This lesson covers every rule you need to play a complete, legal game of shogi. By the end, you will understand how pieces move, how promotion works, how the drop rule functions, and how a game ends. These are the foundations everything else in shogi is built on.
If you have not yet read Lesson 4 on board setup, start there first. This lesson assumes you already know the starting position.
Basic Rules of Play
Turn Order
Shogi is a two-player game. Players alternate turns, with the first player (先手, sente) moving first. The second player is called 後手 (gote). On each turn, a player must either move a piece already on the board or drop a captured piece from their hand (the piece stand).
How Pieces Move
Each piece type moves in a specific pattern. Here is a complete summary:
- King (玉/王): One square in any direction (8 directions).
- Rook (飛車): Any number of squares horizontally or vertically (like a chess rook).
- Bishop (角行): Any number of squares diagonally (like a chess bishop).
- Gold General (金将): One square in any direction except diagonally backward.
- Silver General (銀将): One square diagonally, or one square straight forward.
- Knight (桂馬): Two squares forward and one square to the side (an L-shape, but only forward). Can jump over other pieces.
- Lance (香車): Any number of squares straight forward only. Cannot move backward or sideways.
- Pawn (歩兵): One square straight forward only.
Capturing
A piece captures by moving to a square occupied by an opponent’s piece. The captured piece is removed from the board and placed on the capturing player’s piece stand. It can later be dropped back into play (see Drop Rule below).
You cannot capture your own pieces. You cannot move to a square already occupied by one of your own pieces.
The Drop Rule
The drop rule is shogi’s most distinctive mechanic. On your turn, instead of moving a piece on the board, you may place (drop) a piece from your piece stand onto any empty square on the board.
Drop restrictions:
- No immobile drops: You cannot drop a piece in a position where it would have no legal moves. Specifically, you cannot drop a Pawn, Lance, or Knight on the last rank, or a Knight on the second-to-last rank.
- No pawn drop mate (打ち歩詰め, uchifu-zume): You cannot drop a pawn to immediately checkmate the opponent’s king. This is one of shogi’s most elegant and counterintuitive rules.
- One pawn per column rule: You cannot drop a pawn in a column where you already have an unpromoted pawn. You may have multiple promoted pawns in the same column, but only one unpromoted pawn per file.
Dropped pieces are placed in their unpromoted state, even if the piece had been captured after being promoted.
Promotion
The Promotion Zone
The promotion zone is the three rows closest to the opponent — rows 1, 2, and 3 from the first player’s perspective, or rows 7, 8, and 9 from the second player’s perspective.
When Promotion Occurs
A piece may promote when it either:
- Moves into the promotion zone, or
- Moves within the promotion zone (from one promotion zone square to another), or
- Moves out of the promotion zone (for pieces already inside)
Promotion is optional except when a piece would otherwise be left with no legal moves. Pawns and Lances reaching the last rank must promote. Knights reaching either of the last two ranks must promote.
What Promoted Pieces Can Do
- Promoted Pawn (と): Moves like a Gold General
- Promoted Lance (成香): Moves like a Gold General
- Promoted Knight (成桂): Moves like a Gold General
- Promoted Silver (成銀): Moves like a Gold General
- Promoted Rook / Dragon King (竜王): Moves like a Rook plus one square in any diagonal direction
- Promoted Bishop / Dragon Horse (竜馬): Moves like a Bishop plus one square horizontally or vertically
Gold Generals and Kings do not promote.
Check and Checkmate
Check (王手, ote)
A king is in check when it is under direct threat of capture on the opponent’s next move. When your king is in check, you must resolve the check on your next move. You have three options:
- Move the king to a square that is not under attack
- Block the check by placing a piece between the attacking piece and your king
- Capture the attacking piece
Unlike chess, you may also drop a piece to block a check. This is a uniquely powerful defensive resource in shogi.
Checkmate (詰み, tsumi)
Checkmate occurs when a king is in check and has no legal move to escape. The player whose king is checkmated loses the game immediately.
Other Ways a Game Can End
Resignation (投了, toryo)
The most common way games end in shogi — as in chess — is resignation. When a player recognizes that their position is lost, they resign by saying “負けました” (makemashita — “I have lost”). Resignation is considered a mark of respect for the opponent’s play.
Repetition — Sennichite (千日手)
If the same board position occurs four times with the same player to move, the game is declared a draw (千日手). In professional shogi, the game is typically replayed from the start. Exception: perpetual check (the attacking player forcing the same position repeatedly through check) is illegal and results in a loss for the attacking player.
Impasse — Jishogi (持将棋)
If both kings successfully advance into the opponent’s promotion zone and neither player can force checkmate, the game enters jishogi. Points are counted: each Rook and Bishop counts as 5 points; all other pieces count as 1 point each. A player needs at least 24 points to avoid losing. If both players have 24 or more points, the game is a draw. If one player has fewer than 24 points, that player loses.
Illegal Moves
Making an illegal move in a tournament game results in an immediate loss. The most common illegal moves to watch out for as a beginner:
- Dropping a pawn in a file where you already have an unpromoted pawn
- Dropping a pawn to give immediate checkmate
- Moving into check or failing to escape from check
- Dropping a piece where it has no legal moves
You now know all the rules of shogi. The next step is to understand castles — the defensive formations that are the foundation of shogi strategy. Continue to Lesson 6: Shogi Castles Explained.
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