Eight-Way Knight Shogi: Rules and How to Play
Eight-way knight shogi is a handicap shogi for 2, about 20 minutes: the stronger side gives up four pieces, but its knights leap 8 ways like a chess knight. Free, no sign-up.
Objective
Eight-way knight shogi is a handicap game: the stronger side gives up four pieces, and in return its knights leap in all 8 directions, like a chess knight. Everything else is as in shogi: checkmate the enemy king to win.
Setup
- Use a 9×9 shogi board. The stronger side (starting at the bottom and moving first) sets up without the rook, bishop and both lances (king, 2 golds, 2 silvers, 2 knights and 9 pawns). The weaker side has the usual 20 pieces.
- The stronger side moves first and the players alternate. When you play again, the stronger and weaker sides 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. Every piece but the knight moves, promotes and drops exactly as in shogi.
- The stronger side's knight (the eight-way knight) reaches all 8 squares two-forward-one-across and one-forward-two-across, backward too. Dropped on the far rank it is never left without a legal move. A promoted eight-way knight moves both as a gold and as an eight-way knight.
- The weaker side's knights move as in ordinary shogi. A captured knight takes its captor's kind: the stronger side drops it as an eight-way knight, and an eight-way knight taken by the weaker side becomes an ordinary knight.
- You may not leave your king open to capture. Two pawns on a file, the pawn-drop-mate ban, and pieces with no further move (for every piece but the stronger side's knight) are illegal, as in shogi.
- The Ai-Happo-Kei setting plays an even game without handicap, where both sides' knights leap 8 ways (a promoted knight moves as a gold).
Winning and scoring
- Checkmate the enemy king to win, exactly as in shogi.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FormFormA happo-kei knight leaps to any of 8 squares (two ahead or behind and one to the side, or one ahead or behind and two to the side). In the four-piece handicap the stronger player removes the rook, bishop and both lances, moves first, and only their knights leap 8 ways — good for players of different strength. Ai-Happo-Kei is an even game where both sides' knights leap 8 ways. | Choose how to play. Ai-Happo-Kei is an even game without handicap where both sides' knights leap 8 ways. | Four-piece handicap (stronger side's knights only) | Yes |
| Show legal squares | Mark the squares a selected piece can reach. | On | Yes |
| Swap who startsSwap who startsIn the four-piece handicap the first player is the stronger (happo-kei) side, so with this on the stronger and weaker sides switch each time you play again. If one player is clearly stronger and should always take that side, turn it off. | 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
- Eight-way knight
- The stronger side's knight. It leaps in all 8 directions and, unlike an ordinary knight, can jump backward.
- Four-piece handicap
- The stronger side plays without its rook, bishop and both lances.
- Dead piece
- A piece dropped or moved where it would have no legal move at all. The eight-way knight can always jump backward, so it is never a dead piece here.
FAQ
Whose knights leap 8 ways?
Only the stronger side's (the side that moves first). The weaker side's knights move as usual. A captured knight takes its captor's kind, so every knight the stronger side drops is an eight-way knight.
Can the knight jump anywhere?
No. Only the 8 squares two-forward-one-across and one-forward-two-across, the same as a chess knight.
Can the stronger side drop a knight on the far rank?
Yes. The eight-way knight can jump backward, so the shogi ban on the far two ranks does not apply to it. The weaker side's knights keep the usual ban.
Can both sides' knights leap 8 ways?
Yes. Choose Ai-Happo-Kei under Form in the settings for an even game where both sides' knights leap 8 ways.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-25 · Run by Qdan, Inc.