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Chū shōgi (中将棋 'middle chess') is a board game native to Japan. It is similar to standard shogi (sometimes called Japanese chess) in its rules and game play. Its name means "mid-sized shogi", from a time when there were three sizes of shogi variants in regular use. Chu shogi seems to have been developed in the early 14th century as a derivative of dai shogi ("large shogi"). There are earlier references, but it is not clear that they refer to the game as we now know it. With fewer pieces than dai shogi, the game was considered more exciting. It was still commonly played in Japan in the early 20th century, especially in Kyoto, but now has largely died out. It has, however, gained some adherents in the West. The main reference work in English is the Middle Shogi Manual by George Hodges.
Rules of the game
Objective
The objective of the game is to capture the opponent's king and, if present, the crown prince, which counts as a second king; or to capture all the other pieces, leaving a bare king or a bare crown prince. Unlike standard shogi, pieces may not be dropped back into play after capture.
Game play
Two players alternate making a move, with Black moving first. (The pieces are not differentiated by color; the traditional chess terms "Black" and "White" are only used to indicate who plays first, and to differentiate the sides during discussions of the game.) A move consists of moving a piece either to an empty square on the board or to a square occupied by an opposing piece, thus capturing that piece; and optionally of promoting the moving piece, if all or part of its move lies in the promotion zone.
Game equipment
Two players, Black and White (or 先手 sente and 後手 gote), play on a board ruled into a grid of 12 ranks (rows) and 12 files (columns). The squares are undifferentiated by marking or color, unlike a Western chess board.
Each player has a set of 46 pieces of 21 different types, and each piece has its name written on it in Japanese kanji. The writing is typically in black. On the reverse side of most pieces there are characters to indicate the piece's promoted rank, typically written in red. The pieces are wedge-shaped and their orientation indicates which player they belong to, as they point toward the opposing side. The pieces are of slightly different sizes, from largest to smallest (most to least powerful) they are:
- 1 King
- 1 Free king
- 1 Lion
- 2 Dragon kings
- 2 Dragon horses
- 2 Rooks
- 2 Bishops
- 1 Kirin
- 1 Phoenix
- 1 Drunk elephant
- 2 Blind tigers
- 2 Ferocious leopards
- 2 Gold generals
- 2 Silver generals
- 2 Copper generals
- 2 Vertical movers
- 2 Side movers
- 2 Reverse Chariots
- 2 Lances
- 2 Go-betweens
- 12 Pawns
Table of pieces
Listed below are the pieces of the game and, if they promote, the pieces they promote to. Names are rough translations that have become somewhat standardized in English. Pieces are listed alphabetically by their English name.
The promotions apply only to pieces which start out with the ranks in the left-most column, that is, pieces with these ranks written in black; promoted pieces with those same ranks written in red may not promote further. Pieces which only appear upon promotion, that is, names which only occur written in red, are marked with an asterisk. The king, free king, and lion do not promote.
| Piece name | Kanji | Romaji | Abbrev. | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bishop | 角行 | kakugyō | 角 | dragon horse |
| blind tiger | 盲虎 | mōko | 虎 | flying stag |
| copper general | 銅将 | dōshō | 銅 | side mover |
| *crown prince | 太子 | taishi | 太 | (promoted drunk elephant) |
| dragon horse | 龍馬 | ryūma1 | 馬 | horned falcon |
| dragon king | 龍王 | ryūō | 龍 | soaring eagle |
| drunk elephant | 酔象 | suizō | 象 | crown prince |
| ferocious leopard | 猛豹 | mōhyō | 豹 | bishop |
| *flying ox | 飛牛 | higyū | 牛 | (promoted vertical mover) |
| *flying stag | 飛鹿 | hiroku | 鹿 | (promoted blind tiger) |
| *free boar | 奔猪 | honcho | 猪 | (promoted side mover) |
| free king | 奔王 | honnō1 | 奔 | |
| go-between | 仲人 | chūnin | 仲 | drunk elephant |
| gold general | 金将 | kinshō | 金 | rook |
| *horned falcon | 角鷹 | kakuō | 鷹 | (promoted dragon horse) |
| king (black) | 玉将 | gyokushō | 玉 | |
| king (white) | 王将 | ōshō | 王 | |
| kirin | 麒麟 | kirin | 麒 | lion |
| lance | 香車 | kyōsha | 香 | white horse |
| lion | 獅子 | shishi | 獅 | |
| pawn | 歩兵 | fuhyō | 歩 | tokin (gold general2) |
| phoenix | 鳳凰 | hōō | 鳳 | free king |
| reverse chariot | 反車 | hensha1 | 反 | whale |
| rook | 飛車 | hisha | 飛 | dragon king |
| side mover | 横行 | ōgyō | 横 | free boar |
| silver general | 銀将 | ginshō | 銀 | vertical mover |
| *soaring eagle | 飛鷲 | hijū | 鷲 | (promoted dragon king) |
| *tokin2 | と金 | tokin | と | (promoted pawn) |
| vertical mover | 竪行 | shugyō | 竪 | flying ox |
| *whale | 鯨鯢 | keigei | 鯨 | (promoted reverse chariot) |
| *white horse | 白駒 | hakku1 | 駒 | (promoted lance) |
- 1 The names of 龍馬, 奔王, 反車, and 白駒 are irregular. The regular forms ryūme, hon’ō, hansha, and hakuku are also seen.
- 2 In many accounts of chu shogi, a pawn is described as promoting to gold; the special name tokin for a promoted pawn is in these descriptions restricted to standard shogi. Note that this is simply a naming convention and makes no difference in the movement of the piece.
Promotion
The promotion zone is the 'enemy camp', the farthest four ranks of the board, which are mostly occupied by the opposing player's pieces when the board is first set up. When a promotable piece makes a move within the promotion zone—including entering, leaving, or moving entirely within the zone,—it has the option of "promoting" to a more powerful rank. Promotion is effected by turning the piece over after it moves, revealing the name of its promoted rank. Promotion is not mandatory if the unpromoted piece could move further on a later turn, and in some cases it may be beneficial to leave the piece unpromoted. Promotion is permanent and promoted pieces may not revert to their original rank. If a piece is not promoted upon entering the promotion zone, then it may not promote on the next turn unless it makes a capture, with the exception of pawns: If a pawn does not promote once entering the promotion zone, then it may not promote until it reaches the farthest rank.
Promoting a piece has the effect of changing how that piece moves. See below.
If a pawn or lance reaches the furthest rank, it must promote, since it would otherwise have no legal move on subsequent turns.
Setup
Below is a diagram showing the setup of the players’ pieces. The board setup is symmetrical: the way one player sees their own pieces is the same way that the opposing player sees their pieces.
| 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L | FL | C | S | G | DE | K | G | S | C | FL | L | a |
| RC | B | BT | Ph | Kr | BT | B | RC | b | ||||
| SM | VM | R | DH | DK | FK | Ln | DK | DH | R | VM | SM | c |
| p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | d |
| GB | GB | e | ||||||||||
| f | ||||||||||||
| g | ||||||||||||
| GB | GB | h | ||||||||||
| p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | i |
| SM | VM | R | DH | DK | Ln | FK | DK | DH | R | VM | SM | j |
| RC | B | BT | Kr | Ph | BT | B | RC | k | ||||
| L | FL | C | S | G | K | DE | G | S | C | FL | L | l |
| Legend | ||
| B: bishop | BT: blind tiger | C: copper general |
| DE: drunk elephant | DH: dragon horse | DK: dragon king |
| FK: free king | FL: ferocious leopard | G: gold general |
| GB: go-between | L: lance | Ln: lion |
| K: king | Kr: kirin | p: pawn |
| Ph: phoenix | R: rook | RC: reverse chariot |
| S: silver general | SM: side mover | VM: vertical mover |
Piece movement
An opposing piece is captured by displacement: That is, if a piece moves to a square occupied by an opposing piece, the opposing piece is displaced and removed from the board. A piece cannot move to a square occupied by a friendly piece, that is, by another piece controlled by the moving player.
Each piece on the game moves in a characteristic pattern. Pieces move either orthogonally (that is, forward, backward, left, or right, in the direction of one of the arms of a plus sign, +), or diagonally (in the direction of one of the arms of a multiplication sign, ×). The lion is the sole exception, in that it is not required to move in a straight line.
As stated earlier, this game is based on dai shogi and all of the pieces of this game can be found in dai shogi. The eight types of pieces that where removed all promoted to gold generals, which made for comparatively dull game play.
If a pawn or lance, which cannot retreat or move aside, advances across the board until it reaches the other side, it must promote.
Many pieces are capable of several kinds of movement, with the type of movement most often depending on the direction in which they move. The movement categories are:
Step movers
Some pieces move only one square at a time. If a friendly piece occupies an adjacent square, the moving piece may not move in that direction; if an opposing piece is there, it may be displaced and captured.
The step movers are the king, drunk elephant, blind tigers, ferocious leopards, the generals, go-betweens, and the 12 pawns of each side. Only the king can potentially move in all eight directions.
Jumping pieces
Several pieces can jump, that is, they can pass over any intervening piece, whether friend or foe, with no effect on either. These are the lion, the kirin, and the phoenix. Only the lion can jump in all directions.
Ranging pieces
Many pieces can move any number of empty squares along a straight orthogonal or diagonal line, limited only by the edge of the board. If an opposing piece intervenes, it may be captured by moving to that square and removing it from the board. A ranging piece must stop where it captures, and cannot bypass a piece that is in its way. If a friendly piece intervenes, the moving piece is limited to a distance that stops short of the intervening piece; if the friendly piece is adjacent, it cannot move in that direction at all.
The ranging pieces are the free king, dragon king, dragon horse, rook, bishop, vertical mover, side mover, reverse chariot, and lance. Only the free king can range along all eight directions.
Lion move (multiple capture)
The lion has a sequential multiple-capture ability, called a 'lion move', as do the soaring eagle and horned falcon (promoted dragon king and dragon horse) to a lesser extent. The details of these powerful moves are described for the lion below.
Individual pieces
Following are diagrams that indicate the movement of each piece. Pieces are listed roughly in order, from front to back rows, with pieces making similar moves paired. Pieces with a grey heading start out in the game; those with a blue heading only appear on the board as a promoted piece.
| Notation | |
| ○ | Steps to an adjacent square |
| ☆ | Jumps to a non-adjacent square, bypassing any intervening piece |
| │ | Ranges along a straight line, crossing any number of empty squares |
| ─ | |
| ＼ | |
| ／ | |
| ! | igui (capture without moving) |
| Go-Between 仲人 chūnin | Pawn 歩兵 fuhyō | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ○ | ||||
| 仲 | ||||
| ○ | ||||
- Step: The go-between steps one square directly forward or backward.
- Step: The pawn can only step one square directly forward.
- It must promote upon reaching the farthest rank of the board.
Side Mover 横行 ōgyō Vertical Mover 竪行 shugyō ○ ─ ─ 横 ─ ─ ○ - Range: The side mover can move any number of free squares orthogonally sideways; or,
- Step: It can step one square directly forward or backward.
│ │ ○ 竪 ○ │ │ - Range: The vertical mover can move any number of free squares orthogonally, either forward or backward; or,
- Step: It can take one step directly sideways.
Bishop 角行 kakugyō Rook 飛車 hisha ＼ ／ ＼ ／ 角 ／ ＼ ／ ＼ - Range: The bishop can move any number of free squares along any one of the four diagonals.
- Because it cannot move orthogonally, an unpromoted bishop can only reach half the squares on the board.
│ │ ─ ─ 飛 ─ ─ │ │ - Range: The rook can move any number of free squares along any one of the four orthogonals.
Dragon Horse 龍馬 ryūma Dragon King 龍王 ryūō ＼ ／ ＼ ○ ／ ○ 馬 ○ ／ ○ ＼ ／ ＼ - Range: The dragon horse can move any number of free squares along any one of the four diagonals; or,
- Step: It can take one step in any direction.
│ ○ │ ○ ─ ─ 龍 ─ ─ ○ │ ○ │ - Range: The dragon king can move any number of free squares along any one of the four orthogonals; or,
- Step: It can take one step in any direction.
Lance 香車 kyōsha Reverse Chariot 反車 hensha │ │ 香 - Range: The lance can move any number of free squares directly forward. It cannot return and must promote upon reaching the farthest row.
│ │ 反 │ │ - Ranging: The reverse chariot can move any number of free squares directly forward or backward.
Blind Tiger 盲虎 mōko Ferocious Leopard 猛豹 mōhyō ○ ○ ○ 虎 ○ ○ ○ ○ - Step: The blind tiger can take one step in any direction except directly forward.
○ ○ ○ 豹 ○ ○ ○ - Step: The ferocious leopard can take one step to any of the three squares ahead or three squares behind it, but not directly to either side.
Copper General 銅将 dōshō Silver General 銀将 ginshō ○ ○ ○ 銅 ○ - Step: The copper general can take one step to any of the three squares ahead of it, or else directly backward, giving it four possibilities.
○ ○ ○ 銀 ○ ○ - Step: The silver general can take one step diagonally, or else directly forward, giving it five possibilities.
Gold General 金将 kinshō
Promoted Pawn と金 tokinDrunk Elephant 酔象suizō ○ ○ ○ ○ 金 ○ ○ - Step: The gold general can take one step orthogonally, one else step diagonally forward, giving it six possibilities. The promoted pawn has a different symbol in some game sets, but moves identically.
○ ○ ○ ○ 象 ○ ○ ○ - The drunk elephant can take one step in any direction except directly backward.
Kirin 麒麟 kirin Phoenix 鳳凰 hōō ☆ ○ ○ ☆ 麒 ☆ ○ ○ ☆ - Jump: The kirin can jump to the second square in one of the four orthogonal directions. Or,
- Step: It can take one step diagonally.
- Because of its unusual movement, an unpromoted kirin can only reach half the squares on the board.
☆ ☆ ○ ○ 鳳 ○ ○ ☆ ☆ - Jump: The phoenix can jump to the second square in one of the four diagonal directions. Or,
- Step: It can take one step orthogonally.
Free King 奔王 honnō Flying Stag 飛鹿 hiroku ＼ │ ／ ＼ │ ／ ─ ─ 奔 ─ ─ ／ │ ＼ ／ │ ＼ - Range: The free king can move any number of free squares along any one of the eight orthogonal or diagonal directions.
│ ○ │ ○ ○ 鹿 ○ ○ │ ○ │ - Range: The flying stag can move any number of free squares directly forward or backward; or,
- Step: It can take one step in any direction.
Flying Ox 飛牛 higyū Free Boar 奔猪 honcho ＼ │ ／ ＼ │ ／ 牛 ／ │ ＼ ／ │ ＼ - Range: The flying ox can move any number of free squares forwards, backwards, or diagonally, but not directly to the side.
＼ ／ ＼ ／ ─ ─ 猪 ─ ─ ／ ＼ ／ ＼ - Range: The free boar can move any number of free squares diagonally or to the side, but not directly forward or backward.
Whale 鯨鯢 keigei White Horse 白駒 hakku │ │ 鯨 ／ │ ＼ ／ │ ＼ - Range: The whale can move any number of free squares directly forwards, backwards, or along either rear diagonal.
＼ │ ／ ＼ │ ／ 駒 │ │ - Range: The white horse can move any number of free squares directly backwards, forwards, or along either forward diagonal.
King 玉将 gyokushō, 王将 ōshō Crown Prince 太子 taishi ○ ○ ○ ○ 王 ○ ○ ○ ○ - Step: The king can take one step in any direction.
○ ○ ○ ○ 太 ○ ○ ○ ○ - Step: The crown prince can take one step in any direction, like a king.
- The next three pieces have special movements that involve the ability to move and even capture twice per turn.
Horned Falcon 角鷹 kakuō Soaring Eagle 飛鷲 hijū ＼ ☆ ／ ＼ ! ／ ─ ─ 鷹 ─ ─ ／ │ ＼ ／ │ ＼ - Range: The horned falcon can move any number of free squares along a straight line in any direction except directly forwards.
- Lion move: It can step or jump up to two squares along a line directly forward, potentially capturing two pieces. This power includes igui and skipping a turn (see "Lion"), but not moving off the orthogonal.
☆ │ ☆ ! │ ! ─ ─ 鷲 ─ ─ ／ │ ＼ ／ │ ＼ - Range: The soaring eagle can move any number of free squares along a straight line in any direction except the forward diagonals.
- Lion move: It can step or jump up to two squares along either forward diagonal, potentially capturing two pieces. This power includes igui and skipping a turn (see "Lion"), but not moving off the diagonal.
Lion 獅子 shishi ○ × 2 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 獅 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ! ! ! ☆ ☆ ! 獅 ! ☆ ☆ ! ! ! ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
- Step: The king can take one step in any direction.
- Range: The whale can move any number of free squares directly forwards, backwards, or along either rear diagonal.
- Range: The flying ox can move any number of free squares forwards, backwards, or diagonally, but not directly to the side.
- Range: The free king can move any number of free squares along any one of the eight orthogonal or diagonal directions.
- Step: The gold general can take one step orthogonally, one else step diagonally forward, giving it six possibilities. The promoted pawn has a different symbol in some game sets, but moves identically.
- Step: The copper general can take one step to any of the three squares ahead of it, or else directly backward, giving it four possibilities.
- Step: The blind tiger can take one step in any direction except directly forward.
- Range: The lance can move any number of free squares directly forward. It cannot return and must promote upon reaching the farthest row.
- Area move/double capture: The lion can take a step in any direction up to twice per turn. It can change directions after the first step, and is not restricted to following one of the eight orthogonal or diagonal directions. That is, it can also reach the in-between squares that a knight jumps to in Western chess.
It can continue after a capture on the first step, potentially capturing two pieces per turn.
By returning to its starting square with the second step, it can effectively capture a piece on an adjacent square without moving. This is called 居喰い igui "stationary feeding".
- Jump: The lion can jump anywhere within a distance of two squares. This is equivalent to jumping in any of the eight diagonal or orthogonal directions, or making any of the jumps of a knight in Western chess, or jumping in place. This last move leaves the board unchanged, effectively passing a turn. It is traditionally indicated by tapping the lion and leaving it in place.
- Lion vs. lion: Some game rules state that a lion cannot capture another lion unless certain criteria are met. These rules are designed to keep the lions in play:
- A lion can always capture an adjacent lion.
- It can always capture a non-adjacent lion (on a "☆" square) that is unprotected.
- It may only capture a non-adjacent protected lion if it first captures the protecting piece (double capture), and then only if the protecting piece is something other than a pawn or go-between.
- Finally, if one player captures a lion with a non-lion, the opponent cannot then capture a lion on the next move with anything but another lion (A player may have such a second lion by promoting a kirin) and this may only be done if the rules listed above are met.
Check and mate
When a player makes a move such that the opponent's only remaining royal (king or crown prince) could be captured on the following move, the move is said to give check; the king or crown prince is said to be in check. If a player's king or crown prince is in check and no legal move by that player will get it out of check, the checking move is also mate, and effectively wins the game.
Unlike Western chess, a player need not move out of check in chu shogi, and indeed may even move into check. Although obviously not often a good idea, a player with more than one royal may occasionally sacrifice one of these pieces as part of a gambit.
A player is not allowed to give perpetual check.
Game end
A player who captures the opponent's sole remaining king or crown prince wins the game. In practice this rarely happens, as a player will resign when checkmated, as otherwise when loss is inevitable.
A player who has only one piece left (a bare king or bare crown prince) loses unless he can bare or mate his opponent in the next move.
A player who makes an illegal move loses immediately. (This rule may be relaxed in casual games.)
There are two other possible (but fairly uncommon) ways for a game to end: repetition (sennichite) and impasse (持将棋, jishōgi).
If the same position occurs four times with the same player to play, then the game is no contest. (Recall, however, the prohibition against perpetual check.)
The game reaches an impasse if both kings or crown princes have advanced into their respective promotion zones and neither player can hope to mate the other or to gain any further material.
Game notation
The method used in English-language texts to express shogi moves was established by George Hodges in 1976. It is derived from the algebraic notation used for chess, but modifications have been made for chu shogi.
A typical example is P-8f. The first letter represents the piece moved (see setup above). Promoted pieces have a + added in front of the letter, for example +P for a tokin (promoted pawn). The designation of the piece is followed by a symbol indicating the type of move: - for an ordinary move or x for a capture. Next is the designation for the square on which the piece lands. This consists of a number representing the file and a lowercase letter representing the rank, with 1a being the top right corner (as seen from Black's point of view) and 12l being the bottom left corner. (This method of designating squares is based on Japanese convention, which, however, uses Japanese numerals instead of letters. For example, the square 2c is denoted by 2三 in Japanese.)
If a move entitles the player to promote the piece, then a + is added to the end to signify that the promotion was taken, or an = to indicate that it was declined. For example, PX7d= indicates a pawn capturing on 7d without promoting.
In cases where the above notation would be ambiguous, the designation of the start square is added after the designation for the piece in order to make clear which piece is meant.
When a 'Lion', 'Horned Falcon' or 'Soaring Eagle' captures by 'igui' (that is, without moving), the square of the piece being captured is used instead of the destination square, and this is preceded by the symbol '!'. For example, a Lion on 8c capturing a piece on 9d would be shown as LNx!9d.
When a piece makes a double capture with 'Lion' powers both captures are shown in the order that they were made. For example, a Lion on 3g, capturing a piece on 3h and then capturing another on 2i, would be represented by LNx3hx2i.
Moves are commonly numbered as in chess.
See also
- Shogi variant
- Wa shogi
- Heian dai shogi
- Dai shogi
- Tenjiku shogi
- Dai dai shogi
- Maka dai dai shogi
- Tai Shogi
- Taikyoku shogi
External links
- German Chu Shogi Association (GCSA) with many reports and games to replay online
"Chu shogi"