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Cylinder Shogi Strategy and Tips

Here is how to think about winning at Cylinder Shogi, split into short lessons. Each one reads on its own, and each one comes with a real position: press Try it on the board and you play the move yourself.

A rook can go around by crossing the edge

Lesson 1

Cylinder shogi treats the board as rolled into a tube from side to side. When a rook's line runs along a rank, going past file 1 continues from file 9, and past file 9 continues from file 1. The same square can sometimes be reached from two different directions.

Here the rook sits on 9e. It wants the enemy pawn on 2e, but your own pawn on 6e blocks the straight path in that direction. Move the rook the other way, around the edge, and it reaches 2e untouched by the pawn on 6e — taking the pawn.

When reading a piece's line, count both the straight direction and the way that wraps around the edge. Rooks and bishops have long lines, so this kind of detour comes up often in real games.

A bishop's diagonal crosses the edge too

Lesson 2

A bishop's diagonal crosses the edge the same way a rook's rank line does. Since it is a move that changes file, going past file 1 continues from file 9, and the other way round.

Here the bishop sits on 8e. Moving diagonally up and to the left, it crosses the edge at 9d, reappears on 1c, and keeps going to take the enemy pawn on 2b. In ordinary shogi that direction would simply run off the board.

A bishop has no straight moves, so its long diagonal is its whole game. In cylinder shogi that diagonal is even longer once it can cross the edge — every square on the board is closer than it looks. Whether a bishop's diagonal wraps around is also easy to miss when you are defending the squares near your own king.

A rank check cannot always be blocked from one side

Lesson 3

In cylinder shogi, a line along a rank connects to the board's far side too. When an enemy rook sits on your king's rank, placing a piece to block one direction does not always help — the rook's line may still reach around from the wrapped side.

Here your king is on 9e and the enemy rook is on 1e — one square apart once you cross the edge. Waiting to decide where to block leaves the danger in place next move. Instead, take the rook at once with the silver on 2d.

Because a rook's rank line and a bishop's diagonal can reach the king from either side of the cylinder, get in the habit of checking the wrapped side too before you trust a block — and capture a piece that has come this close whenever you can.

A knight jumps across the edge too

Lesson 4

It isn't only long lines like a rook's or bishop's that cross the edge in cylinder shogi. A knight's jump also changes file, so it wraps around the edge the same way.

Here the knight sits on 9e. In ordinary shogi it could only jump to the file next door, but in cylinder shogi it can also jump across the edge to 1c. Count both 8d and 1c as places it can land.

A knight is already unusual for jumping over other pieces; in cylinder shogi it also jumps over the edge of the board. Whenever you see a knight near the edge, count its landing squares more widely than you would in ordinary shogi. When you drop a knight, remember that a square near the edge widens where it can land.

Try it on the board

Pick a lesson and the board starts from that position. Start over as often as you like.

Now put it to work

Play with friendsLearn how to play (3 min)

Last updated 2026-09-25 · Run by Qdan, Inc.