Shogi (Japanese Chess)
9×9 board, 8 piece types. Captured pieces become yours and can be dropped back. Promote pieces in enemy territory. Checkmate the king to win!
Frequently Asked Questions
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What makes Shogi different from international chess?
The biggest difference is the drop rule: captured pieces become yours and can be re-entered on almost any empty square, so pieces never leave play. This keeps positions complex until the end and lets you launch attacks from nowhere. Shogi also has a 9×9 board, 8 piece types, a promotion zone in the last 3 ranks, and a King plus Gold-like promoted pieces.
How does promotion work in Shogi?
When a piece moves into, out of, or within the opponent's last 3 ranks, you may choose to promote it. Most pieces promote to move like a Gold General; the Rook and Bishop gain extra one-square King-like moves and become much stronger (龍 and 馬). Promotion is mandatory for Pawns and Lances reaching the last rank, and Knights reaching the last two ranks (otherwise they would have no legal moves).
What is the nifu (two-pawn) rule?
Nifu forbids having two unpromoted Pawns on the same file (column). You cannot drop a Pawn onto a file that already contains one of your unpromoted Pawns. Promoted Pawns (と, 'to') do not count toward this rule, so a file may hold an unpromoted Pawn and a promoted Pawn simultaneously.
Why can't I checkmate the opponent with a Pawn drop?
This is the uchi-fu zume rule — dropping a Pawn to deliver immediate checkmate is forbidden. The reasoning is that a dropped Pawn cannot be blocked or captured by another drop easily, making such mates too powerful. You may still drop a Pawn to give check, or drop other pieces to deliver checkmate; only a Pawn-drop checkmate is illegal.
Explore Game Details
About Shogi
Shogi is the Japanese variant of chess, with roots tracing back to the 16th century. Played on a 9×9 board, each player begins with 20 pieces of 8 types. Its defining feature is the 'drop' rule: captured pieces switch sides and can be returned to the board as your own, giving shogi a branching factor far higher than international chess.
Benefits
Playing Shogi cultivates deep calculation, flexible planning, and endgame precision. Because captured pieces re-enter play, positions are rarely simplified — you must constantly weigh drops against moves, training working memory, dynamic evaluation, and the ability to read complex middlegame tactics.
How to Play
- The board is 9×9 squares. Sente (first player, traditionally 'black'/'below') and Gote (second player, 'white'/'above') each start with 20 pieces of 8 types placed on the squares. Sente moves first.
- Pieces move by type: King (玉/王) one square in any of 8 directions; Rook (飛) slides any distance orthogonally; Bishop (角) slides any distance diagonally; Gold General (金) one square in 6 directions (orthogonal plus the two forward diagonals); Silver General (銀) one square forward plus the 4 diagonals; Knight (桂) jumps 2 forward + 1 side (only forward); Lance (香) slides any distance straight forward; Pawn (歩) one square straight forward.
- Promotion: when a piece moves into, out of, or within the opponent's last 3 ranks (the promotion zone), it may promote. Pawns, Lances, Knights, and Silvers promote to move like a Gold General; a promoted Rook (龍) gains the King's one-square diagonals; a promoted Bishop (馬) gains the King's one-square orthogonals. Promotion of Pawns/Lances reaching the last rank and Knights reaching the last two ranks is mandatory. Kings and Gold Generals cannot promote.
- A King is in check when under immediate threat of capture. A player must immediately resolve a check by moving the King, capturing the checking piece, or interposing a piece to block the threat.
- Checkmate occurs when the King is in check and has no legal move to escape it. The player who delivers checkmate wins. In Shogi, stalemate (no legal moves at all) counts as a loss for the stalemated player.
- Drop rules and forbidden moves: a captured piece becomes yours and may be dropped on any empty square instead of moving a board piece. Forbidden: two unpromoted Pawns in the same file (nifu), dropping a Pawn/Lance on the last rank or a Knight on the last two ranks, and checkmating the opponent with a Pawn drop (uchi-fu zume).
Strategy Tips
Build a castle: castling formations (like Yagura or Mino) protect your King. Secure your King before launching an attack, since an exposed King falls quickly to drops.
Keep pieces in hand: captured pieces (hand pieces) are flexible weapons. Don't drop them carelessly — having Gold and Pawn in hand lets you threaten mate sequences and respond to attacks dynamically.
Coordinate attacks with drops: combine board pieces with well-timed drops to create inescapable mating nets. Dropping a Pawn to open a file or a Gold to plug a defense often decides the game.
Promote aggressively in the zone: promoted Rooks and Bishops are dramatically stronger. Push your major pieces into the promotion zone to upgrade them, but weigh this against tempo and King safety.
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