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Is there a book?

-Ben Leimkuhler

> Is there a book?

Was my description unclear?

J. Christopher Ramming

UUCP: decvax!bellcore!houxa!qts
HOME: (201) 542-2079
WORK: (201) 949-9531

> I recently discovered a Japanese chess variation, called
> "Shogi", which I believe some of you might find interesting.
> What follows here is a description of the game.
> 
> The major differences between 'our' chess and Shogi are as
> follows:
> 
> 1) Shogi is played on a 9x9 board
> 2) Pieces have slightly different capabilities.
> 3) All pieces, with the exception of the 'king' and a 
>    'gold' (explanation to follow) are allowed to promote.
>    Promotion is fixed (that is, each piece turns into
>    another certain kind of piece.  Under-promotion is
>    not allowed).
> 4) Promotion occurs when pieces reach the 7th, 8th, or 9th
>    rows, not just the last.
> 5) A player, in his turn, has the option of moving a piece
>    or, if he has captured any of the opponent's pieces, can
>    'warp in' one of these captured pieces AS HIS OWN, on
>    any unoccupied square.  If placed in the 7th, 8th, or
>    9th rows the piece does not promote until it is moved
>    once, and then only if it is not moved to the first
>    six rows.
> 
> The initial board configuration is as follows:
> 
> L N S G K G S N L
> . R . . . . . B .
> P P P P P P P P P
> . . . . . . . . .
> . . . . . . . . .
> . . . . . . . . .
> p p p p p p p p p
> . b . . . . . r .
> l n s g k g s n l
> 
> where:
> 
> L is a 'lance'.  Lances move straight forward only, any number of
>   squares.  They promote to 'Golds'.  
> 
> N is a knight.  Knights move as do traditional knights, and as with
>   traditional knights they are allowed to 'jump over' other pieces.
>   No other piece has this capability.  Lances promote to Golds.
> 
> S is a 'silver'.  Silvers have no counterpart in traditional chess,
>   and move as follows:  they can move one square to the three squares
>   in front of them, or to the two rear diagonals but NOT directly
>   back, to the left, or to the right.  As follows:
> 
>        X X X
>        . S . 
>        X . X
> 
>   where the X's indicate possible moves.  Silvers promote to
>   golds.
> 
> G is a 'gold'.  Using the notation above, golds have the possible
>   moves
> 
>        X X X
>        X G X
>        . X .
> 
>   Golds do not promote:  that is, they remain golds.  Golds
>   and silvers can be thought of as have slightly restricted
>   variations of a king's movement.
> 
> K is a king, and moves as does a normal king.
> 
> R is a rook, and moves as does a normal rook.  Upon promotion,
>   it turns into a 'super-rook':  it is still able to move as
>   does a rook, but if required, it can instead move to any
>   adjacent square.  (Think of a super-rook's movement as being
>   that of a rook or that of a king.)  
> 
> B is a bishop, and moves as does a normal bishop.  Upon promotion,
>   it turns into a 'super-bishop':  it is still able to move as
>   does a bishop, but if required, it can instead move to any
>   adjacent square.  (Once again, it has either a king's movement
>   or an ordinary bishop's).
> 
> P is a pawn.  Pawns move one square at a time, directly forward
>   only.  They do not capture to the diagonals, and are not
>   allows the 'en-passant' moves or the initial double-jump.
> 
> All pieces capture on squares they can move to.
> 
> The physical implementation of the board requires that all
> pieces be the same color since an opponent's piece can become
> your own, and vice versa.  Instead of color-differentiation,
> Shogi uses orientation-differentiation.  Pieces are yours
> if they 'point' towards the opponent, and the opponent's if
> they 'point' towards you.  They generally have the following
> shape:
> 
> 
>         -----
>        / --- \
>       / ----- \
>      / ------- \
>     / --------- \
>     -------------
> 
> Furthermore, they are flat, such that they can be turned over
> when promoted.  (Each side has a character indicating the piece's
> value; note that although most pieces promote to golds, the promotion-
> side character on a lance is different from that on the promotion-side
> of a silver, even though they both become golds.  This is because
> Captured pieces, when warped back onto the board, revert to their
> original status even though they may have been promoted while under
> the opponent's control.  One needs a way to differentiate between
> promoted knights, silvers, pawns, etc. since this has a serious effect
> one one's strategy.) 
> 
> That's it!  If anyone is interested either in play-by-email, or
> in person if you live in New Jersey near Holmdel/Eatontown/Rumson,
> please contact me.  I will also answer any questions you may
> have about the game.
> 
> J. Christopher Ramming
> HOME:  (201) 542-2079
> WORK:  (201) 949-9531
> UUCP:  decvax!bellcore!houxa!qts

*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***

I haven't played shogi since I was a child in Japan, so I might be wrong, but
I think Mr. Ramming has left out a few rules.

* Movement out of 7, 8, and 9th ranks allow you to promote.

* Promotion is voluntary (but see next rule).

* You can't have a piece that can't move.  I.e. you can't have a pawn or lance
  on the ninth rank, or a knight on 8th or 9th rank.  If you have an unpromoted
  pawn on the 8th rank and move it to the 9th, you must promote it.

* You cannot "warp in" a pawn on a column that already has an unpromoted pawn
  that you own.

* You cannot mate by "warping in" a pawn (other pieces are OK).

* Knights move only forward.

* Pawns promote to "gold".

Why would you ever want a piece that can't move?  Well, if your king is on
the 9th rank and is under check from a rook or a bishop, and you have a pawn or
a knight, you might want to "warp in" a pawn on the 9th rank or knight on 8th
rank to get out of check....but you can't do it.

                                         Takashi Iwasawa

> I think Mr. Ramming has left out a few rules.
...
>                                          Takashi Iwasawa

Entirely possible.  The game as I learned it was passed verbally
through a chain of 3 people over a span of 8 years.  These new rules
make sense; thanks for pointing out the errors in my version.  Do
you also happen to know what the various pieces are actually called
in Japanese? 

J. Christopher Ramming

UUCP: decvax!bellcore!houxa!qts
HOME: (201) 542-2079
WORK: (201) 949-9531

In article <22300020@uiucdcsp> leimkuhl@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU writes:
>Is there a book?
>-Ben Leimkuhler

The book, "Games Ancient and Oriental", a Dover paperback, contains descriptions
of several chess variations including Shogi, Chinese chess, Burmeses chess,
Tamerlane's version and others.  There are sample games of most versions.
This book is a reprint of a much earlier work (around 1900?) so the language
may seem dated but there is enough detail on each of the games to be able to
learn the moves.

I was able to obtain chess sets for both shogi and chinese chess in San
Francisco in 1978, the chinese set in a shop in chinatown (where else?), and
the shogi set at a shop in the "Oriental Trade Center"(or something like that).

In article <1020@unc.unc.UUCP> singleto@unc.UUCP (John Singleton) writes:
>In article <22300020@uiucdcsp> leimkuhl@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU writes:
>>Is there a book?
>>-Ben Leimkuhler
>
>The book, "Games Ancient and Oriental", a Dover paperback, contains descriptions
>of several chess variations including Shogi, Chinese chess, Burmeses chess,
>Tamerlane's version and others.  There are sample games of most versions.
>This book is a reprint of a much earlier work (around 1900?) so the language
>may seem dated but there is enough detail on each of the games to be able to
>learn the moves.

Beware!  It is an old book and the research is faulty.  While the games
described in the book are interesting games, I recall for certain that
the rules provided for Chinese chess are incorrect, and that makes
me suspicious of most of the other games as well.

As for Shogi, there is/was a book on the game which included die-cut
cardboard pieces with both the Japanese glyph and a western symbol
to simplify learning.  As usual, my information is at home, and I'm
not, so I can't be more specific, nor do I know if this book
is still in print.
-- 

   Mike Urban
	...!trwrb!trwspp!spp2!urban 

"You're in a maze of twisty UUCP connections, all alike"

In article <871@spp2.UUCP> urban@spp2.UUCP (Mike Urban) writes:
>As for Shogi, there is/was a book on the game which included die-cut
>cardboard pieces with both the Japanese glyph and a western symbol
>to simplify learning.  As usual, my information is at home, and I'm
>not, so I can't be more specific, nor do I know if this book
>is still in print.

Oh, I have a copy of that one.  It's "SHOGI - Japan's Game of Strategy",
by Trevor Leggett.  I'll give complete info, since it may not be easily
available in the U.S.  Published by Charles E. Tuttle Company of
Rutland, VT and Tokyo, Japan.  (c) 1966 by Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc.
First edition, 1966.  Fifth printing (my copy) 1976.

Representatives for Continental Europe: Boxerbooks, Inc., Zurich
British Isles: Prentice-Hall International, Inc., London
Australasia: Book Wise (Aus) Pty. Ltd.  104-108 Sussex St., Sydney 2000
Canada: Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton.

You might have the best luck ordering it from Tuttle's offices in Japan:
Suido 1-chome, 2-6, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
If you have Japanese-American bookstores in your area, such as Kinokuniya
in L.A. and S.F., you might try those, but no guarantees.

Besides the die-cut pieces Mike mentioned, it has a fold-out board and
an appendix on how to read Japanese games scores, so that you can play
through the games in your favorite newspaper.
-- 
	Jim Gillogly
	{decvax, vortex}!randvax!jim
	jim@rand-unix.arpa

> In article <1020@unc.unc.UUCP> singleto@unc.UUCP (John Singleton) writes:
> >In article <22300020@uiucdcsp> leimkuhl@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU writes:
> >>Is there a book?
> >>-Ben Leimkuhler
> >
> >The book, "Games Ancient and Oriental", a Dover paperback, contains descriptions
> >of several chess variations including Shogi, Chinese chess, Burmeses chess,
> >Tamerlane's version and others.  There are sample games of most versions.
> >This book is a reprint of a much earlier work (around 1900?) so the language
> >may seem dated but there is enough detail on each of the games to be able to
> >learn the moves.
> 
> Beware!  It is an old book and the research is faulty.  While the games
> described in the book are interesting games, I recall for certain that
> the rules provided for Chinese chess are incorrect, and that makes
> me suspicious of most of the other games as well.
> 
> As for Shogi, there is/was a book on the game which included die-cut
> cardboard pieces with both the Japanese glyph and a western symbol
> to simplify learning.  As usual, my information is at home, and I'm
> not, so I can't be more specific, nor do I know if this book
> is still in print.
> -- 
> 
>    Mike Urban
> 	...!trwrb!trwspp!spp2!urban 
> 
> "You're in a maze of twisty UUCP connections, all alike"

I have a book (not with me know) that I think is called "Chess Variations,
Ancient and Modern".  It covers almost every kind of chess that I can think
of (except hexagonal chess):
	Chinese Chess, Shogi, Chaturanga (2 & 4 handed), Burmese Chess,
	Martian Chess, Timur's Chess, Chancellor Chess, and MANY others.
As far as hexagonal chess goes, I have been playing a variation which has
a hexagonal board (with 6 on a side) where the players set up in opposite
corners.  The forces are normal except for only 7 pawns and 3 bishops (to
cover the 3 colors).  There was a different version sold in stores, but
I don't think it was thought out as well.

					Dave McCooey
					AT&T Bell Labs, Whippany
					ihnp4!whuxlm!dim

In article <871@spp2.UUCP>, urban@spp2.UUCP (Mike Urban) writes:
> In article <1020@unc.unc.UUCP> singleto@unc.UUCP (John Singleton) writes:
> >In article <22300020@uiucdcsp> leimkuhl@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU writes:
> >>Is there a book?
> >>-Ben Leimkuhler
> >The book, "Games Ancient and Oriental", a Dover paperback, contains descriptions
> >of several chess variations including Shogi, ...
> 
> As for Shogi, there is/was a book on the game which included die-cut
> cardboard pieces with both the Japanese glyph and a western symbol
> to simplify learning.
	This book is by Trevor Leggatt and is usable although I found
the icons objectionable.
	The Shogi Association Ltd., P.O. Box 77, Bromley, Kent, ENGLAND.
was publishing a magazine and preparing an introductory book when I
left England in 1978. It had also produced a well researched book of
the Great Shogi Games.
	Shogi rules were fixed around 1600. Prior to then there were
commonly played variants for 12x12 15x15 17x17 19x19 and 25x25.
These was another set of shogi games played on oblong boards. The
book describes the rules for the square boards and The Shogi
Association had had sets made with which to play the games.
	As for Shogi, I can provide a program which knows the rules.
It solves mating puzzles, slowly and at great expense of memory, but
the move verification code could be reused.
-- 
--
{ihnp4|vax135|allegra}!lznv!nrh
	Nigel		The Mad Englishman or
			The Madly Maundering Mumbler in the Wildernesses

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