Shogi is a two-player strategy board game played on a 9×9 board
Each player starts with 20 pieces
The goal is to checkmate the opponent’s king
Pieces move differently depending on the type of piece
Most pieces can be promoted when they enter, move within, or leave the opponent’s promotion zone
Promotion zone is the farthest three ranks on the opponent’s side
Promoted pieces usually gain stronger movement
Captured pieces are kept in hand and can be dropped back onto the board as your own
A dropped piece cannot be placed on a square where it would have no legal move
A pawn cannot be dropped on a file where you already have an unpromoted pawn
A pawn cannot be dropped to give immediate checkmate
Kings move one square in any direction
Gold generals move one square in most directions except the two backward diagonals
Silver generals move one square diagonally or forward
Knights jump forward in an L-shape
Lances move any number of squares straight forward
Rooks move any number of squares horizontally or vertically
Bishops move any number of squares diagonally
Pawns move one square straight forward
Promoted rook gains king-like diagonal steps
Promoted bishop gains king-like orthogonal steps
Promoted silver, knight, lance, and pawn move like gold generals
Players alternate turns
A move may be a normal move, a promotion, or a drop
If the king is in check, the player must respond to remove the check
The game ends when a king is checkmated or when a player resigns
A draw is rare and usually occurs only in special cases
Learn the piece symbols and movement before playing
Practice basic tactics like forks, pins, and drops
Focus on king safety and piece coordination