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- -One good way to improve at shogi is to solve mating problems. There are -several types of these problems, but the most common is called a -"tsume-shogi" problem, or "tsume" problem for short. In a tsume -problem, all pieces that are not on the board are assumed to be in the -opponent's hand (except for your King, which is usually not shown). -Every move you make must be check until the final checkmate. Your -opponent may play any piece on the board or drop any of his pieces in -hand in order to prevent the mate. In a properly constructed tsume -problem, all of your pieces on the board and in hand must be essential -to the solution. One consequence of this is that all of your pieces in -hand must be played during the solution. There should only be one -correct solution for the given number of moves. Tsume problems use -Japanese-style move numbering; thus, a problem where you move (and give -check), your opponent moves, and you move to give checkmate is called a -three-mover. Here is a really trivial three-mover: -
-
- 3 2 1
-----------------+
-| | | | a
-----------------+
-| | | wK | b
-----------------+
-| | | | c
-----------------+
-| bN | | | d
-----------------+
-| | | | e
-----------------+
-| | bN | | f
-----------------+
-
- -Black in hand: S, G -
- -Here, Black plays G*2b, White plays K1c, and Black plays G*1d mate. -More typical tsume problems range from 5 moves to arbitrarily high -numbers of moves, and they can be quite brain-busting. Tsume problems -may seem artificial, but in the closing stages of the game where both -players have a lot of pieces in hand, it is often necessary to give -check at every move, or else your opponent will start a counterattack -and will mate you before you mate him. A tsume problem is a worst-case -scenario for the attacker: you have to mate your opponent even though he -has every piece not on the board in hand, which means you have to -develop sharp attacking skills. Many more tsume problems can be found -on the internet; I particularly recommend Patrick Davin's "Shogi -Nexus" (see section 5. References and links). -
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