What is Chu shogi?

Chu shogi (中将棋 chū shōgi or Middle Shogi) is a strategy board game native to Japan. It is similar to modern shogi (sometimes called Japanese chess) in its rules and gameplay.

Is shogi harder than chess?

Shogi is seen to be a more difficult game than chess because once players capture an opponent's piece, they can use that piece as their own—meaning that while chess games on the whole get simpler as fewer pieces are left on the board, shogi gets more complex, a shogi professional told the New York Times (paywall) in ...

Are there different types of shogi?

Many shogi variants have been developed over the centuries, ranging from some of the largest chess-type games ever played to some of the smallest. A few of these variants are still regularly played, though none are as popular as shogi itself.

What are the most powerful pieces in shogi?

The most powerful piece, the bishop (kakugyo), which moves in a manner similar to the bishop in chess, is positioned at the second square from the left in the second row; and the rook (hisha), which moves like the rook in chess, is placed at the second square from the right.

What are the ranks in shogi?

Shogi players are ranked as follows: the weakest rank is around 15 “kyu”, which represents a beginner. 14 kyu is higher than 15 kyu, 13 kyu is higher still, and so on until you get to 1 kyu. The next highest rank is 1 “dan”, followed by 2 dan, 3 dan and so forth.

Chu Shogi - How to play, part 1/2 (using internationalized piece set)

What is the strongest title in shogi?

Meijin (名人) is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō.

What are the 7 titles of shogi?

In 1996 (February 14 to July 30), Habu became the first professional to ever hold all seven major titles (Meijin, Ryūō, Kisei, Ōi, Ōza, Kiō, and Ōshō) at the same time, a remarkable feat that has not been duplicated since.

Is shogi a copy of chess?

Shogi (将棋, shōgi, English: /ˈʃoʊɡi/, Japanese: [ɕoːɡi]), also known as Japanese chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as Western chess, chaturanga, xiangqi, Indian chess, and janggi.

Is shogi older than chess?

But chess in nearly its current form developed around 1500, and shogi in its current form may have developed at around the same time or possibly later (it's not known when shogi's famous drop rule was developed). But both Europe and Japan had very similar games for hundreds of years before then.

Is shogi basically chess?

Shogi is the Japanese version of Chess and some believe the most complex of all traditional Chess variants. The fundamental difference is that when pieces are captured they can be re-entered onto the board playing for the opposing side.

How long does a shogi game last?

How long are Shogi matches? Matches typically last around 30-60 minutes, but they can last much longer if both players are playing very cautiously. In rare cases, matches have lasted for over 10 hours.

What does shogi mean in English?

shogi in American English

(ˈʃouɡi) noun. the Japanese version of chess.

Which is more popular in Japan shogi or go?

Shogi is extremely popular in Japan; it has been estimated that 20 million Japanese can play shogi, of which perhaps 1 million are active players. It is even more popular there than the game of go, Japan's other favorite board game.

How much does a shogi player make?

Best paid professional Shogi players in Japan 2022

In 2022, Fujii Sota was the highest earning Shogi professional in Japan, making an estimated 122.05 million Japanese yen over the course of the year. Shogi, also referred to as "Japanese chess", is a turn-based strategy board game similar to chess in many aspects.

What is the weakest chess piece usually?

The pawn (♙, ♟) is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess.

What is the most common shogi opening?

This particular popular opening is known as Bishop Exchange since the bishops have been exchanged off the board so that both players have their bishop in hand for dropping at strategic places later in the game. This board position is after 26 moves (or 13 move pairs).

Why was Japan called Nippon?

Both Nippon and Nihon literally mean "the sun's origin", that is, where the sun originates, and are often translated as the Land of the Rising Sun. This nomenclature comes from Imperial correspondence with the Chinese Sui Dynasty and refers to Japan's eastern position relative to China.

What is the oldest game in the world still played?

Go, also known as Wei Qi, is an abstract strategy board game for two players in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent. The game was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago and is believed to be the oldest board game continuously played to the present day.

What is the #1 board game in the world?

1. Chess. Chess requires two players and is purely a strategy board game played on a chessboard, a checkered tiled board with sixty-four squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most ancient and popular games, played by millions of people all across the globe.

What is checkmate in shogi called?

Checkmate (in Japanese, one says “Tsumi”): If a player cannot avert a danger and will be taken anyway on the next turn, this is checkmate and that player loses the game. In professional and serious amateur games, a player who makes an illegal move immediately loses the game.

Is shogi separated by gender?

There are two categories of professional players: regular professional and women's professional. All regular professional shogi players are members of the Japan Shogi Association (JSA). However, only regular professional players, who are all male, are considered to be full-fledged members.

What is a dragon in shogi?

In Shogi, the Japanese form of Chess, the Dragon King is the promoted form of the Rook, moving like a Rook or a Ferz. This piece is also commonly used in many Shogi variants, such as Chu Shogi, in which it is a unpromoted piece that gets to promote to an even more powerful piece called a Soaring Eagle.

Who is the best shogi player in the world?

Yoshiharu Habu (born in 1970) is a living shogi legend. He is widely regarded as the greatest shogi player ever. Habu first encountered shogi in his first year of elementary school, when his classmates taught him how the shogi pieces move.

Is there a queen piece in shogi?

Shogi has five pieces with no counterpart in chess: the gold and silver generals, the lance, the promoted rook and the promoted bishop. Chess has one piece with no counterpart in shogi: the queen.