Lesson 1: The Rules of Shogi

In this lesson you will learn the rules of Shogi and how the pieces move.

A breif history of Shogi.

Before we begin the lesson lets have a short history lesson on Shogi.
Shogi is a traditional Japanese art and sport originating during the Heian Period of Japanese history.
Many historians theorise 1 of 2 possible ways Shogi started in Japan. The first theory is that a game knows as Makruk (Thai Chess) played in Southeast Asia was spread to Japan through trade and eventually developed into Shogi, this theory is incredibly likely as the silver general in Shogi shares its movement as the Nobleman piece in Makruk, these pieces' movements do not occur in any other board game across the world. The second theory is that a game Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) was spread to Japan through China and eventually developed into Shogi, this theory is also likely as China has a very big cultural influence on Japan during ancient times. Regardless, Shogi stands unique to all these games through its unique piece dropping mechanic which allows players to revive pieces they captured as their own.
Shogi and Makruk compared

The Movement of Shogi pieces

under construction