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Must-Capture Shogi Strategy and Tips

Here is how to think about winning at Must-Capture 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.

If you can take it, you must

Lesson 1

This is the whole rule of must-capture shogi. On your turn, if moving a piece on the board could take an enemy piece — even one such move — you must play one of those captures. Only when no capture is on offer may you play an ordinary move.

Here, an enemy pawn sits right in front of your silver. The silver can step forward and take it, so that capture is available — and with it available, no other move is legal, however tempting.

This one rule changes how you read the position. In ordinary shogi you choose whether to capture; here you first check whether a capture exists at all, and only choose how to capture — which piece, and whether to promote.

A drop is never a capture

Lesson 2

"Capture" in must-capture shogi means only a board move onto a square held by the enemy. Dropping a piece from your hand can only land on an empty square, so a drop can never be that capture.

Here you are holding a gold. Dropping it near the enemy king looks tempting, but your silver can take an enemy pawn on the board, and while that capture is available the drop is not a legal move at all.

Only once every capture on the board is used up can you drop from your hand again. A promising piece in hand does not excuse you from taking whatever is there to be taken first. The one exception is a turn when your own king is in check: then you may answer the check without capturing.

A hanging piece is always lost

Lesson 3

In ordinary shogi, moving a piece within reach of the enemy does not always cost it — your opponent may choose not to take. Must-capture shogi removes that choice: a piece you leave where it can be taken will always be taken on the next turn.

Here the enemy silver covers five squares: 6f, 7f, 8f, 6d and 8d. Advance your own silver to 6f and it is captured for certain next move. Step it to 4f instead and it lands outside every one of those lines.

The same reading applies when you build a king's defence or drop a piece from hand. Checking where the enemy pieces reach before you move is the single fastest way to improve at must-capture shogi.

The opening trap: watch the bishop's diagonal

Lesson 4

Must-capture shogi has a trap that comes up from the very first moves. Playing 7f simply clears the pawn in front of your bishop, opening its diagonal. If the opponent then plays an unrelated pawn move, such as 8d, their pawn on 3c is left sitting on that diagonal.

This is exactly that position. Nothing else sits on the bishop's diagonal but the enemy pawn. In ordinary shogi you could send the bishop elsewhere, but here a capture is available, so taking the pawn on 3c is the only legal move — and the bishop can promote right there.

After any seemingly ordinary opening exchange, get in the habit of checking whether a capture has quietly appeared. The same trap works against you too, so count your own bishop's diagonal before advancing a different pawn.

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

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