
• Shogi and Dobutsu-Animal shogi rules to download
• Aono, Teruichi (1983). Guide to Shogi Openings: by Filip Marek
Shogi Problems in Japanese and English. translated
by John Fairbairn. Tokyo, Japan: Sankaido Publish-
ing Co., Ltd. ISBN 978-4381005984. Online play

• Fairbairn, John (1986). Shogi for beginners (2nd
ed.). Ishi Press. ISBN 978-4-8718-720-10.
• Habu, Yoshiharu; Hosking, Tony (2000). Habu's
Words. translated by Tony Hosking and Yamato
Takahashi. Stratford-upon-Avon, England: The
Shogi Foundation. ISBN 978-0953108923.
• Hosking, Tony (1997). The Art of Shogi. Stratford-
upon-Avon, England: The Shogi Foundation. ISBN
978-0953108909.
• Hosking, Tony (2006). Classic Shogi: Games Col-
lection. Stratford-upon-Avon, England: The Shogi
Foundation. ISBN 978-0953108930.
• 81Dojo English-language shogi play online
• Shogi Dojo 24 English-language shogi server in
Japan
• Shogi Wars
• GoldToken online turn-based shogi
• World Shogi League international online tourna-
ment associated with 81Dojo and the Japan Shogi
Association
• HamShogi handicap shogi against the computer,
instructions
 15

• boardspace.net real time play against human or

(weak) computer players.
• Western Style Print and Play Shogi Set for sale

Online tools

• 将棋 DB2 shogi game record database (Japanese)

• Kyokumenpedia game record databases as move de-

cision tree with user-generated wiki annotations (as-
sociated with 81Dojo) (Japanese)
• Shogi Playground record or play through games,
mate problems, board positions
• Create Shogi Diagram on the Web
16 17 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

17 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

17.1 Text
• Shogi Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogi?oldid=779268689 Contributors: AxelBoldt, Chuck Smith, Bryan Derksen, Zundark,
Taw, Aidan Elliott-McCrea, Andre Engels, Norpan, Camembert, Bignose, Chuck SMITH, Menchi, Nanshu, Mxn, Schneelocke, Charles
Matthews, WhisperToMe, Selket, Maximus Rex, Furrykef, Val42, Fibonacci, Shizhao, Bjarki S, AnonMoos, Carlossuarez46, Robbot,
Lowellian, Thesilverbail, OmegaMan, Hadal, Tea2min, Mlk, Davidcannon, Fduniho, Giftlite, Gwalla, DocWatson42, KelvSYC, Holizz,
Aphaia, Ds13, Dratman, Michael Devore, Eequor, Pne, Chowbok, Mackeriv, Andycjp, Gdr, Sonjaaa, Piotrus, Figure, Bluefoxicy, Andreas
Kaufmann, Hydrox, Samboy, Kelvinc, BlargDragon, Kwamikagami, Bobo192, Circeus, Cmdrjameson, Nesnad, Blotwell, LuoShengli,
Physicistjedi, BlueNovember, Anthony Appleyard, JudgeDredd, Nik42, Ricky81682, InShaneee, Ish ishwar, Danaman5, Sivak, Galaxi-
aad, GregorB, Zzyzx11, Jon Harald Søby, Marudubshinki, Nanami Kamimura, Quale, OneWeirdDude, Leeyc0, Bubba73, Wragge, FlaBot,
Xf95, Krun, JiVE, Chobot, YurikBot, RobotE, NTBot~enwiki, Hede2000, Dforest, Chunky Rice, DAJF, Daniel Mietchen, J S Ayer,
Tobikko, GrinBot~enwiki, Jeff Silvers, Eitch, Dposse, SmackBot, Eveningmist, McGeddon, AutumnSnow, Foosh, Kintetsubuffalo, Mor-
tusar, Hmains, Skizzik, CanbekEsen, Endroit, Cthuljew, The Rogue Penguin, Akanemoto, Octahedron80, Da Vynci, Dumiac, Pegua,
Chlewbot, Snowmanradio, Benjamin Mako Hill, Zvar, Goblin princess, Nakon, “alyosha”, Derek R Bullamore, RossF18, Anss123, Tac
ke~enwiki, JHunterJ, -js-, Aiwendil42, Hirohiigo, Peter Horn, IvanLanin, Alex kraemer, Cogitans~enwiki, Benabik, CmdrObot, Ph0kin,
Cydebot, Meno25, 01011000, Dancter, Icetigaurus, Thijs!bot, Headbomb, AbcXyz, Scepia, Deflective, MER-C, Repku, TKR101010,
Magioladitis, Grgcox, JNW, Swpb, Sarahj2107, Happy Mask Man, Mschribr, Ddyer, Shomaekawa5116, Jonathan Hall, W1allen~enwiki,
KTo288, Gw2005, Mike.lifeguard, Tohuvabohuo, ElephantChess, Deepviolet, DH85868993, Adam1729, Ja 62, Mellonbank, Idioma-bot,
Signalhead, Iwavns, LokiClock, TXiKiBoT, Java7837, Voorlandt, JhsBot, Mathaytace, BrianAdler, The dog2, Pppc88, Atsutagu, Pdf-
pdf, Meldor, Hegh, Proud Ho, Bodhi-Baum, CJMiller, Hamiltondaniel, Escape Orbit, Ledpup, ClueBot, Intellect Ninja, Officer781, Sun
Creator, LonerXL, Muro Bot, XLinkBot, Navarr, Dthomsen8, Thatguyflint, Addbot, Jeffrollason, DOI bot, Cuaxdon, Jbgjbg, Leucius,
Roux, LinkFA-Bot, Tassedethe, Lightbot, Moocowsrule, Meisam, Yobot, Ptbotgourou, Againme, RoyTZ, AnomieBOT, Ciphers, Piano
non troppo, Xqbot, DrRevXyzzy, Wstoppks, Isacvale, Timmyshin, BOTCOKE, J04n, Rickknowlton, AWWWalker, Mizutofu, Correnos,
Kayokimura, OgreBot, Sinryow, Yoshihisa Yamada, Jonesey95, XRDoDRX, Frank Sölter, Tetron76, Double sharp, Yunshui, Lotje, Dvor-
sak, Dexter Nextnumber, Alph Bot, Argip, Tomchen1989, EmausBot, John of Reading, FalseAxiom, Nø, Dewritech, Hinohino2, PBS-
AWB, Hydao, BeastlyCMAN55, Orange Suede Sofa, Ihardlythinkso, Frietjes, O.Koslowski, Kevlarsen, Shogier2, Metricopolus, Wiki-
Pharaoh, Superpopotamus, Renju player, ChrisGualtieri, Arcandam, Dexbot, Rsams, ⾦野裕希, Worldshogi, Shogiru, Westernshogi,
DarkDiamondV, 侵⼊者ウィリアム, Bizshop, Hari Seldon, Marchjuly, Cosmia Nebula, Monkbot, Tuanminh01, Cewbot, Roaldnel, Kas-
parBot, Bootp, Firestrike2002, Wimaraens, Geometrist, Dunkroll 6, Bender the Bot, Ajitwebinfinity, Jona Ruiz, Skewb?, CubeSat4U and
Anonymous: 267

17.2 Images
• File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_Two_Boys_Playing_Shogi_with_a_Third_Observer.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Brooklyn_Museum_-_Two_Boys_Playing_Shogi_with_a_Third_Observer.jpg License: No restrictions
Contributors: Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum; Photo: Brooklyn Museum, X1116.2_IMLS_PS3.jpg Original artist: ?
• File:Chushogi_photo.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Chushogi_photo.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Origi-
nal artist: ?
• File:Furigoma.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Furigoma.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Shogiru
• File:ISF6_final.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/ISF6_final.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
ru:Файл:ISF6 final.jpg Original artist: ru:Участник:Shogiru
• File:Masuda_Kozo.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Masuda_Kozo.JPG License: Public domain
Contributors: 『アサヒグラフ』1952 年 9 ⽉ 10 ⽇号 Original artist: 朝⽇新聞社
• File:Ningen_shogi_himeji.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Ningen_shogi_himeji.jpg License: CC
BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Terumasa
• File:Playingshogiinuenopark-april11-2014.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/
Playingshogiinuenopark-april11-2014.jpg License: CC BY 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Nesnad
• File:Shogi-Set-08_cropRotate.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Shogi-Set-08_cropRotate.jpg Li-
cense: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Ish ishwar
• File:Shogi-Set-12.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Shogi-Set-12.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Con-
tributors: Own work Original artist: Immanuel Giel
• File:Shogi_Ban_Koma.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Shogi_Ban_Koma.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-
3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_Koma_Ryoko.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Shogi_Koma_Ryoko.jpg License: CC-
BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_S09_1.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Shogi_S09_1.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contribu-
tors: Own work Original artist: Corpse Reviver
• File:Shogi_S09_3.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Shogi_S09_3.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contribu-
tors: Own work Original artist: Corpse Reviver
• File:Shogi_bishop.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Shogi_bishop.jpg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: ? Original artist: ?
17.2 Images 17

• File:Shogi_bishop_p.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Shogi_bishop_p.jpg License: Public domain

Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_fuhyo.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Shogi_fuhyo.png License: Public domain Contrib-
utors: en:Image:Shogi fuhyo.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_ginsho.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Shogi_ginsho.png License: Public domain Con-
tributors: en:Image:Shogi ginsho.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_gold.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Shogi_gold.jpg License: Public domain Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_gyokusho(svg).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Shogi_gyokusho%28svg%29.svg Li-
cense: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Hari Seldon
• File:Shogi_hisha(svg).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Shogi_hisha%28svg%29.svg License: CC
BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Hari Seldon
• File:Shogi_kakugyo.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Shogi_kakugyo.png License: Public domain
Contributors: en:Image:Shogi kakugyo.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_keima.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Shogi_keima.png License: Public domain Con-
tributors: en:Image:Shogi keima.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_king.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Shogi_king.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_kinsho.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Shogi_kinsho.png License: Public domain Con-
tributors: en:Image:Shogi kinsho.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_knight.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Shogi_knight.jpg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_knight_p.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Shogi_knight_p.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_kyosha.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Shogi_kyosha.png License: Public domain Con-
tributors: en:Image:Shogi kyosha.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_lah22.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Shogi_lah22.svg License: GFDL Contributors: me
Original artist: me
• File:Shogi_lance.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Shogi_lance.jpg License: Public domain Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_lance_p.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Shogi_lance_p.jpg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_narigin.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Shogi_narigin.png License: Public domain Con-
tributors: en:Image:Shogi narigin.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_narikei.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Shogi_narikei.png License: Public domain Con-
tributors: en:Image:Shogi narikei.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_narikyo.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Shogi_narikyo.png License: Public domain
Contributors: en:Image:Shogi narikyo.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_osho(svg).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Shogi_osho%28svg%29.svg License: CC BY-
SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Hari Seldon
• File:Shogi_pawn.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Shogi_pawn.jpg License: Public domain Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_pawn_p.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Shogi_pawn_p.jpg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_playing_japan_0001.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Shogi_playing_japan_0001.jpg
License: CC BY 2.0 Contributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adavey/5048577308 Original artist: A.Davey
• File:Shogi_rah22.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Shogi_rah22.svg License: GFDL Contributors: me
Original artist: me
• File:Shogi_rook.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Shogi_rook.jpg License: Public domain Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_rook_p.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Shogi_rook_p.jpg License: Public domain Con-
tributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_ryuma.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Shogi_ryuma.png License: Public domain Con-
tributors: en:Image:Shogi ryuma.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
• File:Shogi_ryuo(svg).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Shogi_ryuo%28svg%29.svg License: CC BY-
SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Hari Seldon
• File:Shogi_silver.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Shogi_silver.jpg License: Public domain Contrib-
utors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_silver_p.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Shogi_silver_p.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Shogi_tokin.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Shogi_tokin.png License: Public domain Contrib-
utors: en:Image:Shogi tokin.png Original artist: en:user:Akanemoto
18 17 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

• File:Shogi_uah22.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Shogi_uah22.svg License: GFDL Contributors:

me Original artist: me
• File:Shogi_yy22.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Shogi_yy22.svg License: GFDL Contributors: me
Original artist: me
• File:Shogiban.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Shogiban.png License: Public domain Contributors:
w:File:MacShogi.jpg, then modified Original artist: User:Ph0kin, User:Ihardlythinkso
• File:WOSC-2013.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/WOSC-2013.jpg License: Public domain Contrib-
utors: ru:Файл:WOSC-2013.jpg Original artist: ru:Участник:Shogiru

17.3 Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0