Shogi Rules - How to Play Japanese Chess
Learn the 9×9 game where captured pieces return to play as drops and promotion changes the shape of an attack.
The board and the aim
Shogi is played on a 9×9 board. In this version Black moves first from the bottom of the board and advances upward; White begins at the top and advances downward. Each player has a king, rook, bishop, two gold generals, two silver generals, two knights, two lances, and nine pawns. The aim is to checkmate the opposing king. A move is legal only if it leaves your own king safe. Unlike chess, a player with no legal move loses as well, whether that position is checkmate or a legal-move dead end.
How the pieces move
The king moves one square in any direction. Rooks slide across ranks and files, bishops slide diagonally, and lances slide only straight forward. Gold generals move one square forward, sideways, diagonally forward, or straight back. Silver generals move one square forward or diagonally forward and backward. Knights jump to either of the two forward squares that are two ranks ahead and one file aside. Pawns move one square forward. Pieces cannot land on a friendly piece, and sliding pieces stop before the first occupied square.
Captures become pieces in hand
When you capture an opponent’s piece, it does not leave the game. It changes to your color, returns to its unpromoted kind, and enters your hand. On a later turn you may drop one held pawn, lance, knight, silver, gold, bishop, or rook onto any legal empty square instead of moving a board piece. Kings are never held or dropped. This rule makes material active again: an exchanged pawn can become a checking drop, while a rook in hand can attack from a completely new file.
Promotion and compulsory promotion
The promotion zone is the farthest three ranks from each player’s starting side. A pawn, lance, knight, silver, bishop, or rook may promote when either its starting square or destination is in that zone. Promotion is optional except when an unpromoted pawn or lance would reach its final rank, or an unpromoted knight would reach either of its final two ranks; those pieces would otherwise have no forward move. Promoted pawn, lance, knight, and silver move as golds. A promoted bishop gains one-square orthogonal moves, and a promoted rook gains one-square diagonal moves. Golds and kings do not promote.
Drop restrictions, check, and the result
Drops must also leave your king out of check. You cannot drop a pawn on a file that already contains one of your unpromoted pawns, a restriction called nifu. A pawn or lance cannot be dropped on its final rank, and a knight cannot be dropped on either final rank. This engine also rejects a pawn drop that gives immediate checkmate, known as uchifuzume. You may give check with a move or a legal drop, but must answer check on your own king. The game ends when the side to move has no legal move; the other side wins.
Shogi rules FAQ
- Can I capture a promoted piece and drop it promoted?
- No. A captured promoted piece returns to its original kind in your hand, so a captured promoted pawn is later dropped as an ordinary pawn.
- Can I drop a piece while in check?
- Yes, but only when that drop legally resolves the check. A drop can block a sliding attack, capture nothing, or create a defense if it leaves your king safe.
- Can two unpromoted pawns share a file?
- No. You may not drop a pawn into a file containing one of your own unpromoted pawns. A promoted pawn no longer counts for this restriction.
- Must I promote in the promotion zone?
- Usually no. Promotion is a choice whenever a promotable piece moves into, out of, or within the far three ranks, except for pieces that would become immobile.
- Does stalemate draw the game?
- No. The implementation awards the win to the opponent when the side to move has no legal moves, whether the king is checked or not.
Practice the rules
Open a game against the AI. First make a legal capture, inspect the piece in hand, and try a drop on an empty square. In a later game, watch for a move entering the far three ranks and compare its promoted and unpromoted options.