Shogi 101: An Introduction to Japanese Chess

Page 1 2 3

When was the last time you saw a great chess match on television? If you live in the United States, it was probably when you rented Searching for Bobby Fischer. But in Japan, it's not unusual to see televised coverage of shogi matches.

Shogi, also referred to as Japanese chess, enjoys an amazing popularity in its home country. But it's not limited to a Japanese fan base. Players around the world compete in tournaments -- a recent list included Ohio, France, Sweden and the Netherlands. Some players spend their vacation time every year traveling to such tournaments to play their favorite game.

So what it is about shogi that inspires such loyalty?

Josh Krekeler, who serves as the secretary of the United States Shogi Federation, recently took some time to write a primer for those of us who are shogi novices and pre-novices.

---

Shogi is the Japanese version of chess. While they share some common elements and strategic principles, they are really two different games. Shogi is much more popular in Japan than chess is in America. Professional players compete for seven major titles throughout the year, and games are regularly broadcast on television. Some stations even sponsor their own shogi competitions for the pros!

"The number of shogi players outside of Japan is growing steadily." --Josh Krekeler

Shogi owes its popularity largely to the excitement of "drops" -- instead of moving a piece on the board, you can add a captured piece to your army by dropping it on an empty square. Because of this rule, which distinguishes shogi from all other established chess-type games, most of the pieces remain in play for the entire game.

Many games end in furious counterattacks where one tempo is the winning advantage. (A friend commented recently that it's a good idea to calculate the defense first in a chess game, but the offense has a distinct advantage in shogi. It's possible to disregard your opponent's attack if you can execute your own mating attack first).

The object of shogi is the same as chess -- checkmate the king! The shogi board is 9x9 squares. Each player starts with a king, 9 pawns, 2 Gold Generals, 2 Silver Generals, 2 knights, 2 lances, a bishop and a rook. The pieces are all the same color, because some of your opponent's pieces will soon be fighting on your side (and vice versa). The last three ranks on either side comprise the promotion zone, so promotion is common.

This feature continues with a description of how each shogi piece moves and captures, along with resources for new players.

---

Article Archive
Links to an ever-growing library of board games features.

Boardgame News
The latest in the world of board games and other table games.

Subscribe to the Newsletter
Name	Email

New posts to the Board Games forums:

RummyLooking for a Game's NameNIB 1979 Chutes and Ladders