3 <title>Sho Shogi</title>
4 <link rel=StyleSheet href="./moves.css" type="text/css">
5 <script type="text/javascript" src="chu.js"></script>
7 <h1>Sho Shogi (precurser of modern Japanese Chess)</h1>
9 Sho Shogi means 'small Shogi', and was one of the smaller variants of Japanese Chess,
10 living in the shadow of its far more popular big brother, Chu Shogi ('middle Shogi').
11 Until people invented piece drops for the captured pieces.
12 The small game was much more suitable for playing with piece drops,
13 and a small adaptation (eliminating the Elephant) made it into the modern game.
14 While Chu Shogi is in fact utterly unsuitable for playing with drops.
15 And in the end, the drops won the day!
17 <table cellpadding="20"><tr><td>
20 <h3>Initial setup</h3>
30 d1, d8, f1, f8: Gold General
32 c1, c8, g1, g8: Silver General
34 b1, b8, h1, h8: (Shogi) Knight
42 <h3>Moves at a Glance</h3>
44 <p>Click on a piece below to see its moves</p>
46 <table class="board"><tr><td class="n" id="0x9">
48 </td><td class="n" id="1x9">
50 </td><td class="n" id="2x9">
52 </td><td class="n" id="3x9">
54 </td><td class="n" id="4x9">
56 </td><td class="n" id="5x9">
58 </td><td class="n" id="6x9">
60 </td><td class="n" id="7x9">
62 </td><td class="n" id="8x9">
64 </td><td class="n" id="9x9">
66 </td></tr><tr><td class="n" id="0x8">
68 </td><td class="n" id="1x8">
70 </td><td class="n" id="2x8">
72 </td><td class="n" id="3x8">
74 </td><td class="n" id="4x8">
76 </td><td class="n" id="5x8">
78 </td><td class="n" id="6x8">
80 </td><td class="n" id="7x8">
82 </td><td class="n" id="8x8">
84 </td><td class="n" id="9x8">
86 </td></tr><tr><td class="n" id="0x7">
88 </td><td class="n" id="1x7">
90 </td><td class="n" id="2x7">
92 </td><td class="n" id="3x7" onmouseDown="down_click(3,7)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
93 <img src="sym/WhiteGold.png">
94 </td><td class="n" id="4x7" onmouseDown="down_click(4,7)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
95 <img src="sym/WhiteAdvisor.png">
96 </td><td class="n" id="5x7">
98 </td><td class="n" id="6x7">
100 </td><td class="n" id="7x7">
102 </td><td class="n" id="8x7">
104 </td><td class="n" id="9x7">
106 </td></tr><tr><td class="n" id="0x6">
108 </td><td class="n" id="1x6">
110 </td><td class="n" id="2x6">
112 </td><td class="n" id="3x6">
114 </td><td class="n" id="4x6">
116 </td><td class="n" id="5x6">
118 </td><td class="n" id="6x6" onmouseDown="down_click(6,6)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
119 <img src="sym/WhiteKing.png">
120 </td><td class="n" id="7x6" onmouseDown="down_click(7,6)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
121 <img src="sym/WhiteElephant.png">
122 </td><td class="n" id="8x6">
124 </td><td class="n" id="9x6">
126 </td></tr><tr><td class="n" id="0x5">
128 </td><td class="n" id="1x5">
130 </td><td class="n" id="2x5">
132 </td><td class="n" id="3x5">
134 </td><td class="n" id="4x5">
136 </td><td class="n" id="5x5">
138 </td><td class="n" id="6x5" onmouseDown="down_click(6,5)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
139 <img src="sym/WhiteCrownedRook.png">
140 </td><td class="n" id="7x5" onmouseDown="down_click(7,5)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
141 <img src="sym/WhiteRook.png">
142 </td><td class="n" id="8x5">
144 </td><td class="n" id="9x5">
146 </td></tr><tr><td class="n" id="0x4">
148 </td><td class="n" id="1x4">
150 </td><td class="n" id="2x4">
152 </td><td class="n" id="3x4">
154 </td><td class="n" id="4x4">
156 </td><td class="n" id="5x4">
158 </td><td class="n" id="6x4" onmouseDown="down_click(6,4)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
159 <img src="sym/WhiteCrownedBishop.png">
160 </td><td class="n" id="7x4" onmouseDown="down_click(7,4)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
161 <img src="sym/WhiteBishop.png">
162 </td><td class="n" id="8x4">
164 </td><td class="n" id="9x4">
166 </td></tr><tr><td class="n" id="0x3">
168 </td><td class="n" id="1x3">
170 </td><td class="n" id="2x3">
172 </td><td class="n" id="3x3">
174 </td><td class="n" id="4x3">
176 </td><td class="n" id="5x3">
178 </td><td class="n" id="6x3">
180 </td><td class="n" id="7x3">
182 </td><td class="n" id="8x3">
184 </td><td class="n" id="9x3">
186 </td></tr><tr><td class="n" id="0x2">
188 </td><td class="n" id="1x2">
190 </td><td class="n" id="2x2">
192 </td><td class="n" id="3x2" onmouseDown="down_click(3,2)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
193 <img src="sym/WhiteKnight.png">
194 </td><td class="n" id="4x2" onmouseDown="down_click(4,2)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
195 <img src="sym/WhiteLance.png">
196 </td><td class="n" id="5x2">
198 </td><td class="n" id="6x2" onmouseDown="down_click(6,2)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
199 <img src="sym/WhitePawn.png">
200 </td><td class="n" id="7x2">
202 </td><td class="n" id="8x2">
204 </td><td class="n" id="9x2">
206 </td></tr><tr><td class="n" id="0x1">
208 </td><td class="n" id="1x1">
210 </td><td class="n" id="2x1">
212 </td><td class="n" id="3x1">
214 </td><td class="n" id="4x1">
216 </td><td class="n" id="5x1">
218 </td><td class="n" id="6x1">
220 </td><td class="n" id="7x1">
222 </td><td class="n" id="8x1">
224 </td><td class="n" id="9x1">
226 </td></tr><tr><td class="n" id="0x0">
228 </td><td class="n" id="1x0">
230 </td><td class="n" id="2x0">
232 </td><td class="n" id="3x0">
234 </td><td class="n" id="4x0">
236 </td><td class="n" id="5x0">
238 </td><td class="n" id="6x0">
240 </td><td class="n" id="7x0">
242 </td><td class="n" id="8x0">
244 </td><td class="n" id="9x0">
248 <p id="piece" height="20">:<br>:<br>:<br>:</p>
250 <table cellpadding="5" border="1"><tr><td>
257 Moves (<a href="Betza.html">Betza notation</a>)
299 <b>Promotes to a second King</b>
350 </td></tr><tr><td colspan="5">
351 Promoted pieces (not initially present)
373 <h3>Pawn peculiarities</h3>
375 <li>Pawns move <b>and capture</b> straight ahead.</li>
376 <li>It is forbidded to have more than one Pawn in the same file.</li>
377 <li>It is forbidden to checkmate the opponent with a Pawn drop.</p>
379 <h3>General rules</h3>
381 <li>The game is won by capturing the opponent's only King.</li>
382 <li>Pieces promote at the end of a move into, in or out of the promotion zone.</li>
383 <li>The promotion zone consists of the last three ranks.</li>
384 <li>Perpetual checking is forbidden, and would be ruled a loss on the 4-fold repeat.</li>
386 <h3>XBoard interface issues</h3>
388 Sho Shogi is not a standard variant in XBoard.
389 It has to be played in XBoard by selecting regular Shogi
390 after having set the holdings-size override in the New Variant dialog to 0, to disable piece drops.
391 This is not all, however; the pieceToCharTable has to be changed to tell XBoard that the Elephant participates.
392 This can unfortunately only be done through command-line options.
395 It is therefore best to put all options needed to massage XBoard into playing this variant in a settings file sho.xop.
396 On install .xop files are associated with XBoard, so clicking them would start XBoard with the options in that file.
397 You could then set everything in the file needed to start in Sho-Shogi mode:
401 -pieceToCharTable "PNBRLSE..G.+.++.++Kpnbrlse..g.+.++.++k"
403 Since the game is just a subset of regular Shogi, legality testing can remain on.
404 You could also specify your favorite Sho-Shogi engine with -fcp in that file.
407 Of course there will always be people that prefer an oriental look, with pentagonal kanji tiles.
408 XBoard comes with a set of kanji pieces in the 'themes/shogi' sub-directory of its data directory
409 (e.g. /usr/local/share/games/xboard).
410 You can select that as -pieceImageDirectory (-pid for short) from the command line, or from the View -> Board dialog.
411 You would also have to tick 'Flip black pieces Shogi style' there (or use the option <b>-flipBlack true</b>)
412 to make sure the pieces won't go upside down when you flip the view.
414 <h3>Differences with FIDE</h3>
416 In stead of Queens you have Silver and Gold Generals, and Lances.
417 The Knight only has the two forward-most moves of a FIDE Knight.
418 Pawns capture straight ahead.
419 There is no castling, Pawn double-push or e.p. capture.
420 Other pieces than Pawns also promote.
421 The promotion zone is three ranks deep in stead of one.
422 You have an Elphant that can promote to a second King.
424 <h3>Strategy issues</h3>
426 Most pieces are quite slow, or not manoeuvrable at all, and their practical value is very dependent on how far they are from the Kings.