How to Play Shogi

Shogi is played on a 9x9 board. Each player starts with 20 pieces: 1 King, 1 Rook, 1 Bishop, 2 Gold Generals, 2 Silver Generals, 2 Knights, 2 Lances, and 9 Pawns.

Sente (first player) starts at the bottom; Gote (second player) starts at the top. All pieces are wedge-shaped and point toward the opponent, showing ownership.

Unlike chess, captured pieces are not eliminated -- they join your reserve ("hand") and can be dropped back onto the board as your own pieces.

The King moves one square in any direction -- orthogonally or diagonally. It moves exactly like the King in Western chess.

The King cannot move to a square attacked by an opponent's piece. If your King is in check and cannot escape, you lose the game.

The King cannot be promoted and cannot be captured (the game ends before that happens). In this position, the Sente King in the center can move to all 8 surrounding squares.

The Rook slides any number of squares orthogonally (up, down, left, right). The Bishop slides any number of squares diagonally. Neither can jump over pieces.

These are the two most powerful unpromoted pieces. The Rook starts on file 2 (near the right edge) and the Bishop on file 8 (near the left edge) -- opposite from each other.

When promoted, the Rook becomes a Dragon King (adds 1-square diagonal moves) and the Bishop becomes a Dragon Horse (adds 1-square orthogonal moves), making them even more powerful.

The Gold General moves one square in 6 directions: forward, diagonally forward (both), sideways (both), and backward. It cannot move diagonally backward.

The Silver General moves one square in 5 directions: forward and all four diagonals. It cannot move sideways or straight backward.

Gold Generals are stronger defensively (they guard sideways). Silver Generals are more mobile offensively (they retreat diagonally). Most promoted pieces move like Gold Generals.

Gold Generals cannot promote. Silver Generals promote to move like Gold.

The Knight jumps two squares forward and one square sideways (only forward, unlike chess). It can jump over pieces. Knights can only reach 2 squares.

The Lance slides any number of squares straight forward. It cannot move backward, sideways, or diagonally. It cannot jump over pieces.

Both are forward-only pieces. When a Knight or Lance reaches a position where it has no forward moves (last 2 rows for Knight, last row for Lance), it must promote.

The Pawn moves and captures one square straight forward. Unlike chess Pawns, Shogi Pawns capture the same way they move -- directly ahead, not diagonally.

Pawns cannot move backward. Each player starts with 9 Pawns forming a complete row.

When a Pawn reaches the last row, it must promote. A promoted Pawn (called "tokin") moves like a Gold General, becoming a much stronger piece.

When a piece moves into, out of, or within the promotion zone (the opponent's last 3 rows), it may promote. The promotion zone is rows 0-2 for Sente and rows 6-8 for Gote.

Promotion is optional for most pieces, but mandatory when a piece would have no legal moves otherwise (Pawn/Lance at the last row, Knight at the last 2 rows).

Promoted pieces:

- Rook -> Dragon King (rook + diagonal step)

- Bishop -> Dragon Horse (bishop + orthogonal step)

- Silver, Knight, Lance, Pawn -> all move like Gold General

- King and Gold General cannot promote.

In this position, the Sente Silver is in the promotion zone and can promote on its next move.

The most distinctive feature of Shogi: when you capture an opponent's piece, it goes into your hand (reserve). On any future turn, instead of moving a piece on the board, you may drop a piece from your hand onto any empty square.

Dropped pieces are always placed unpromoted, regardless of where they land (even in the promotion zone). You must move them into/through the zone on a later turn to promote.

Drops are extremely powerful tactically -- they allow surprise attacks, defensive reinforcements, and piece combinations that are impossible in chess.

In this position, Sente has a Gold and a Pawn in hand that can be dropped onto any eligible empty square.

There are important restrictions on drops:

1. No double Pawn: You cannot drop a Pawn on a column (file) that already has one of your unpromoted Pawns. Promoted Pawns do not count.

2. No Pawn-drop checkmate: You cannot drop a Pawn to directly checkmate the opponent's King. (Giving check with a Pawn drop is allowed, but it must not be immediate checkmate.)

3. Must have future moves: You cannot drop a Pawn or Lance on the last row, or a Knight on the last 2 rows, because they would have no legal moves.

In this position, Sente has a Pawn in hand but cannot drop it on the column where there is already an unpromoted Sente Pawn.

The game ends when a player's King is in check and has no legal move to escape -- no King move, no block, no capture of the attacker, and no drop to block. This is checkmate.

Because of the drop mechanic, checkmates in Shogi often involve a combination of pieces on the board and drops from hand. Stalemate (no legal moves but not in check) is a loss for the stalemated player in Shogi, not a draw.

In this position, the Gote King is trapped. The promoted Rook (Dragon King) delivers check, and all escape squares are covered. Sente wins!

A compact version with 6 pieces per side on a 5×5 board. Promotion zone is only the last row. All drop and capture rules apply.

Each side starts with a King, Gold General, Silver General, Bishop, Rook, and one Pawn. The layout is point-symmetric: Gote's pieces mirror Sente's across the board.

Mini Shogi games are faster and more tactical, making it a great way to practice Shogi fundamentals.