A shogi variant is a game related to or derived from shogi (Japanese chess). Many shogi variants have been developed over the centuries, ranging from some of the largest chess-type games ever played to some of the smallest. A few of these variants are still regularly played, though none are as popular as shogi itself.
The drop rule, often considered the most notable feature of shogi, is absent from most shogi variants, which therefore play more like other forms of chess, with the board becoming less crowded as pieces are exchanged. This is especially true for variants larger than shogi itself − in fact, the largest well-known variant that features the drop rule is the 11×11 game wa shogi.
Some form of chess had almost certainly reached Japan by the 9th century, if not earlier, but the earliest surviving Japanese description of the rules of chess dates from the early 12th century, during the Heian period. Unfortunately, this description does not give enough information to play the game, but this has not stopped people from trying to reconstruct this early form of shogi, which is usually referred to as Heian shogi (平安将棋). Piece movements were as in modern shogi, but there was no rook or bishop. The board appears to have been either 9×8 or 8×8. The setup is unknown, but can reasonably be assumed to have been the same as in modern shogi (minus the rook and bishop, and minus a gold general in the 8×8 case), but possibly the pawns started on the second rank rather than the third. It can safely be assumed that the game was played without drops, since the weak pieces promote strictly to gold, instead of just moving like gold.
By the 16th century the game had taken a form closer to the modern game: it was played on a 9×9 board with the same setup as in modern shogi except that an extra piece (an elephant) stood in front of the king. This form of the game is known as sho shogi (小将棋), which means "small shogi". (While 9×9 may not seem small, despite the name, it was smaller than the other shogi variants prevalent at the time.) The elephant was eliminated by the Emperor Go-Nara (reign 1526–1557), and it is assumed that the drop rule was introduced at about the same time, giving rise to shogi as we know it today.
There are a number of shogi variants played on boards larger than 9×9. These variants are all quite old, and were possibly all played without drops. Michael C. Vanier says, "It is thought that the really huge games (dai dai and up) were never really played to any significant extent [...] and were devised merely so that the creators could have the fun of inventing enormous games, amazing their friends and confounding their enemies. However, the games up to tenjiku shogi at least appear to be quite playable, assuming one has the time."[1]
The same 12th-century document which describes the Heian form of shogi also describes a variant played on a 13×13 board, which is now called Heian dai shogi (平安大将棋). As with the smaller Heian shogi, the rules for this game have not been completely preserved.
The most popular large-board variant is chu shogi (中将棋), played on a 12×12 board. The name means medium shogi, and the game is sometimes so called (or called middle shogi) in English. Chu shogi has existed since at least the 14th century; there are earlier references, but it is not clear that they refer to the game as we now know it. Chu shogi is best known for a piece called the lion, which moves like a king but twice per turn. The game was still commonly played in Japan in the early 20th century, but has now largely died out. It has, however, gained some adherents in the West. The main reference work in English is the Middle Shogi Manual by George Hodges.
Other large medieval shogi variants were wa shogi (11×11, sometimes played with drops), dai shogi (大将棋, "great shogi", 15×15), tenjiku shogi (天竺将棋, literally "Indian shogi", but meant "exotic shogi", 16×16), dai dai shogi (大大将棋, "great great shogi", 17×17), maka dai dai shogi (摩訶大大将棋, "ultra great great shogi", 19×19) and tai shogi (泰将棋, "grand shogi", 25×25). These variants date back at least to the 17th century. Tai shogi was thought to be the world's largest chess variant, but recently records of an even larger variant, taikyoku shogi (大局将棋, "ultimate shogi", 36×36), was discovered. However, there is no evidence that any of them were commonly played apart from dai shogi. While a few sets for dai dai shogi, maka dai dai shogi, and tai shogi are known to have been made, they appear to have been intended as display pieces and not for actual playing. Furthermore, the sources for the rules of almost all the larger variants tend to disagree with each other on many particular issues, even including the very moves of the pieces, such that only for chu shogi and dai shogi is it well-known what the historical rules were, and some small lacunae still arise in the latter with rare situations.
| Name | Board size | Pieces each | Piece types | Different moves | When invented | First mentioned | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9×9 | 21 | 10 | 10 | Ancestor of modern shogi. | ||||
| 9×9 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 16th century | Introduced piece drops | |||
| 8×8 or 9×8 or 9x9 | 16 or 18 | 6 | 6 | An early form of shogi. | ||||
| 11×11 | 27 | 17 | 22 | 1694 Shōgi Zushiki | All pieces are named after animals. Occasionally played. | |||
| 12×12 | 46 | 21 | 28 | 1350 Yūgaku ōrai | Smaller version of dai shogi with fewer pieces (eliminating the least powerful ones) and different start setup. The most popular of the large variants. | |||
| 13×13 | 34 | 13 | 14 | 1230 Nichūreki | ||||
| 15×15 | 65 | 29 | 36 | ~1230; Kamakura period | 1300 Futsū Shōdōshū | |||
| 16×16 | 76 | 36 | 43 | 15th or 16th century; Muromachi period | 1694 Shōgi Zushiki | Enlarged version of chu shogi with more pieces (adding even more powerful ones) and different start setup. One of the relatively more popular large variants. | ||
| 17×17 | 96 | 64 | 68 | 15th century; Muromachi period | 1443 Shōgi Rokushu no Zushiki | |||
| 19×19 | 96 | 50 | 76 | 15th century; Muromachi period | 1443 Shōgi Rokushu no Zushiki | Occasionally played, though with altered rules. | ||
| 25×25 | 177 | 93 | 101 | 15th century; Muromachi period | 1443 Shōgi Rokushu no Zushiki | |||
| 36×36 | 402 | 208 | 300 | Edo period | 1694 Shōgi Zushiki |
These are some of the new and old shogi variants which have been invented. Time will show which if any of the many recently invented variants stand the test of usage and competition from other games, and stay in use.
| Name | Board size | Pieces each | When invented | Invented by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 grid shogi[2] | 3×3 | Various | 2016 | Uses 40 different piece combinations and start positions. The first and last rank are the promotion zones. All other rules are the same as the traditional shogi. Designed to teach shogi. Its name in Japanese is ９マス将棋 kyu-masu shogi. | ||
| 3×4 | 4 | Children's game.[3] Also sold as "Let's Catch the Lion!" | ||||
| 4×5 | 5 | Modern, but before 1982 | Ōyama Yasuharu? | Pieces alternate between promoted and demoted state after each capturing move. | ||
| 5×5 | 6 | ~1970 | Shigenobu Kusumoto | He may have rediscovered it instead of inventing it. Comparatively popular. | ||
| 5×5 | 5 | ~1976 | Tamiya Katsuya | Pieces alternate between promoted and demoted state after each time they are moved. | ||
| Goro goro shogi | 5×6 | 8 | Each player's promotion zone consists of the two farthest ranks from the player. There are also no long-range pieces such as rooks and bishops, although there is a variant where each player has a knight and a lance.[4] | |||
| 6×6 | 7 | Before April 1998 | Paul Judkins of Norwich, England | |||
| 6×6 | 12 | 1981 | R. Wayne Schmittberger of USA | All pieces named after cetaceans. | ||
| 7×7 | 16 | Late 18th century | Toyota Genryu | All pieces named after birds. Uses the drop rule. One of the more popular shogi variants. | ||
| 7×9 | 14 | 1981 | Christian Freeling, Netherlands | Except for the general (king) and the pawn, all pieces have a strong emphasis on their vertical movement, like that of the shogi lance. | ||
| 8×8 | 16 | After 2000 | Vladimír Pribylinec | Pieces are two colored cubes with chess symbols. A rotation of the man promotes the unit or changes its colour. | ||
| 8×8 | 18 | After 2000 | Cyril Veltin | This version introduces the princess piece.[5] |
| Name | Board Size | Pieces each | When invented | Invented by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9×9 | 20 | Early 20th century | Unknown | Shogi with knight that can jump in all eight directions (八方桂). When it promotes, it gains additional power of gold general. | ||
| Cannon shogi | 9×9 | 20 | February 1998 | Peter Michaelsen | Shogi plus xiangqi-type and Janggi-type cannons. | |
| 9×9 | 9 or 18 | Like ludus latrunculorum. Not much like shogi. | ||||
| Hand shogi | 9×9 | 19 pieces | Early 1997 | John William Brown, Lewisville, Arizona | Starts with 10 pieces each side in hand.[6] | |
| 9×9 | 20 | A Korean variation of standard shogi where pieces gain the powers of the pieces behind them. Popular in Japan. | ||||
| Unashogi | 9×9 | 20 | 1994 | Edward Jackman | Starts with all pieces in hand. | |
| 9×9 | 20 | 1987 | George R. Dekle, Sr. | Ranks indented like brickwork, adapted moves; otherwise like shogi. | ||
| 85 cells | 20 | 1986 | George R. Dekle, Sr. | Hexagonal cells, adapted moves; otherwise like shogi. | ||
| 9×10 | 20 | 1987 | George R. Dekle, Sr. | Triangular cells, adapted moves; otherwise same as shogi. |
| Name | Board size | Pieces each | Piece types | Different moves | When invented | Invented by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10×10 | 22 | 9 | 11 | ~1996 | Masayuki Nakayachi | ||
| 11×11 | 28 | 17 | 28 | 1981 | R. Wayne Schmittberger | ||
| 19×19 | 90 | 34 | 53 | Late 17th century; Edo period | Ogyū Sorai (attributed) Based partly on xiangqi and projectile weapons. |
The most recent traditional large board variant is ko shogi (廣将棋 or 廣象棋 "wide shogi", 19×19), which is played on a go board and incorporates elements of Chinese chess. Ko shogi is unusual for the interdependence of its pieces and the complex rules of promotion, but likewise there is no evidence that it was ever played.
| Name | Board size | Pieces each | When invented | Invented by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7×7×7 hexagonal | 18 | ~1930 | Tanigasaki Jisuke | For three players | ||
| 9×9 | 9 | 1993 | Ota Mitsuyasu | For four players |
| Ito shogi | 1×31 | 7 | 2007, updated 2022 | Jonathan Rutherford | Two-dimensional moves translated to a one-dimensional board[7] |