SHOGI
Japan’s Most Popular Board Game Deepens Its Roots in New York City
The Hand of a Master. The game might look intimidating at first, but once you start playing, it is hard to stop.
Chess players beware – there’s a new kid on the block. OK, not so new. In fact, this Japanese board game has been around since the late 6th century, and is an exhilarating variant of chess called “Shogi”. The word translates literally as ‘General’s Chess’, and is quite possibly one of the most interesting diversions I have ever experienced, as well as one of the most potentially addictive games I have ever enjoyed.
Shogi has been an indelible aspect of Japanese culture for centuries. Shogi Clubs are a common feature of Japanese elementary schools, and grooming a professional Shogi player can begin even at that level. And it’s no surprise that Shogi is also one of the most popular games you’ll find being played on computers in Japan.
Avid chess players know that the most well-known, Western version of the game actually originated in India in the early 6th Century from a game called Chaturanga – the version we are so used to watching with humans vs. computers and Bobby Fisher-esque fascination evolved and developed by the end of the ninth century. Personally, I have enough struggles winning at ‘normal’ Chess. Imagine my delight when I first consulted with Mr. Minoru Hayashi – founder and director of the New York Shogi Club.
Wondering who the author is? I’m the one with the pained look on his face. Not surprising since my opponent is the founder of the club, Mr. Hayashi.
Mr. Hayashi welcomed me with, “Shogi is the single most difficult board game in the world, I think. As many traditional board games became computerized, they successfully beat human players. However, the computerized version of Shogi still loses in front of human players.” Apparently there is a level of thought and strategy that even computers are not yet able to imitate. What could it be? I received a quick schooling in Shogi, and this is what I learned.
While Western Chess is played on an 8 x 8 board, Shogi is played on a 9 x 9 board. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of differences. The layout of the board allows for a different starting setup of three rows as opposed to two – the front row is filled with pawns, the second row consists of only two pieces (the equivalent of a Bishop and Rook), and the third a slew of horse and general pieces, as well as the King. But any similarity to chess that you may glean from my description soon ends.
When I sat down with Alex Trotter, a member of the New York Shogi Club, for my first game (which I subsequently lost of course) – it quickly became clear how different, and more complicated, Shogi indeed is. The major hurdle Chess players will endure when starting to play Shogi is this: all captured players are playable. That’s right – unlike a Chess game where a captured piece is off the board forever, a player can take any piece they capture and use them as part of their army. Confusing? It was for me – I kept forgetting I had extra players to throw into the mix. And to throw them in strategically required too much from a first-timer like myself.
There are a lot of people who show up for Shogi Club. If you have any interest in Chess or Japanese culture, you should definitely give this Japanese board game a try.
Mr. Trotter also imparted some other interesting facts. In Chess, one can play a defensive game, and still win. But in Shogi, you really have to play a more aggressive, offensive game in order to succeed. You can’t hoard those pieces – you have to play them or you’ll lose! Because of this, whereas a Chess game usually unfolds in three acts – an opening, a middlegame, and an end game – Shogi players will find themselves continually going from a middlegame to an endgame, and back to a middlegame until reaching checkmate. And if you look at the board at the end of a Shogi game, there is not a big difference in terms of the number of pieces that are on the board when the game starts, and when the game is finished.
I must again thank Minoru Hayashi, Alex Trotter, and the generous members of the New York Shogi Club who provided my schooling in Shogi. This group meets every week at the Japanese restaurant Naniwa (46th and 5th) @ 8pm, and it’s really a fun and relaxing atmosphere coupled with a fascinating game that I am still thinking about today. English-friendly and casual, I highly recommend that you try Shogi out with them, especially if you are a chess fan. The nuances of Shogi are too numerous to cover in one article, but I hope it’s intrigued you enough to give it a chance.
New York Shogi Club
TEL: 646-773-1365
E-mail: hayashi@nyshogi.com
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