Shogi, sometimes called Japanese chess, is a two player strategy board game played on a nine by nine grid. Like Western chess it is a member of the wider chaturanga family of games, but it is sharply distinguished from chess and most other regional relatives by its drop rule: a piece captured from an opponent is not removed from play but is held by the capturing player and may later be dropped back onto the board as that player own piece, which makes shogi games markedly less prone to ending in material stalemate than chess. Surviving textual references to shogi in Japan date to around the sixteenth century, and archaeological finds, including a cache of shogi pieces unearthed at Kofuku-ji temple in 1993 and dated to around the eleventh century, point to an earlier and less standardized proto-shogi already in play. Organized professional shogi in Japan today is coordinated by the Japan Shogi Association.
Facts
Disputed
Origin YearClear textual references to shogi in Japan date to around the sixteenth century, but archaeological finds, including shogi pieces excavated at Kofuku-ji temple in 1993 and dated to around the eleventh century, indicate an earlier and less standardized proto-shogi already existed. The game deepest ancestry traces to the Indian game chaturanga, but the route and timing by which chaturanga reached Japan, distinct from and far less documented than its westward transmission through Persia into chess, is debated among game historians. Originating Region Game TypeBoard game, abstract strategy, chess variant 1 Governing BodyJapan Shogi Association, which organizes professional shogi in Japan. 1 Classification
Player Count Sport
Game Type (category) Game Type (category) Connections
Derived From
Chaturanga, Games Why this is disputed. Shogi shares chaturanga as its ultimate common ancestor with chess, but the eastward route and timing by which chaturanga related games reached Japan is far less documented than chaturanga westward transmission through Persia into chess, and is debated among game historians.
Source A History of ChessH.J.R. Murray
Long-Form Articles
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
Sources
1. A History of Chess
H.J.R. Murray, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1913Chapter III, Japan
It seems a reasonable inference from this that chess had not reached Japan in the 10th cent.
entity record, description lead (player-count)
Shogi, sometimes called Japanese chess, is a two player strategy board game played on a nine by nine grid. Like Western chess it is a member of the wider chaturanga family of games, but it is sharply distinguished from chess and most other regional relatives by its drop rule: a piece captured from an opponent is not removed from play but is held by the capturing player and may later be d
- Derived From: Chaturanga
Wikipedia, Shogi
Infractions sectionQuote, Infractions section
The Two Pawn violation played by Takahiro Toyokawa (against Kosuke Tamura) in the 2004 NHK Cup is infamous since it was broadcast on television. On the 109th move, Toyokawa (playing as Black) dropped a pawn to the 29 square while he already had a pawn in play on the board on the 23 square and, thus, lost the game.
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What Actually Holds The Chess Family Together
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