Shogi
Shogi
Of Japanese origins, Shogi is played on a 9 by 9 board, and the object is to capture the opponent's king. There are two main differences with Western chess. First, not only pawns but almost every piece can promote if it reaches the opponents three last rows. Second and most distinctive characteristic is that captured pieces become property of the capturing player and during his turn he can "parachute" or "drop" them back to the board instead of performing a normal move. Because of this feature, similar to Bughouse, the game can last longer than a Chess game, the board generally stays fairly crowded and there is no simplification going into the endgame. However, the endgame is typically more rapid with many possibilities for attack and ways to achieve a checkmate, which also makes draws/ties very rare.
According to "A World of Chess" by Jean-Louis Cazaux & Rick Knowlton (2017, ISBN 978-0-7864-9427-9), Bishop, Rook and Drunk Elephant were introduced to the 9x9 Shogi creating Sho Shogi, the immediate predecessor of Shogi, in the middle of the 15th century. Modern Shogi where created with the introduction of the drop rule and the removal of the Drunk Elephant piece in Sho Shogi. This happened between 1567 and 1587 (earliest recording of modern Shogi). The latter date is based upon a picture in the diary of the samurai Matsudaira Ietada, dated 1587, which shows a game identical to the one of today.
According to "A World of Chess" by Jean-Louis Cazaux & Rick Knowlton (2017, ISBN 978-0-7864-9427-9), Bishop, Rook and Drunk Elephant were introduced to the 9x9 Shogi creating Sho Shogi, the immediate predecessor of Shogi, in the middle of the 15th century. Modern Shogi where created with the introduction of the drop rule and the removal of the Drunk Elephant piece in Sho Shogi. This happened between 1567 and 1587 (earliest recording of modern Shogi). The latter date is based upon a picture in the diary of the samurai Matsudaira Ietada, dated 1587, which shows a game identical to the one of today.
Player Count
2
Playing Time
60
Age
8
Year Released
1587
Designers
(Uncredited)
Publishers
Yellow Mountain Imports, XVIe, Volume-One Products, U3, SYU Creation, Shogi.cz, The Shogi Association, pieco design, Pàcly, Origineering Enterprises Ltd, Nintendo Co., Ltd., nestorgames, Nekomado, Marigó, LPSA, L. P. Septímio, L'Impensé Radical, Kumon, Japon Brand, Ishi Press International, Invicta Games, ilexberry B.V., Hanayama, Global Partner, Gentosha Education, The Games Gang, LTD, F.X. Schmid, The Elephant Chess Club, Aztral Games, Ancient Chess, (Unknown), (Self-Published), (Public Domain)
Board Game Category
Abstract Strategy
Newest Review
Remote video URL
Podcasts Featuring this Game
TDT # 198: Most looked forward to game of 2011
In this episode, GameTek talks about Shogi, Dexter and the Chief take a look at Yomi, and we introduce the Voice of Ameritrash 2.0! Mary helps us with the news, Moritz discusses Grey Giant Games, and Fathergeek wonders if you should let you child win games. We take a look at some new games, including Thunderstone: Dragonspire and Cargo Noir, and talk about our most looked forward to game of 2011.