How to play shogi

The basics

• Two players, a 9×9 board, and 20 pieces each.
• Players take turns. On your turn, move one piece — or drop a piece you captured earlier.
• The player who moves first is called sente, and the second player is gote.
• You win by checkmating your opponent's king.

Setting up the board

How the pieces move

A dot marks a square the piece can move to. A line means it can move any number of squares in that direction, but it can't jump over other pieces. Only the knight jumps.

Promotion

The three rows farthest from you are the promotion zone.

When a piece moves into, within, or out of the promotion zone, you may promote it by turning it over. Promoting is usually a good idea, but it's your choice.

A pawn or lance that reaches the last row, or a knight that reaches the last two rows, must promote. Otherwise it could never move again.

The king and the gold generals never promote. If a promoted piece is captured, it is turned back to its unpromoted side.

Captures and drops

When you capture a piece, it becomes yours. Keep it beside the board. These are your pieces in hand.

On your turn, instead of moving, you may drop a piece from your hand onto any empty square. It always comes back unpromoted and facing your opponent.

Check and checkmate

When your king is under attack, it is in check. You must get out of check right away: move the king, capture the attacking piece, or block the attack.

If there is no way out, it is checkmate and the game is over.

In real games, players usually resign before checkmate by saying “Makemashita” (“I've lost”).

Other rules to know

• Repetition (sennichite): if the same position appears four times, the game is a draw (in official games, it is replayed). But if one player gave check on every move, that player loses.
• Impasse (jishōgi): if both kings enter the opponent's camp and neither can realistically be checkmated, the result is decided by counting points: 5 for each rook and bishop, and 1 for every other piece except the king. This is rare.
• Illegal moves, such as nifu, lose the game in official play. In our club, we'll just help you fix them!

Shogi manners

• Before the game, bow and say “Onegaishimasu” (“Let's have a good game”).
• To resign, say “Makemashita” (“I've lost”).
• After the game, bow and say “Arigatō gozaimashita” (“Thank you”).
• In official play, once you let go of a piece, your move is final.

Tips for beginners

• Keep your king safe behind your gold and silver generals, like building a castle.
• Your rook and bishop are your strongest pieces. Don't trade them away cheaply.
• Remember your pieces in hand. A captured pawn can come back almost anywhere.
• Solve tsume puzzles to learn how to checkmate.

Piece names