From: Yann Dirson
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-GNU Shogi manual
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--
- 1. Introduction What is GNU shogi? - GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE The GNU General Public License. - 2. About the game of shogi General information, rules, etc. - 3. gnushogi How to play GNU shogi (gnushogi). - 4. xshogi The X interface to GNU shogi. - 5. References and links Where to go for more information. - 6. Acknowledgements - 7. Bugs Where and how to report bugs. - 8. Index
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- -GNU shogi is a program that plays shogi, the Japanese version of chess, -against a human (or computer) opponent. This file describes how to use -GNU shogi and also gives background information about the game of shogi. -
- -This file describes GNU shogi version 1.3.2. It was written by me, Mike -Vanier, the current maintainer of GNU shogi. My email address is -mvanier@cs.caltech.edu. -
- -GNU shogi is actually two programs: -
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- -Since xshogi invokes gnushogi, most players will just type "xshogi" -and start playing. -
- -Disclaimer: I use the personal pronouns "him", "his" etc. to refer -to a shogi player regardless of gender. That's easier than writing -"his or her" all over the place. I don't mean to infer that women -don't play shogi; in fact shogi is very popular in Japan among women as -well as men. -
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- -When a player captures a piece, that piece is not removed from play. -Instead, it becomes the property of the capturer and can re-enter play -by being placed on (almost) any vacant square during the player's move. -This is known as a "drop" and counts as a full move (in other words, -you can either move a piece on the board or drop a piece onto the board -during your move, but not both). All pieces drop in the unpromoted -state. Pieces may be legally dropped in their promotion zone, but they -do not promote on that turn. -
- -There are several restrictions on drops: -
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- -It is entirely permissible (and often advisable) to drop a piece or pawn -between one's King and an attacking ranging piece. For this reason, -the final checkmating move is nearly always an attack on the King from -an adjacent square (except for an attack by a Knight). -
- -Captured pieces are said to be pieces "in hand". -
- -The drop is the primary distinguishing feature of Japanese chess, shared -with no other popular chess-type game. It gives shogi a very aggressive -quality, and dramatically increases the number of possible moves once a -few pieces have been captured. Another interesting feature of shogi is -that exchanges complicate play rather than simplifying it (as in -international chess), because of the drop rule. -
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- -A game of shogi is won by capturing the opponent's king. In general, -this is done by checkmating the king: attacking the king in such a way -that the king cannot be defended no matter what the defending player -moves. Note, though, that there is no rule that requires a player to -defend a king which is being attacked. However, if he does not defend -his king, the opponent is entirely free to capture it on the next move, -thus winning the game. As in international chess, in practice most -games end by resignation when one player realizes that he cannot escape -checkmate. -
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- -There are very few draws in shogi; only about 1-2% of professional games -end in a draw. One reason for this is that material can never be -depleted as in chess, because captured pieces are constantly re-entering -play as a consequence of the drop rule. In fact, most of the ways a -game can be drawn in chess are not allowed in shogi: -
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- -There are only two legal ways in which a draw can occur: -
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- -Of course, a player can refuse to count pieces when he still has mating -chances or chances to gain material which would affect the outcome of -the counting. There is no strict rule about what to do if this is not -the case, but nonetheless a player refuses to count up (e.g. because he -does not have enough points for a draw). It has been generally accepted -that in such a case the game ends and the pieces are counted after one -player has managed to get all his pieces protected in the promotion -zone. -
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- -Unlike international chess, shogi has a well-established handicap system -which is used when players of different strengths play against each -other. Handicaps range from small to huge, which makes it possible for -weak players to play against even very strong players and have an even -chance of winning. -
- -Shogi players are ranked as follows: the weakest rank is around 15 -"kyu", which represents a beginner. 14 kyu is higher than 15 kyu, 13 -kyu is higher still, and so on until you get to 1 kyu. The next highest -rank is 1 "dan", followed by 2 dan, 3 dan and so forth. The highest -amateur rank is 6 dan; professionals go up to 9 dan. However, -professional ranks are not the same as amateur ranks; a professional 1 -dan is much stronger than an amateur 1 dan. This system is -similar to that used by go players (and also other Japanese sports such -as karate). -
- -A handicap consists of the stronger player playing White and removing -one or more pieces from his side of the board at the start of the game. -These pieces are permanently removed from play; they are not in hand. -
- -The following is a list of the accepted handicaps, from weakest to -strongest. The degree of the handicap, represented by the position in -the list, represents the difference in rank between the two players for -which the handicap is appropriate. These rules are taken from the books -"Shogi for Beginners" by John Fairbairn and "The Art of Shogi" by -Tony Hoskings (see section 5. References and links) and, I believe, represent -current Japanese practice. -
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- -Another advantage of playing handicap games is that the handicaps alter -the optimal strategy for both players. For instance, handicaps all have -their own opening lines which may bear little or no resemblance to those -used in non-handicap shogi. This means that when learning handicap -shogi, you are essentially learning completely new games which use the -same equipment! -
- -The reader may wonder how on earth a player giving an eight-piece -handicap, say, could possibly hope to win. Don't forget, though, that -in shogi the opponent's pieces can be captured and then become part of -one's own army. Thus, if the opponent plays badly enough, the number of -pieces will soon even out. -
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- -Here are a few miscellaneous things that may confuse chess players. -Some of these have been mentioned elsewhere, but they bear repeating. -
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- -This game was annotated by Pieter Stouten (see section 5. References and links). I have made some minor corrections. Note that captures are -denoted by the "x" symbol e.g. Rx3f and drops are denoted by the "*" -symbol e.g. R*3f. Check is indicated by a "+" after the move, -e.g. R3f+. I recommend you use gnushogi/xshogi to play along with this -game. In xshogi simply hit the "Force Moves" button after starting -up, while in gnushogi enter the word "force" at the prompt. This will -allow you to enter moves for both sides. -
- -Note also that the move numbering system used here is the chess-type -system where one move means one move by each player. The Japanese count -one move made by each player as two moves. -
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
- -Below you will find (the English translation of) an annotated game which -was published in the Dutch Shogi magazine "81" and in the Dutch -beginners booklet. It has proven to be a very useful game to explain -some basic principles of Shogi. Also, it is a rather straightforward -game compared to professional games where in most cases very diffuse -middle game fights take place. -
- - Pieter Stouten, 14th May 1990. -
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
- -Black: Michael Trent (1-dan). White: David Murphy (2-dan). -
-
- 1. P2f P3d 2. P2e B3c
-[ This move is necessary, as otherwise white can exchange pawns: 3. P2d
-Px2d 4. Rx2d. He would thus get a pawn in hand and open up his rook
-file. ]
-
-
- 3. P7f P4d
-[ White closes the bishop diagonal again. He plans to play ranging rook
-(the rook goes to 5b, 4b, 3 or 2b; a defensive strategy) and in that
-case he'd better avoid an exchange of bishops. One of the reasons is
-that he will have problems developing his pieces without leaving holes
-for bishop drops. ]
-
-
- 4. S4h R3b 5. P3f S4b 6. K6h K6b
-[ In general the rook plays an important role in the attacks. It is
-wise to move the king away from the area where the initial fights will
-be and both players act according to the Shogi proverb "keep the rook
-and king apart". ]
-
-
- 7. K7h K7b 8. P5f P5d 9. G4i-5h G4a-5b
-[ Both players use their second gold general to build their castle. ]
-
-
- 10. S6h
-[ In itself this move is not bad. However, it will become clear that
-black plans a quick attack and in that case it is wiser to omit this
-move. ]
-
-
- 10... S5c 11. P1f P1d
-[ The advance of the edge pawns must be timed very well. The remark at
-black's tenth move applies here too: this move is good if black wants to
-play a slow game, because it eliminates a future B1e. ]
-
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- 12. P4f K8b 13. N3g S7b
-[ Black develops his knight in order to start an attack over the second,
-third and fourth files. White strengthens his king's position and
-awaits the attack. He aims at a counterattack as soon as black has
-broken through into the white camp. Probably white's breakthrough will
-take place later, but he has good compensation in the form of a stronger
-castle. This theme occurs very often in static rook versus ranging rook
-games. ]
-
-
- 14. P4e R4b
-[ Black starts his attack and white puts up a very passive defence. His
-rook has a hard task now to penetrate the black position. Moreover, he
-blocks his own bishop. It seems much better to start a counterattack
-with 14... P3e, later to be followed by B2b, B5a or Bx4d in order to use
-his rook more actively. ]
-
-
- 15. Px4d Sx4d 16. P*4e S5c
-[ 16... Sx4e is more active. A silver general is normally more valuable
-than a knight, but white gets two pawns in hand and black none, while
-the knight might come in handy for white too. ]
-
-
- 17. Bx3c+ Nx3c 18. P2d Px2d
-[ Black threatens to break through and white has to consider taking the
-pawn on 2d or starting a counterattack with Nx4e. If he chooses the
-latter, black can play Px2c+ followed by +P3c. The disadvantage is the
-black "tokin" (=promoted pawn) that white will get in his camp; the
-advantage is that it will cost black two more moves to promote his rook.
-Because white did not trust that the result after engaging in a
-"semeai" (=mutual attack) with 18...Nx4e would give a positive result,
-he captured the pawn on 2d. Making the right decision in moments like
-this often makes the difference between a win and a loss: miss one
-attacking chance and you will be forced to defend the whole game until
-the unavoidable defeat; on the other hand, an unsound attack can destroy
-all "aji" (=potential, meaning possibilities, threats) without getting
-anything in return. ]
-
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- 19. Rx2d Nx4e 20. Nx4e Rx4e 21. R2a+ P*4g
-[ Now it becomes clear why black's 10. S6h was not good. Had this move
-been omitted, then white would not have had the time to play 13... S7b
-and after R2a+ the gold on 6a would hang. Thus black would have kept
-"sente" (=initiative). Instead of 21... P*4g, B*6d is a very good
-move, because after 22. P*2h black does not have a pawn in hand anymore
-and he is being threatened with the annoying 22... N*4f 23. G5g N3h+
-24. S4g +N4h also. Black can also counter 21... B*6d with 22. N*3g.
-White would then reply with 22... R4b 23. B*3c P*4g 24. Bx4b+ Sx4b. The
-white rook has played its role and instead of spending moves on saving
-it white starts to scatter black's defences by successive pawn drops on
-the fourth file: 25. Gx4g P*4f 26. G5g N*6e 27. G5h P4g+ 28. Gx4g P*4f.
-This analysis was provided by Kato Hifumi, 9-dan professional (the
-highest regular grade). Destroying the coherence of the enemy pieces
-(their shape) by dropping pawns is one of the most important Shogi
-techniques. With the actual move 21... P*4g white missed a good
-chance. ]
-
-
- 22. Sx4g P*4f 23. B*3g Px4g+ 24. +Rx6a +Px3g
-[ 23. B*3g seems pointless, but a closer look reveals that it is
-actually quite mean. On move 24 white cannot capture black's "Ryu"
-(=dragon =promoted rook) with his silver: 24... Sx6a 25. N*7d K7b
-26. G*8b mate. By attacking the front of the white castle and
-threatening to mate him there, black has the chance to break down the
-white defences from the side. ]
-
-
- 25. +Rx5b S*6b
-[ Here 25... B*4d would be much better, because it is defensive and
-attacking at the same time. After e.g. 26. G*4c Bx9i+ 27. Gx5c black
-threatens 28. +Rx7b Kx7b 29. S*6a K8b 30. S*7a Kx7a 31. G*7b mate.
-White is one move quicker, however. He has the following beautiful
-"tsume" (mating sequence where every move is check): 27... N*8f 28. Px8f
-S*8g 29. Kx8g B*9h 30. K7h Bx8i+ 31. K8g +B8i-8h 32. K9f L*9e mate.
-This illustrates the sharpness of Shogi: one move can make the
-difference between winning and losing. ]
-
-
- 26. P*4f Rx4f
-[ This move eliminates white's last chances. 26... R4b 27. +Rx4b Sx4b
-28. R*4a seems annoying, but after 28... B*3c 29. S7g B*3b white wins
-the rook and with his "tokin" on 3g there still is some hope. ]
-
-
- 27. N*6e +P4g
-[ White cannot defend anymore, so he starts a desperate attack. Black
-does not lose the right track, however. ]
-
-
- 28. Nx5c+ +Px5h 29. +Nx6b +Px6h 30. Gx6h N*8f 31. Px8f B*6i 32. Gx6i
- R4h+ 33. N*6h +Rx6h 34. Gx6h S*8g 35. Kx8g N*9e 36. K7h Resigns
-[ White resigns here, because after 36... B*8g 27. K7g his attack has
-petered out. ]
-
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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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- -Several historical variants of shogi exist. Most of these were invented -before modern shogi (in some cases hundreds of years before), are much -larger than modern shogi and are not played with drops. Thus, in many -ways they are really more like giant chess games than like modern shogi. -The only one of these games to have survived in Japan is Chu (middle) -shogi, which is still played a little bit. Thanks to the efforts of -George Hodges and John Fairbairn of the Shogi Association (two British -shogi enthusiasts), these games were resurrected and rules and sets for -them can still be purchased from George Hodges (see section 5. References and links). I hope to eventually extend GNU shogi so that it can play at -least some of these games. There are also several non-historical -variants of shogi; I don't know much about them but you can find -information about them on the internet (see section 5. References and links). -
- -The historical variants include: -
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- -It is thought that the really huge games (Dai-dai and up) were never -really played to any significant extent (gee, wonder why?) and were -devised merely so that the creators could have the fun of inventing -enormous games, amazing their friends and confounding their enemies. -However, the games up to Tenjiku shogi at least appear to be quite -playable, assuming one has the time. -
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- -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 2.4 Shogi variants). 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. -
- -Here are the significant differences between chess and shogi: -
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- -The effects of all these differences on play include (in my opinion): -
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- -This section describes how to run the "gnushogi" program. -
- -SYNOPSIS - -
- -gnushogi [ [[-]a] [-b bookfile] [-B binbookfile] [-C] [-h langfile] -[-L langfile] [-r length] [-R] [-s pathname] [-l pathname] [-S binbooksize] -[-t] [-c size] [-T size] [-v] [-x] [-X] arg1 arg2 ] -
- -DESCRIPTION -
- -GNU shogi (gnushogi) plays a game of japanese chess (shogi) against the -user or it plays against itself. -
- -At startup gnushogi reads the binbook file if it is present. It then -looks for a book file. If it is present it adds its contents to the -binbook data. If the binbook file is writable a new combined binbook -file is written. -
- -Gnushogi is a modified version of the gnuchess program. It has a simple -alphanumeric board display, or it can be used with the xshogi program -under X windows. The program gets its opening moves from the file -gnushogi.bbk which is located in a directory specified in the Makefile. -To invoke the program type: -
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- -TIME CONTROLS -
- -If one argument is given, it is the search time per move in -[minutes:]seconds. So gnushogi 30 will generate one move every 30 -seconds, while gnushogi 5:00 will generate one move every 5 minutes. -
- -If two or more arguments are given, they will be used to set tournament -time controls with the first argument of each pair being the number of -moves and the second being the total clock time in minutes[:seconds]. -Thus, entering gnushogi 60 5 will set the clocks for 5 minutes (300 -seconds) for the first 60 moves, and gnushogi 30 3:30 will allow 3 -minutes and 30 seconds for 30 moves. -
- -gnushogi 30 5 1 :30 will allow 5 minutes for the first 30 moves and 30 -seconds for each move after that. Up to 4 pairs of controls may be -specified. -
- -If no argument is given the program will prompt the user for level of -play. -
- -For use with xshogi see the documentation on that program. -See section 4. xshogi. -
- -BOOK -
- -The book gnushogi.tbk consists of a sequence of openings. An opening -begins with a line starting with a # (the rest of the line is a comment). -Following this is a series of moves in algebraic notation alternating -between black and white separated by whitespace. A move may have a ? -after it indicating this move should never be made in this position. Moves -are stored as position:move so transpositions between openings can take -place. -
- -HASHFILE -
- -The hashfile if created should be on the order of 4 megabytes; you can -create such a hashfile by typing "gnushogi -c 22" (see below). This -file contains positions and moves learned from previous games. If a -hashfile is used the computer makes use of the experience it gained in -past games. Tests run so far show that it plays no worse with the -hashfile than without, but it is not clear yet whether it provides a -real advantage. -
- -LEGAL MOVES -
- -Note: Piece letters are determined by the language file. What is -specified here is the default (English). -
- -Once gnushogi is invoked, the program will display the board and prompt -the user for a move. To enter a move, use the notation 7g7f where the -first letter-number pair indicates the origin square and the second -letter-number pair indicates the destination square. An alternative is -to use the notation P7f where the first letter indicates the piece type -(P,L,N,S,G,B,R,K). To promote append a + the type of the new piece to -the move, as in 2d2c+ or P2c+. Note that you must use capital letters -for the pieces by default. -
- -COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS -
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- -COMMANDS -
- -In addition to legal moves, the following commands can be entered at the -gnushogi prompt. Note: command names are determined by the language -file and may vary with the implementation. The default language is -English. -
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- -Pieces are entered by typing a letter (p,l,n,s,g,b,r,k) for -the piece followed by the coordinate. Here, letter case is ignored. -
- -The usual warning about the language file applies. -
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- -
Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc. -675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA - -Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies -of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. - |
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- -This section describes how to run the "xshogi" program. -
- -SYNOPSIS -
- -xshogi [ options ] -
- -DESCRIPTION -
- -xshogi provides an X11/Xt/Athena Widgets user interface for gnushogi. -With xshogi you can play gnushogi, set up arbitrary positions, force -variations, or watch xshogi manage a game between two shogi programs. -Furthermore, it can be used as an interface between two players on -different displays. -
- -xshogi can also be used as a shogi board to play out games. It will -read through a game file or allow a player to play through a variation -manually (force mode). This is useful for keeping track of email postal -games or browsing games off the net. -
- -After starting xshogi, you can make moves by pressing mouse button 1 -while the cursor is over a square with your piece on it and dragging the -mouse to another square. If the move is illegal, gnushogi will not -allow it. xshogi will then retract the move. -
- -COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS -
- -The following command line options also correspond to X resources that -you can set in your .Xdefaults file. -
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- -OTHER X RESOURCES -
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- -Alternate bitmaps for piece icons can be specified either by choosing -one of the built-in sets or with the file name resources described -above. There are three built-in sets of piece bitmaps available, large -(the default), medium, or small. It is easiest to select the set you -prefer in the .Xdefaults file: -
- - XShogi*boardSize: Medium -
- -The font used for button labels and comments can be changed in the -.Xdefaults file. You may want to choose a smaller font if you are using -the small pieces: -
- - XShogi*font: helvetica_oblique12 -
- -The font used for coordinates (when the showCoords option is True) can -be set similarly: -
- - XShogi*coordFont: helvetica_10 -
- -If you are using a grayscale monitor, try setting the colors to: -
-
- XShogi*pieceColor: gray100
- XShogi*squareColor: gray60
-
- -
- -COMMAND BUTTONS AND KEYS -
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- -LIMITATIONS -
- -If you press the Pause button during GNU Shogi's turn, -xshogi will stop the clocks, but gnushogi will still make a -move. -
- -After a mate or draw when playing against gnushogi, if you -back up with the Backward button, the clocks are reset -(because gnushogi has exited and must be restarted). -
- -The game parser recognizes only algebraic notation. -
- -AUTHORS -
- -Original authors of XBoard: Chris Sears and Dan Sears. -
- -Enhancements for XBoard (Version 2.0): Tim Mann. -
- -Conversion to XShogi (Version 1.1): Matthias Mutz. -
- -Current maintainer: Mike Vanier. -
- -COPYRIGHT INFORMATION -
- -XShogi borrows its piece bitmaps from CRANES Shogi. -
- -Copyright 1991 by Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Massachusetts. -Enhancements Copyright 1992 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Enhancements -Copyright 1993 Matthias Mutz. Further enhancements copyright 1999 by -Michael Vanier and the Free Software Foundation, Inc. -
- -The following terms apply to Digital Equipment Corporation's copyright -interest in XBoard: -
- -All Rights Reserved -
- -Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its -documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, -provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that -both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in -supporting documentation, and that the name of Digital not be used in -advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software -without specific, written prior permission. -
- -DIGITAL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING -ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL -DIGITAL BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR -ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, -WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, -ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS -SOFTWARE. -
- -The following terms apply to the enhanced version of XShogi distributed -by the Free Software Foundation: -
- -This file is part of XSHOGI. -
- -XSHOGI is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT -ANY WARRANTY. No author or distributor accepts responsibility to anyone -for the consequences of using it or for whether it serves any particular -purpose or works at all, unless he says so in writing. Refer to the -XSHOGI General Public License for full details. -
- -Everyone is granted permission to copy, modify and redistribute XSHOGI, -but only under the conditions described in the XSHOGI General Public -License. A copy of this license is supposed to have been given to you -along with XSHOGI so you can know your rights and responsibilities. It -should be in a file named COPYING. Among other things, the copyright -notice and this notice must be preserved on all copies. -
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- -There are very few English-language books for people learning shogi. -The two I recommend are: -
- -
- -
- -
- -Another book you may find is Shogi: Japan's Game of Strategy by -Trevor Leggett. This book is very elementary and is somewhat outdated, -having been published first in 1966. However, it does feature a paper -shogi board and punch-out pieces, so if you want a really cheap shogi -set you might pick this book up. It is still in print. -
- -Two books that are no longer in print but are definitely worth getting -if you find them are Guide to Shogi Openings and Better -Moves for Better Shogi, both by Aono Teriuchi. They are published in a -bilingual edition (English/Japanese) and are the only books on shogi in -English written by a Japanese professional shogi player. John Fairbairn -did the translation from Japanese to English. -
- -Shogi sets are available from: -
- -
-George F. Hodges-
-P.O. Box 77
-Bromley, Kent
-United Kingdom BR1 2WT -
- -George also sells equipment for all the historical shogi variants -(see section 2.4 Shogi variants) (except for Kyoku tai shogi) and also sells -back issues of the magazine "Shogi" which he published for 70 issues -in the late 70's to late 80's. This magazine is STRONGLY recommended; -it contains more information about shogi in English than you will ever -find anywhere else. -
- -Here are some useful URLs: -
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[ < ] | -[ > ] | -[ << ] | -[ Up ] | -[ >> ] | -[Top] | -[Contents] | -[Index] | -[ ? ] | -
[ < ] | -[ > ] | -[ << ] | -[ Up ] | -[ >> ] | -[Top] | -[Contents] | -[Index] | -[ ? ] | -
- -I would like to thank the following people: -
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[ < ] | -[ > ] | -[ << ] | -[ Up ] | -[ >> ] | -[Top] | -[Contents] | -[Index] | -[ ? ] | -
- -The motto of GNU shogi is "100% bug-free or you don't pay!" :-) In the -extremely unlikely case (*ahem*) that you do find a bug, please send me -(Mike Vanier) an email at mvanier@cs.caltech.edu. Also, feel -free to send me comments, complaints, out-and-out raves, suggestions, -plane tickets to Hawaii, and/or large suitcases filled with unmarked, -untraceable hundred-dollar bills. -
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Jump to: | A - -B - -C - -D - -G - -H - -I - -K - -L - -M - -O - -P - -R - -S - -T - -V - -W - -X - - |
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Jump to: | A - -B - -C - -D - -G - -H - -I - -K - -L - -M - -O - -P - -R - -S - -T - -V - -W - -X - - |
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one line to give the program's name and a brief idea of what it does. -Copyright (C) 19yy name of author - -This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify -it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by -the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or -(at your option) any later version. - -This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, -but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of -MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the -GNU General Public License for more details. - -You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License -along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software -Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. - |
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Gnomovision version 69, Copyright (C) 19yy name of author -Gnomovision comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details -type `show w'. -This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it -under certain conditions; type `show c' for details. - |
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Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims all copyright interest in the program -`Gnomovision' (which makes passes at compilers) written by James Hacker. - -signature of Ty Coon, 1 April 1989 -Ty Coon, President of Vice - |
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- -
-"Japanese chess cedes nothing in depth or beauty to the European -game... it is at least as interesting." --- ---- Alexander Alekhine
-(quoted in David Pritchard, The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants) -- -"... shogi [is] by far the most complex form of chess that has ever -achieved widespread popularity." -
- ---- R. Wayne Schmittberger, New Rules for Classic Games -
- -Shogi is the version of chess played in Japan. It is strikingly -different from standard chess (which I shall refer to henceforth as -"international chess") and also to all other regional variants, -because captured pieces can re-enter play on the side of the capturer. -This has several interesting effects on the play of the game: -
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- -Shogi is extremely popular in Japan; it has been estimated that 20 -million Japanese can play shogi, of which perhaps 1 million are active -players. It is even more popular there than the game of go, Japan's -other favorite board game. There are a number of professional players -who make a considerable amount of money playing in shogi tournaments, -and the game receives extensive newpaper and television coverage. -Despite this, the game has yet to become popular outside of Japan. Part -of this is because the Kanji characters on the pieces scare away some -people, but mostly it's due, I think, to lack of exposure to the game -and to the difficulty of finding opponents. I hope that GNU shogi will -help introduce shogi to a wider audience. -
- -
--
- 2.1 The rules of shogi - 2.2 Sample game - 2.3 Mating problems - 2.4 Shogi variants - 2.5 Differences between shogi and chess
[ < ] | -[ > ] | -[ << ] | -[ Up ] | -[ >> ] | -[Top] | -[Contents] | -[Index] | -[ ? ] | -
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- -Shogi is a two-person abstract strategy board game with full information -(i.e. all pieces and moves are visible to both players at all times). -It is in the chess family, being descended from the same ancestral game -as international chess: the Indian game of Chaturanga. The two players -are referred to as "Black" and "White", with Black moving first -(unlike in international chess, where White moves first), and with -movement alternating between the two players. Note that "Black" and -"White" are just names; the pieces are not colored. Instead, they are -flat, wedge-shaped pieces which point towards the opponent. The -identity of a given piece is indicated by two Japanese Kanji characters -on each piece. In fact, only the top character is needed to identify -the piece and thus only the top character is used in shogi diagrams. I -will use alphabetical equivalents in the diagrams here; to see what the -Kanji characters look like, start up xshogi (see section 4. xshogi) and compare -the starting setup there with the starting setup in this file -(see section 2.1.2 The opening setup). -
- -The object of the game is to capture the opponent's King. The board is -a grid of 9x9 uncolored squares, and pieces are placed on the squares. -Each player begins with 20 pieces, described in the next section. -Capture is by displacement, as in international chess. -
- -
--
- 2.1.1 The moves of the pieces - 2.1.2 The opening setup - 2.1.3 Promotion of pieces - 2.1.4 Drops - 2.1.5 Winning the game - 2.1.6 Draws - 2.1.7 Handicaps - 2.1.8 Notes for chess players
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- -Each player at the beginning of a shogi game has a total of 20 pieces of -eight different types. The moves of the shogi pieces can be divided -into three classes: "stepping" pieces, that only move one square at a -time; "ranging" pieces that move any number of unobstructed squares in -a line, and "jumping" pieces that can jump over obstructing pieces to -reach their destination squares. Most pieces can also promote to -different (usually stronger) pieces under certain circumstances (see the -next section). All pieces capture the same way that they move (even -pawns). The piece moves and promotions are as follows; each piece name -is followed by the standard piece abbreviation: -
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- -The opening setup for shogi is as follows: -
-
- 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
-+---------------------------------------------+
-| wL | wN | wS | wG | wK | wG | wS | wN | wL | a
-+---------------------------------------------+
-| | wR | | | | | | wB | | b
-+---------------------------------------------+
-| wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | c
-+---------------------------------------------+
-| | | | | | | | | | d
-+---------------------------------------------+
-| | | | | | | | | | e
-+---------------------------------------------+
-| | | | | | | | | | f
-+---------------------------------------------+
-| bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | g
-+---------------------------------------------+
-| | bB | | | | | | bR | | h
-+---------------------------------------------+
-| bL | bN | bS | bG | bK | bG | bS | bN | bL | i
-+---------------------------------------------+
-
- -Here, "b" stands for "black" and "w" stands for "white", so -that, for instance, "bL" means "black lance". The numbers above the -files and the letters to the right of the ranks represent the most -common notation system used for shogi by westerners (the Japanese also -use Arabic numerals for the files but use Japanese numerals for the -ranks). -
[ < ] | -[ > ] | -[ << ] | -[ Up ] | -[ >> ] | -[Top] | -[Contents] | -[Index] | -[ ? ] | -
- -In sharp contrast to international chess, where only pawns can promote -to higher-ranked pieces, most of the pieces in shogi can promote. The -promoted ranks are discussed in the section on piece moves (see section 2.1.1 The moves of the pieces) but are repeated here for reference: -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
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- -The three ranks furthest away from each player constitute his/her -"promotion zone". A player may, but is not required to, promote a -piece after making a move in which the piece begins and/or ends in the -promotion zone. Thus you can promote a piece when moving the piece into -the promotion zone, out of the promotion zone, or entirely within the -promotion zone. Promotion is mandatory in these cases: -
- -
- -
- -
- -These forced promotions ensure that a piece cannot be moved to a square -from which it would have no further move. -
- -Pieces "dropped" onto the board (see section 2.1.4 Drops) always drop in the -unpromoted state, even if they drop into the promotion zone. -
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[Top] | -[Contents] | -[Index] | -[ ? ] | -
Button | -Name | -Go to | -From 1.2.3 go to | -
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- [ < ] | --Back - | --previous section in reading order - | --1.2.2 - | -
- [ > ] | --Forward - | --next section in reading order - | --1.2.4 - | -
- [ << ] | --FastBack - | --previous or up-and-previous section - | --1.1 - | -
- [ Up ] | --Up - | --up section - | --1.2 - | -
- [ >> ] | --FastForward - | --next or up-and-next section - | --1.3 - | -
- [Top] | --Top - | --cover (top) of document - | -- - | -
- [Contents] | --Contents - | --table of contents - | -- - | -
- [Index] | --Index - | --concept index - | -- - | -
- [ ? ] | --About - | --this page - | -- - | -
[Top] | -[Contents] | -[Index] | -[ ? ] | -
-1. Introduction --
-GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE -
-2. About the game of shogi -
-3. gnushogi -
-4. xshogi -
-5. References and links -
-6. Acknowledgements -
-7. Bugs -
-8. Index -
- -
[Top] | -[Contents] | -[Index] | -[ ? ] | -