shogi

shogi, Japanese form of chess, the history of which is obscure. Traditionally it is thought to have originated in India and to have been transmitted to Japan via China and Korea.

Shogi, like Western chess and Chinese chess, is played by two persons on a board with pieces of varying powers, and the object of the game is to checkmate (“trap”) the opposing king. The shogi chessboard has 81 squares (9 by 9), compared with the 64 squares (8 by 8) of the Western chessboard and the 90 points (intersection of 9 by 10 lines) of the Chinese chessboard. Unlike other chess variants, shogi pieces are not differentiated by colour to indicate side, though opposing players are known as white and black, with black moving first. The pieces are flat and printed with Japanese characters that indicate rank and are pointed at one end, with the pointed ends oriented toward the opponent. Shogi is unique among chess variants in that captured pieces are not dead but may be pointed in the opposite direction and replayed (“dropped”) as part of the captor’s forces in place of making a move with other pieces already on the chessboard. Certain restrictions apply to dropping. In particular, pieces cannot be dropped such that they have no future moves (at or near the opposite edge), pawns cannot be dropped on the same column in which a player already has a pawn, and pawns cannot be dropped to deliver checkmate.

At the start of the game, each player has 20 pieces: nine pawns (fu) are arranged along each player’s third row, a rook (hisha) is placed diagonally one square from each player’s right-hand corner, a bishop (kaku) is placed diagonally one square from each player’s left-hand corner, and the remaining pieces are symmetrically located along each player’s first row in the order lance (kyōsha), knight (keima), silver general (ginshō), gold general (kinshō), king (ōshō), gold general, silver general, knight, and lance.

All pieces capture in the same way that they move (unlike the pawn capture in Western chess), and only the knight can jump over pieces (like the knight in Western chess). Most pieces have only short-distance moves, so games typically develop more slowly than in other chess variants. The kings move one square in any direction (eight possible moves); gold generals, or golds, move one square in any direction except diagonally backward (six possible moves); silver generals, or silvers, move one square in any direction except backward and horizontally (five possible moves); and pawns move one square forward. Lances move only forward any number of empty squares. Knights jump forward two rows and one square to either side; compared with the Western knight, which can make as many as eight moves, the Japanese knight is very weak. Bishops, which move any number of unobstructed squares diagonally, are the second most powerful starting pieces. Rooks, which move any number of unobstructed squares horizontally or vertically, are far and away the most powerful pieces, especially when they have invaded enemy territory (players’ first three rows are known as their territory).

All pieces except the kings and golds may be promoted on entering (except by dropping), moving within, or leaving the enemy territory. If a piece has no more moves available to it—a pawn, lance, or knight that has reached the last row or a knight that has reached the next to last row—it must promote. The promoted rank of each piece is marked on its reverse side, which is turned upward on promotion. Pawns, knights, lances, and silvers promote to golds. Promoted bishops, known as dragon horses or horses (ryuma), add the ability to move one square in any vertical or horizontal direction. Promoted rooks, known as dragon kings or dragons (ryu), add the ability to move one square in any diagonal direction. Pieces dropped in enemy territory may promote the next time that they are moved.

Because pieces are recycled, shogi almost never ends in a draw, as there will always be a sufficient number of pieces to reach a checkmate. In addition, repetition of moves, such as the perpetual check seen in Western chess, is not allowed. A player who initiates a sequence of repetitions must desist or will forfeit the game.