No-Pawn Shogi: Rules and How to Play
No-Pawn Shogi is shogi for 2 players, about 15 minutes, played with every pawn removed from the start. Every other rule is the same as shogi. Free in your browser, no sign-up.
Objective
No-pawn shogi is shogi played with both sides' pawns removed from the start. You win exactly as in shogi: by checkmating the enemy king.
Setup
- Use a 9×9 shogi board with the 22 pieces left after removing all 18 pawns (nine per side), set up as in the shogi starting position.
- Black moves first and the players alternate. When you play again, Black and White swap (you can turn this off).
How to play
- On your turn, move one piece on the board or drop one piece from your hand. Moves, promotion and drops are exactly as in shogi. Pawns never appear on the board or in hand.
- You may not leave your king open to capture, and you may not move a piece to a square it can never move from again. With no pawns, the two-pawns and pawn-drop-mate rules never come up.
Winning and scoring
- You win by checkmating the enemy king.
- You also win if your opponent has no legal move.
- If the same position appears four times the game is a draw and is replayed (repeated checks lose for the checking side).
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show legal squares | Mark the squares a selected piece can reach. | On | Yes |
| Swap who starts | Swap who plays Black after each game. | On | Yes |
| Move limit | Draw the game once this many moves have been played. For tables that want to cut a long game short. | None | Yes |
Terms
- No pawns
- There are no pawns in the starting position, so pawn-related fouls like two pawns on a file or mating with a pawn drop never happen.
- No further move
- A piece may not be moved to a square from which it could never move again — the same rule shogi applies to pieces like a lance or knight on the back ranks.
- Repetition
- The same position appearing four times, which is a draw and is replayed (unless it came from repeated checks, in which case the checking side loses).
FAQ
Are pawns used at all?
No. They never appear on the board or in hand.
Are two-pawns and pawn-drop-mate still fouls?
They never come up, since there are no pawns. Other fouls, like moving a piece to a square with no further move, are the same as shogi.
Do rooks and bishops become more valuable?
It's said that rooks, bishops and lances get into play more easily since no pawn blocks their path.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-25 · Run by Qdan, Inc.