Samurai Chess!

This forum is for general discussions and questions, including Collectors Corner and anything to do with Computer chess.

Moderators: Harvey Williamson, Steve B, Watchman

Forum rules
This textbox is used to restore diagrams posted with the fen tag before the upgrade.
Post Reply
User avatar
Cyberchess
Full Member
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 6:10 pm

Samurai Chess!

Post by Cyberchess »

Greetings fellow schachcomputer enthusiasts!

We’ve discussed other strategic games played by the computer so I thought it’s high time for a Japanese chess post. Western chess players already know much about shogi as the king moves exactly the same way as a western chess king, and the object of the game is checkmate. Also, it’s worth mentioning that the un-promoted shogi rook and bishop move the same way as their western counterparts.

Unlike western chess, shogi pieces (both black and white) are all the same, and determination of black army versus white army is based solely on the piece’s orientation on the colorless 9x9 matrix board. This scheme allows for a marvelous feature of shogi called “drops”. In western chess, exchanges generally simplify the position, however, in shogi captured pieces become the property of the side that captures them, and that player has the option of dropping them onto any vacant square (certain restrictions apply) on his turn. One must learn to evaluate not only moves which can be made on the board, but also potential piece drops as well.

In western chess, a pawn upon reaching the eighth rank mandatorily promotes to any higher piece other than a king. In shogi, most pieces upon reaching the last 3 ranks have the option of promoting as long as the piece can make a legal move in its current state. Every piece with promotion capability promotes to a gold general with the exception of the rook (promotes to a dragon) and the bishop (promotes to a horse).

As in western chess, computer software is abundant, though there aren’t any dedicated units to the best of my knowledge. In stark contrast to western chess, the best human players are substantially stronger than the best A.I., though as one would expect, the computer is continually improving, and has already long reached the strength of weaker professional players.

The strongest shogi player in the world is Yoshiharu Habu of Japan, and Mr. Habu is also a FIDE rated chess master. The strongest western shogi player is GM Larry Kaufman (5 Dan), and also coauthor of the Komodo chess engine.

Some of my chess playing friends thankfully introduced me to shogi in the early ‘90s, and after the initial learning curve involved in taking up a new game, I found it to be every bit as addictive and often more exciting due to the piece drops.
Drawn games, while quite common in western chess, are quite rare in shogi.

Chess Alternatives Regards,
John
IanO
Member
Posts: 162
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2009 11:43 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Post by IanO »

Shogi is a very fun game, especially if you like the chess variants of bughouse, single board or team. The grade school chess team I coach can't get enough of it! (Though it is a challenge to read the characters on the pieces.)

To turn this back to the favorite topic of this board, were there ever any dedicated Shogi computers? In the realm of Go, I only know of one: a very early effort by Bruce Wilcox (Go Dojo?), a port of his early Nemesis program to a dedicated LCD-screen device. I can't even find a picture of it any more!
User avatar
Cyberchess
Full Member
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 6:10 pm

Post by Cyberchess »

Greetings Ian!

Bughouse is loads of fun, and a great way to teach young people to succeed by cooperating with each other. Yet another chess variant we used to play was team chess whereby 2 teams consisting of 2 players each take turns moving on one board. Of course, stronger players blaming their weaker team members for inferior moves wound up killing this for the most part, though if you have the right players it can be a lot of fun.

Prior to learning shogi, my chess variant of choice was 3-D chess played on 3 translucent Lucite boards placed in cascading fashion. The problem was, while many 3-D sets were sold in the 1970’s thru the early 80’s, the instruction manual was usually printed in Hong Kong, translated poorly, and grossly incomplete. After much experimentation and debate, we appended the rules to make for a chess variant that was interesting, exciting and quite playable. In fact, at the time I was quite certain that 3-D chess would eventually replace traditional chess much the same way traditional chess replaced its predecessors. Sadly, this interesting alternative all but went extinct in the late 80’s, and is now relegated to the dustbin of so many failed chess variants.

At about the same that I was was taught the rules of shogi, I was also versed in xiangqi (Chinese chess) and makruk (Thai chess), though I never actually played a game of xiangqi because I didn’t like the different kanji (script) used on the opposing armies and the fact that the pieces play on the corners rather than on the center of the squares as in other forms of chess. I’ve yet to come across a dedicated unit that plays any of these games, but that isn’t to say that none exists anywhere.

Subsequent to being taught all the rules, I wanted to practice what I had learned at home, so I purchased a copy of Shogi Master published by the long defunct Ishi Press (1991) and downloaded a shareware makruk program from a BBS before the internet was commercialized. Shogi Master was quite professional in both appearance and features, though the shareware makruk program was monochrome and very bare bones even though it beat me mercilessly. At the very least, I practiced with it enough that I felt that I could assert myself if I were on the streets of Phnom Penh.

My shogi playing friends would occasionally show up in the chess park with bowls of polished black and white stones, though I never learned to play go, and likewise have never come across a dedicated unit for said.

Would you perchance own an Android OS smartphone?

Many Flavors Of Checkmate Regards,
John
User avatar
Cyberchess
Full Member
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 6:10 pm

Post by Cyberchess »

Free Shogi Lessons!

Well, if you were curious about trying your hand at Japanese chess but didn’t know how to get started, this most excellent series of YouTube video lessons by Hidetchi will set you on the right path.
You will come to learn that the concepts of forks, skewers, discoveries, and pins that you were familiarized with in western chess apply equally in shogi. In fact, chess players have a much easier time learning to play shogi than do non-chess players, and are already way ahead of the game from the get-go!

Simply start at Hidetchi’s YouTube Channel Menu and choose the series appropriate to your experience level.
Beginners should start with the “How To Play Shogi” Lesson #1- Introduction.

Once you complete the first series, I will reward you by teaching you how to play other beginners online and download free shogi software so that you may practice with your PC.
You may also want to download shogi software for your smartphone or tablet (highly recommended).

School Bell Regards,
John
Post Reply