Shogi: How to Play Japanese Chess

Shogi is the Japanese version of chess. It is played on a 9x9 board, and each side starts with 20 pieces. The biggest difference from Western chess is that captured pieces do not disappear from the game. They can later be dropped back onto the board.

That single rule gives Shogi a very different feel. Good development, board control and careful timing all matter, because a captured piece can quickly come back and change the position.

Pieces in Japanese chess

Each player begins with 20 pieces. The setup is the same on both sides, and the direction of the pieces shows which side they belong to. The 20 pieces are:

• 1 king
• 2 gold generals
• 2 silver generals
• 2 knights
• 2 lances
• 1 bishop
• 1 rook
• 9 pawns

The shape of the pieces and the kanji on them make it easier to tell which piece is which, even after promotion.

Movements in Japanese chess

Some Shogi moves feel similar to Western chess, but the game follows its own rules. The rook moves straight, the bishop moves diagonally, the gold general protects the king with flexible close-range moves, and pawns move one square forward.

Promotion in Japanese chess

When a piece reaches the promotion zone, which is the last three rows on the opponent's side, it can often be promoted. In some cases promotion is optional, while in others it becomes mandatory if the piece would otherwise have no legal move left.

• The silver general, knight, lance and pawn can become stronger through promotion.
• The rook and bishop keep their normal moves and gain an extra promoted move pattern.
• The king and gold general do not promote.

Promotion is one of the reasons Shogi stays so tactical: a small advantage can turn into a new attack very quickly.

Capturing in Japanese chess

Unlike Western chess, captured pieces are not removed from the game permanently. They are taken into hand and can later be dropped back onto the board as part of the capturing player's army. That is one of the features that makes Shogi so distinctive.

A player may use a turn to drop one of the pieces they have captured. There are, however, clear restrictions:

• The piece must be placed on an empty square.
• It cannot be dropped on a square where it would have no legal move.
• A pawn cannot be dropped into a file that already contains another unpromoted pawn of the same player.
• A pawn drop cannot immediately deliver checkmate.

Because of this rule, a game can stay open for a long time even after several pieces have been captured.

Reintroducing pieces

The drop rule gives Shogi its own rhythm. A captured piece becomes a reserve resource instead of a dead loss. That means the game keeps changing even when material is down, and comebacks are always possible.

If you are learning Shogi, it helps to focus first on the pieces, then on promotion, and finally on drops. Once those three ideas click, the rest of the game starts to make much more sense.

Learning Shogi

The easiest way to start is to learn the movement of each piece and the promotion zone. After that, play a few simple games and get used to the idea that captured pieces can return. Shogi can feel complicated at first, but it becomes logical very quickly once you have a few games behind you.

If you already like chess, Shogi offers a version that looks familiar on the surface but opens up a very different kind of strategy.