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+<TITLE>GNU Shogi manual - Differences between shogi and chess</TITLE>
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+
+
+<H2><A NAME="SEC19">Differences between shogi and chess</A></H2>
+<P>
+<A NAME="IDX24"></A>
+
+
+<P>
+Some differences between shogi and international chess have been
+mentioned elsewhere in this document; I summarize them here for people
+who are interested in game comparisons. I won't try to deal with the
+thorny question of which game is "better" although my bias may have
+already come through :-) In fact, the drop rule makes the two games so
+different in character that arguing over which game is better is like
+comparing apples to oranges (you'd be better off comparing chess to Chu
+shogi (see section <A HREF="gnushogi_15.html#SEC18">Shogi variants</A>). However, I believe that if you are a
+chess fan you'll really like shogi as well, and shogi is also popular
+with many people who don't particularly like chess.
+
+
+<P>
+Here are the significant differences between chess and shogi:
+
+
+
+<OL>
+
+<LI>
+
+In shogi, captured pieces become the property of the capturer and can
+re-enter play by being dropped onto almost any vacant square. In chess,
+captured pieces are out of the game. Thus, in shogi, piece exchanges
+complicate the play significantly while in chess they simplify it.
+
+<LI>
+
+The shogi board is 9x9; the chess board is 8x8.
+
+<LI>
+
+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. Pieces in shogi
+generally have a much smaller range of movement than in chess (unless
+they are in hand).
+
+<LI>
+
+In shogi, all pieces except the gold general and the king can promote,
+but only to one kind of piece. Promotion is easier in shogi because the
+promotion zone is closer to the starting position of the pieces
+(especially pawns). In chess, only the pawn can promote, but it can
+promote to any other piece except the king.
+
+<LI>
+
+In shogi, pawns capture the same way they move. There is no initial
+two-space pawn move and hence no <EM>en-passant</EM> captures. In chess,
+pawns capture diagonally which means that opposing pawns can block each
+other.
+
+<LI>
+
+In shogi, you only have one rook and one bishop. Note that the bishop
+is not restricted to only one "color" square (squares in shogi aren't
+colored, but never mind) because promoted bishops can also move one
+square orthogonally.
+
+<LI>
+
+There is no special castling move in shogi. The term "castle" is
+used in shogi to denote a defensive formation consisting of (usually)
+three generals which protect the king. There are many such castles
+(about 40 or so have names). See section <A HREF="gnushogi_13.html#SEC16">Sample game</A>.
+
+<LI>
+
+Draws are much rarer in shogi than in chess. Perpetual check is not
+allowed. Stalemate is a virtual impossibility, and is a loss for the
+stalematee.
+
+<LI>
+
+Since pieces are never out of play in shogi, chess-type endgames
+involving only a few pieces do not occur.
+
+<LI>
+
+Shogi games are generally longer than chess games (about 60-70 moves is
+typical).
+
+<LI>
+
+Shogi has a well-developed handicap system which is in general use;
+chess does not.
+
+</OL>
+
+<P>
+The effects of all these differences on play include (in my opinion):
+
+
+
+<OL>
+
+<LI>
+
+Piece/pawn structures in chess are more rigid than in shogi. Pawns
+block each other and pawns, once advanced, cannot ever retreat. In
+shogi, you can repair the hole caused by a pawn advance by exchanging
+the pawn and dropping it back where you want it. Thus shogi is more
+fluid than chess and less "structural".
+
+<LI>
+
+Counterattack is MUCH more common in shogi than in chess. Games
+typically end in mutual mating attacks, where each player is trying to
+checkmate the other player before being checkmated himself. This makes
+tempo incredibly important and also makes sacrificial play quite common.
+
+<LI>
+
+Attacks involving only ranging pieces are more a feature of chess than
+of shogi. A shogi attack typically uses a ranging piece or pieces to
+support an attack by short-range pieces (especially generals). It is
+very rare to mate a king with a non-adjacent ranging piece in shogi
+since the player whose king is threatened can almost always interpose by
+dropping a piece.
+
+</OL>
+
+<P></P><HR>
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