The title of meijin became hereditary in the Ōhashi and Itō families until the fall of the shogunate, when it came to be passed by recommendation. Today the title is used for the winner of the Meijin-sen competition, the first modern title match. From around 1899, newspapers began to publish records of shogi matches, and high-ranking players formed alliances with the aim of having their games published. In 1909, the Shogi Association ( 将棋同盟社) was formed, and in 1924, the Tokyo Shogi Association ( 東京将棋連盟) was formed. This was an early incarnation of the modern Japan Shogi Association ( 日本将棋連盟, nihon shōgi renmei ), or JSA, and 1924 is considered by the JSA to be the date it was founded. [41] Habu, Yoshiharu; Hosking, Tony (2000). Habu's Words. translated by Tony Hosking and Yamato Takahashi [ ja]. Stratford-upon-Avon, England: The Shogi Foundation. ISBN 978-0-9531089-2-3. Shogi boards come in a variety of styles and sizes. Here is an overview of the most common types. Shogi Boards With Legs (脚付将棋盤)

Exception: There are a number of rules concerning how pawns may be dropped, and how pieces may be dropped close to the farthest edge of the board from where they start. In 2008, the number of Go players was estimated at 10 million in China, making it more popular than chess. Shogi Pieces SizePlayers take turns to move a piece that belongs to them. Each piece is moved according to different rules but no two pieces can occupy the same square. If a piece moves so that its final position is a square occupied by an opposing piece, the opposing piece is "captured" or "taken" and is removed from the board. Captured pieces should be placed face up within easy view of both players. It is not compulsory to capture. The earliest predecessor of the game, chaturanga, originated in India in the 6th century, and the game was likely transmitted to Japan via China or Korea sometime after the Nara period. [4] Shogi in its present form was played as early as the 16th century, while a direct ancestor without the drop rule was recorded from 1210 in a historical document Nichūreki, which is an edited copy of Shōchūreki and Kaichūreki from the late Heian period (c. 1120). Shogi players are expected to follow etiquette in addition to rules explicitly described. Commonly accepted etiquette include the following:

With that in mind, if you’d want to start with something a little more familiar, Shogi, which is extremely similar to chess, might be a good place to start. Shogi is similar to chess but has a much larger game tree complexity because of the use of drops, greater number of pieces, and larger board size. [34] In comparison, shogi games average about 140 (half-)moves per game (or 70 chess move-pairs) whereas chess games average about 80 moves per game (or 40 chess move-pairs) and minishogi averages about 40 moves per game (or 20 chess move-pairs). [35] [e] In Chess, piece value and retention is a key aspect. In most cases, once they are lost there is little chance of gaining another or of them returning. ‘Trading’ can be an option if point values sway heavily in your favor but it is your total point combination on the board versus your opponents that can determine a game. Moreover, positioning is important in Chess such as controlling central positions on the board. If you’re introducing the game to younger children or you’re looking for a portable set you can carry around with you; plastic may be the way to go. However, it’s worth remembering that although plastic sets tend to be more affordable, they’re rarely as resilient and may need replacing much sooner than their wooden counterparts. Portability We’ve now covered some of the most important aspects of Shogi and how they differ from Chess. You may be able to recognise how some of their differences can heavily dictate how the game is played.A player's promotion zone consists of the furthest one-third of the board – the three ranks occupied by the opponent's pieces at setup. The zone is typically delineated on shogi boards by two inscribed dots. When a piece is moved, if part of the piece's path lies within the promotion zone (that is, if the piece moves into, out of, or wholly within the zone; but not if it is dropped into the zone – see Drops), then the player has the option to promote the piece at the end of the turn. Promotion is indicated by turning the piece over after it moves, revealing the character of the promoted piece. Dainikai Shōgi Denōsen Daigokyoku Miura Hiroyuki vs GPS Shōgi" 第2回 将棋電王戦 第5局 三浦弘行八段 vs GPS将棋[Second Shogi Denosen, Game 5: Hiroyuki Miura 8 dan vs. GPS Shogi] (in Japanese). Niwango. 20 April 2013 . Retrieved 17 December 2014. Shinji, Fukamatsu. "AI beats top shogi player in first match of tournament final：The Asahi Shimbun". The Asahi Shimbun . Retrieved 17 May 2016. White moves first and forfeits eight pieces: his rook, bishop, both lances, both knights and both silvers Again, material plays a factor here, as wooden sets tend to be heavier and thus a little more cumbersome to carry around. However, that’s not the only thing to consider.

Fair withdrawal without any disruption, such as scattering pieces on the board to demonstrate frustration However, once thoroughly dried, the lacquer has excellent resistance to water, moisture, acid, alkali, thinner, alcohol, strong acids, and hydrogen fluoride, which melts the glass and other substances. It also has an excellent luster, which is one of the characteristics of lacquer. It hardens year by year, so it becomes more beautiful with age than immediately after it is applied. The International Go Federation estimates that there are approximately 40 million go players worldwide. A pawn (歩) moves one square straight forward. It cannot retreat. Unlike international chess pawns, shogi pawns capture the same as they move. A pawn must promote if it arrives at the furthest rank. (See Promotion.) In practice, however, a pawn is usually promoted whenever possible. There are two restrictions on where a pawn may be dropped. (See Drops.) Pieces are always dropped unpromoted: ifa promoted piece is captured, it reverts to its unpromoted rank.A piece cannot be dropped on a square from which it would never have a legal move (i.e. a Pawn on the last row or a Knight on either of the last two rows). If you’re planning to take your game to your friends’ place or on vacation, then you’ll need it to be portable.