Shogi (Japanese Chess)
Japanese chess: capture pieces and drop them back as your own.
How to play Shogi
Shogi is the chess of Japan. It is played on a board of 9 × 9 squares, and both players have the same pieces. A piece belongs to the side it points at: your pieces point up, the enemy's point down. Sente (☗, also called Black) moves first, then Gote (☖, White) — the players take turns.
Goal
Checkmate the enemy king: attack it so that no move can save it.
How the pieces move
- King (玉/王, K): one square in any direction.
- Rook (飛, R): any distance straight, like a chess rook. Bishop (角, B): any distance diagonally.
- Gold (金, G): one square straight or diagonally forward — not diagonally back.
- Silver (銀, S): one square diagonally or straight forward — not sideways or straight back.
- Knight (桂, N): jumps two squares forward and one to the side. It is the only piece that jumps.
- Lance (香, L): any distance straight forward. Pawn (歩, P): one square straight forward, and it captures the same way.
Promotion
The last three rows on the far side are the promotion zone. When a piece moves into, out of or inside it, you may flip it over to promote it. Promoted pawns, lances, knights and silvers move like a gold. A promoted rook (dragon, 龍) also steps one square diagonally, and a promoted bishop (horse, 馬) also steps one square straight. Pawns and lances on the last row, and knights on the last two rows, must promote. Kings and golds never promote.
Drops
- A piece you capture goes to your hand, unpromoted, and now belongs to you.
- On your turn you may drop one piece from your hand on any empty square instead of moving.
- You may not drop a pawn on a file that already has one of your unpromoted pawns, or give checkmate with a dropped pawn. No piece may be dropped where it could never move again.
End of the game
Checkmate wins. If the same position (same pieces in hand, same player to move) comes up four times, the game is a draw (sennichite) — but a player who gave check with every move of the repetition loses. On this site a game that reaches 400 moves is also a draw. Tap a piece, then a glowing dot; tap a piece in your hand to drop it. Press Letters to show English letters instead of kanji. You may also like Chess and Chinese Chess.
Strategy tips
- Castle your king. Move the king a few squares to the side and wall it in with a gold, a silver and pawns before you attack. A king left in the middle dies fast.
- Captured pieces are not gone. Every trade hands your opponent a piece to drop. Before you capture, ask what they can drop with the piece you give back.
- Drop near the enemy king. A gold dropped next to the king, or a pawn dropped in front of it, can break a castle open in one move.
- Promote your rook and bishop. A dragon or a horse is the strongest piece on the board. Opening a path for them into the enemy camp is often worth a pawn.
- Pawns are cheap but useful. Keep one in hand: you can drop it to block a lance or rook, or to attack a piece that cannot step back.
- Count the attack. When you go for the king, count attackers against defenders. Speed matters more than material once the race starts.
Shogi FAQ
Do I need to read Japanese to play?
No. Press Letters to show English letters on every piece: K, R, B, G, S, N, L and P, with + for promoted pieces. The move list always uses these letters.
When can a piece promote?
When a move starts or ends in the last three rows on the far side. If promoting is optional, a small window asks you to promote or keep the piece as it is.
Why can't I drop a pawn on some squares?
A pawn may not go on a file that already has one of your unpromoted pawns, not on the last row, and not where it would give checkmate at once. Those squares simply do not light up.
How strong is the computer?
Easy plays loose moves and is good for learning drops. Medium thinks for about a third of a second. Hard thinks for about a second and punishes most mistakes.
