Shogi
Genre(s) | Board game Abstract strategy game Mind sport |
---|---|
Players | 2 |
Setup time | < 2 minutes |
Playing time | 30 mins. to 2 hours (typically) |
Random chance | None |
Random chance | None |
Skill(s) required | Strategy, tactics |
Synonym(s) | Japanese chess Game of Generals |
Shogi (将棋, shōgi, generals' chess) is also known as Japanese chess. It is a two-player board game in the same family as International chess, and Chinese Xiangqi. Shogi is the most popular of a family of chess variants, and is native to Japan. Shōgi means general's (shō) boardgame (gi). In early years, however, shogi was written 象棋 (the same as Xiangqi, "elephant chess"). Each player starts with 20 pieces in the beginning of the game.
The earliest predecessors of the game, chaturanga, originated in India in the 6th century AD, and spread from China to Japan, where it spawned a number of variants. Shogi in its present form was played as early as the 16th century, while a direct ancestor without the "drop rule" was recorded from 1210 in a historical document Nichūreki, which is an edited copy of Shōchūreki and Kaichūreki from the late Heian period (~1120).
According to ChessVariants.com, "Perhaps the enduring popularity of Shogi can be attributed to its 'drop rule'; it was the first chess variant wherein captured pieces could be returned to the board to be used as one's own. This has the consequence that few games are drawn, which is a weakness of international chess. David Pritchard credits the drop rule to the practice of 16th century mercenaries (ronin) who switched loyalties when captured—no doubt as an alternative to execution".[1][2]
Pieces
[change | change source]- Gold General
- Silver General
- Lance
Movement
[change | change source]Normal Pieces
[change | change source]King: Moves 1 square in any direction
Gold General: Moves 1 square in any direction except diagonally backwards
Silver General: Moves 1 square diagonally in any direction plus 1 square forward
Knight: Moves 1 square forward and 1 square diagonally forward, it can also jump over other pieces
Lance: Moves any number of squares forwards
Rook: Moves any number of squares orthogonally
Bishop: Moves any number of squares diagonally
Pawn: Moves 1 square forward
Promoted Pieces
[change | change source]Promoted Silver General, Knight, Lance, Pawn: Moves as a Gold General
Promoted Rook: Moves the same as the demoted Rook, but it can move 1 square diagonally in any direction
Promoted Bishop: Moves the same as the demoted Bishop, but it can move 1 square orthogonally in any direction
Famous players
[change | change source]- Hiroe Nakai, Ichiyo Shimizu, Kana Satomi - One of the strongest women shogi players in Japan
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ ChessVariants.com
- ↑ Pritchard, David Brine 1994. The Encyclopedia of chess variants. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1