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Eight-Way Knight Shogi Strategy and Tips

Here is how to think about winning at Eight-Way Knight 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.

The knight also strikes sideways

Lesson 1

In eight-way knight shogi, besides the usual two-forward-one-across jump, the knight can also jump two files sideways and one rank forward. Among the 8 directions, these two swing far sideways while still advancing, so they reach past pieces that block the front or the diagonals.

Here a knight sits on 4e. With the usual jump it could only land on 5c or 3c, but in eight-way knight shogi it can also jump sideways to 6f and take the pawn there — a capture easy to miss if you only know the ordinary knight.

When counting an opponent's pieces, don't limit a knight's reach to 'the two squares ahead.' Always keep the sideways-shifted squares in mind too; they often win you a piece you didn't expect.

The knight can also retreat

Lesson 2

An ordinary shogi knight can only jump forward. Once it lands somewhere dangerous it cannot come back — it either promotes or is captured. The eight-way knight can also jump two ranks back and one file across, or one rank back and two files across, so it never has that weakness.

Here a knight on 4e is under attack from an enemy gold. An ordinary knight would have nowhere to go, but the eight-way knight can jump two ranks back and one file across to 3g, retreating safely into its own camp and saving a piece that was about to be lost.

When you jump a knight, remember it can always retreat even from a dangerous square. Rather than forcing it forward, pulling it back to wait for a better moment is a strong plan in eight-way knight shogi.

A dropped knight on the far rank still has a move

Lesson 3

In ordinary shogi you may not drop a knight on the far rank or the one before it. Since the piece can only jump forward, dropping it there would leave it with no legal move at all — a dead piece from the moment it lands.

The eight-way knight can also jump backward, so this never happens. As in this position, dropping a knight in hand on the far-rank square 5a is fine: it can still jump two ranks back and one file across, or one rank back and two files across, so it is never left without a move.

This difference matters most in the cramped endgame. Remember that a knight drop on a square ordinary shogi would forbid — closing in on the enemy king — is available to you in eight-way knight shogi.

A knight's check can come from any angle

Lesson 4

In ordinary shogi, watching the two squares 'two ahead, one across' was enough to spot a knight check. With the Ai-Happo-Kei setting (an even game where both sides' knights leap 8 ways) an enemy knight attacks 8 squares, more than double that, so guarding your king means watching the sides and behind it too, not just the front.

Here an enemy knight sits on 7d. An ordinary knight would only reach 5c or 9c, but this one also reaches 5e two files across and one rank back — and your king standing there is in check. Take the knight on 7d with your gold to clear the check.

Whenever you see an enemy knight, get into the habit of counting all 8 squares it reaches, not just the ones ahead. Watch an even wider area than usual whenever an enemy knight is near your own king.

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.