Shogi (Japanese Chess): Rules and How to Play
Shogi is a board game for 2 players that takes about 20 minutes. Captured pieces change sides and can be dropped back on the board; checkmate the opposing king to win. Free. In-browser. No account.
Objective
Shogi is the Japanese member of the chess family, played by two players on a 9×9 board. As in chess, you win by checkmating the opposing king. The big difference is drops: a piece you capture changes sides, goes into your hand, and can later be put back on the board as one of your own. Material never leaves the game, so positions stay sharp to the very end.
Setup
- Two players, a board of 9×9 squares and 20 pieces each. In a physical set both sides use the same pieces; the direction a wedge-shaped piece points shows who owns it.
- Fill the three ranks nearest you. The back rank runs lance, knight, silver general, gold general, king, gold, silver, knight, lance.
- On the second rank, the bishop goes on the second file from your left and the rook on the second file from your right. The third rank holds nine pawns.
- The player who moves first is called sente (Black); the other is gote (White). Here the first player to sit down plays Black in the first game, and the sides swap after each game.
How to play
- On your turn, either move one piece on the board or drop one piece from your hand. You may not pass.
- King: one square in any direction. Rook: any number of squares straight up, down, left or right. Bishop: any number of squares diagonally. Neither the rook nor the bishop can jump over a piece.
- Gold general: one square in any direction except diagonally backwards. Silver general: one square diagonally in any direction, or one square straight forward.
- Knight: two squares forward and one to the side, jumping over anything in between. It is the only piece that jumps, and it can only go forward. Lance: any number of squares straight forward. Pawn: one square straight forward — and unlike in chess, it captures the same way.
- Move onto a square held by an opposing piece to capture it. It goes into your hand, turned back to its unpromoted side.
- The far three ranks are the promotion zone. When a move starts or ends there, you may flip the piece to promote it. A promoted rook (dragon) also steps one square diagonally; a promoted bishop (horse) also steps one square orthogonally. A silver, knight, lance or pawn promotes to move like a gold. The king and gold never promote.
- Promotion is optional, except that a pawn or lance reaching the last rank, or a knight reaching the last two ranks, must promote, because otherwise it would have no move.
- A dropped piece may go on any empty square, always unpromoted. You may not drop a piece where it could never move, drop a pawn on a file that already holds one of your unpromoted pawns (nifu), or drop a pawn to give immediate checkmate (uchifuzume). Dropping any other piece for mate is fine.
- You may never leave your own king where it could be captured. In check, you must move the king, capture the checking piece, or block.
Winning and scoring
- Checkmate the opposing king and you win. A player with no legal move also loses, and either player may give up.
- If the same position — with the same pieces in hand and the same player to move — appears four times, the game is drawn by repetition (sennichite) and replayed.
- The exception: if one player reached that repetition by giving check on every move, that player loses.
- There is no move limit by default. A table can set one, and the game is then drawn when it runs out.
Common variants
- Impasse (jishogi): when both kings have entered the opposing camp and neither can be mated, professional rules count pieces — 5 points for each rook or bishop and 1 for every other piece except the king. A player with fewer than 24 points loses; if both have 24 or more, the game is drawn. This site has no impasse count; use the move limit instead.
- Handicap games: the stronger player removes pieces before the start — for example a lance, the bishop, the rook, or both rook and bishop — and moves first. Handicaps are not offered here yet.
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
- Promote
- Flipping a piece over on a move into or out of the far three ranks, which gives it a stronger move.
- Hand
- The pieces you have captured. On your turn you may drop one onto any empty square.
- Check
- A threat to capture the king next move. The player in check must answer it.
- Checkmate
- A check with no answer. The player who is checkmated loses.
- Two pawns
- Two of your own unpromoted pawns on one file. Dropping a pawn to make that is illegal.
- Repetition
- The same position appearing four times. The game is drawn and played again.
FAQ
Do I have to promote?
Not usually — you are asked each time a move starts or ends in the far three ranks. Only a piece that would have no move left (a pawn or lance on the last rank, a knight on the last two) must promote.
What happens to pieces I capture?
They join your hand, and on your turn you may drop one onto any empty square. A promoted piece reverts to its plain form when captured.
Where can I not drop a piece?
Onto a file that already holds one of your unpromoted pawns, onto a square where the piece would have no move, and a pawn drop that gives immediate checkmate.
Can I ignore a check?
No. You must escape, capture the checking piece, or block it. With no answer available you are checkmated and lose.
What happens on a repetition?
The game is drawn, and Play again starts the replay. If one player checked on every move of the repetition, that player loses instead.
Is there an entering-king (impasse) count?
Not yet. Tables that want to end a long game can set a move limit instead.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-13 · Run by Qdan, Inc.