What is the origin of shogi?

Traditionally it is thought to have originated in India and to have been transmitted to Japan via China and Korea. Shogi, like Western chess and Chinese chess, is played by two persons on a board with pieces of varying powers, and the object of the game is to checkmate (“trap”) the opposing king.

How did shogi originate?

The exact origin of Shogi is unknown, but it most likely evolved from Chinese chess when it was delivered by the imperial ambassador during the rule of Nara (710-794). It became popular with Japanese nobility in the Heian period (794 - 1185) when the Japanese capital moved from Nara to Kyoto.

Is shogi derived from 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.

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 ...

Is shogi just Japanese 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.

A simple introduction to Shogi and its history

What does the name shogi mean?

Noun. shogi (uncountable) Japanese chess; a board game similar to chess, invented and traditionally played in Japan.

Is there a difference between chess and shogi?

The shogi board is 9x9; the chess board is 8x8. 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. The knight's move in shogi is much more restrictive than in chess.

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 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 there checkmate in shogi?

The object of the game is to strategically capture the opponent's king by putting them in checkmate. Shogi is comparable to chess in its turn-based, piece-capturing gameplay, with different units having different movement capabilities.

Can shogi end in a draw?

2.1.

There are very few draws in shogi; only about 1-2% of professional games end in a draw. One reason for this is that material can never be depleted as in chess, because captured pieces are constantly re-entering play as a consequence of the drop rule.

What is the weakest chess piece usually?

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

How much money does a pro 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.

Which is older chess or shogi?

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.

What is the oldest board game?

Unearthing the Oldest Board Game on Record

Analysts estimated that the highly decorated boards, made of wood, inlaid shell and lapis lazuli, were made between 2,600-2,400 B.C., making the Royal Game of Ur the oldest complete tabletop game ever discovered.

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 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.

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 is the queen in shogi?

Okisaki shogi (御妃将棋 okisaki shōgi "Queen shogi") is a modern variant of shogi (Japanese chess). It was developed by Masayuki Nakayachi c. 1996 from suggestions by German chess player Ralph Blockhaus. Okisaki shogi is similar to standard shogi, but is played on a 10×10 board.

What rank is a pro in shogi?

Regular professionals (kishi) are ranked from 4- to 9-dan. All new professionals start at 4-dan and are subsequently promoted based upon criteria established by the JSA. A similar system exists for women's professionals who have their own separate ranking system from 2-kyū to 6-dan.

What is the drop rule in shogi?

In a later move, instead of moving a piece on the board, a player may put a piece that he has captured from his opponent back onto the board, in an empty square. This is called dropping a piece. Pieces are always dropped unpromoted: ifa promoted piece is captured, it reverts to its unpromoted rank.

Is shogi still popular?

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.

What board game is harder than chess?

1. Go. Dating back to the Zhou dynasty, Go is an ancient two-player abstract strategy board game from China.