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" INTRODUCTION ============== Tai Shogi (Grand Shogi) with its 25x25 square board and 354 pieces is thought to be the largest chess game in the world. (While there is a suggestion that there was once a form of Shogi called 'Tai-Kyoku' played on a board of 36x36 squares, no rules have ever been found.) Tai Shogi is a gargantuan of a game both in terms of strategy and playing time. A serious game of Tai will require several long sessions to complete and may need over 1000 moves per player. The game is simply too big to be played strategically, and therefore the game typically proceeds as a series of local skirmishes as both players try to develop their pieces and improve their position. The exact date Tai Shogi was invented is not known. The oldest surviving record of the moves of the pieces is in Nishizawa Teijin's SHO SHOGI ZUSHIKI, published in 1694. While most of the 101 different pieces in Tai Shogi are also found in other variants, one unique feature of Tai is the presence right from the beginning of the game of the all powerful 'Emperors'. THE GAME ========= Tai Shogi is played on a board of 25 x 25 squares and each player has 177 pieces (including 25 pawns)! As in all Shogi games, the pieces are flat and wedge-shaped and are not distinguished by colour. Although the pieces are of uniform colour the first player is still conventionally referred to as 'Black' and the second player as 'White'. Ownership of the pieces is indicated by the direction in which they face, with a player's pieces always pointing towards the opponent. The players make alternate moves, with the object being to capture the opposing 'Emperor' AND the 'Crown Prince'. If a player has acquired a 2nd 'Crown Prince' (by promoting the 'Drunk Elephant') that piece must also be captured before the game can be won. On each turn a player can move one piece according to its power of movement to a vacant square on the board, or to a square occupied by an enemy piece (in which case the enemy piece is captured and removed from the game). In the case of the 'Lion' and pieces with 'Lion' power a second move can sometimes be made in the same turn. THE PIECES =========== The Piece Help screen provides the names, notation symbols, promotion details, and powers of movement for all of the pieces in the game. [The Piece Help screen can be reached by clicking on the 'Pieces' button] JUMPING PIECES =============== The 'Kylin','Phoenix', 'Donkey', 'Poisonous Snake' and 'Knight' (and the 'Emperor' and those pieces with 'Lion' powers) have the power to jump over occupied squares. As indicated by red circles on the Piece Help screens, the 'Kylin' can jump to the second square in any orthogonal direction, the 'Phoenix' may jump to the 2nd square when moving diagonally, the 'Donkey' can jump to the 2nd square directly forwards or backwards, and the 'Poisonous Snake' can jump either forwards or to the backward diagonals. The pieces shown on the 'Piece Help Screen' as having moves of 2, 3 or 5 squares can only move more than one square in the directions indicated if the intervening squares are unoccupied (ie: they can not jump). THE LION ========= The 'Lion' has an unusual and powerful move. If the 8 squares immediately adjacent to the 'Lion' are called the 'A' squares (shown as Dark Blue Circles on the Piece Help screen), and the 16 squares two away from the piece are called the 'B' squares (represented as Light Blue Circles), then the 'Lion' may do anyone of the following things in a single turn: - Move directly to any 'A' or 'B' square, jumping an intervening square if necessary; - Capture a piece on an 'A' square and continue moving one more square in any direction from the point of capture, making another capture if the 2nd square is also occupied by an enemy piece. - Capture a piece on any 'A' square without moving (this is known as 'igui' and counts as a turn). - Move to an adjacent square and return to the starting square (effectively passing the turn). This move can be made by double- clicking the left mouse button on the Lion. In Tai Shogi there are no restrictions on the capture of Lions (as there are in Chu Shogi). On promoting to 'Furious Fiend' the 'Lion' gains the power of the 'Lion Dog' (ie: it can move up to 3 squares in any orthogonal or diagonal direction). The 'Furious Fiend' can move as either a 'Lion' or 'Lion Dog' on any one turn (it can not combine the two powers in the same move). The 'Buddhist Spirit' (promoted 'Dark Spirit') has the combined powers of the 'Lion' and 'Free King', and can move as either (but not both) on any one turn. The 'Buddhist Spirit' is therefore a very mobile and dangerous piece. TEACHING KING =============== In Nishizawa Teijin's SHO SHOGI ZUSHIKI, the 'Teaching King' (promoted 'Deva') is described as having the combined moves of the 'Lion Dog' (up to 3 squares in any orthogonal or diagonal direction) and the 'Free King'. The moves of the 'Lion Dog' are completely subsumed by the powers of the 'Free King' anyway, so this piece only has one way of moving (ie: as a 'Free King'). Another interpretation of the powers of the 'Teaching King' (mentioned, but not advocated in the Shogi Association rules leaflet on 'Maka-Dai-Dai Shogi) gives it the combined move of the 'Free King' or a 3 square move with full 'Lion' powers. This immensely powerful interpretation is not now considered to be the move intended in SHO SHOGI ZUSHIKI, but has nevertheless been included as an alternative for those who may wish to try it. This 2nd version can be selected from the 'Set-up' menu. HOOK MOVERS ============ The pieces with 'hook moving' capabilities are very powerful pieces. The 'Hook Mover' itself has a Double Rook move, being able to move any number of squares in any orthogonal direction, immediately followed by a further move at right angles to the first. The two legs of the 'Hook Mover' move do not have to be of the same length, and it is not compulsory that it make the 2nd Rook move. To give some idea of the power of this move it is worth noting that the 'Hook Mover' on an empty board would be able to reach any square in one turn! The 'Hook Mover' is not a jumping piece, and must end its move on making a capture. The 'Capricorn' has hook moving powers in the diagonal directions (ie: it is effectively a Double Bishop). The 'Long-Nosed Goblin' can either 'hook move' in the diagonal directions or move one square orthogonally. The other hook mover in Tai Shogi is the 'Peacock' which is a 'hook mover' in the forward diagonal directions only, and can move one or two squares along the backward diagonals. THE CROWN PRINCE ================== In Tai Shogi there is a 'Crown Prince' in the game at the start of play and this piece must be captured (along with the 'Emperor') before the game is won. In addition, the 'Drunk Elephant' can also be promoted to a second 'Crown Prince'. If this occurs both 'Crown Princes' (and 'Emperor') must be taken before the game is ended. THE EMPEROR ============= A unique feature of Tai Shogi is the presence right from the start of the game of the all powerful 'Emperors'. The 'Emperor' has the greatest power of any piece in any of the Shogi variants as it may move in one turn to almost any square on the board, jumping over any number of pieces of either side in the process. The only restriction on the movement of the 'Emperor' is that it may not capture an enemy piece that is protected by another piece. It is this rule which prevents the 'Emperor' from simply capturing the opposing 'Emperor' (or 'Crown Prince') on its first move. While you might think that the power of the 'Emperors' would have a great impact on the course of the game, their powers tend to offset each other. It should be noted that any otherwise unprotected piece is always protected by its own 'Emperor'. PROMOTION ========== The promotion rules in Tai Shogi (and its other large cousins) are very different from those in the smaller variants. In Tai there are no Promotion Zones. A piece is promoted when it captures an enemy piece. If a piece has a promoted rank and makes a capture, promotion is compulsory. A piece that reaches the last rank of the board and does not have the power to retreat is left in play on the last rank until captured. As in all the games in the Shogi family, in Tai Shogi sets the promoted rank is shown on the reverse side of the piece, and the piece is turned over on promotion to reveal the new rank. CAPTURES ========= Unlike in Shogi, captured pieces in Tai can not be 'dropped' back into play. A captured piece is removed from play and takes no further part in the game. HANDICAP PLAY =============== Handicaps are often given when players of unequal strength play Shogi in Japan. The reason that handicap play is common is that the handicap system in Shogi works far better than that used in Western Chess. In a handicap game a player offers a handicap of one or more pieces to an opponent of less strength. While Tai does not lend itself to handicaps as well as Shogi (as there are no 'drops' in Tai), provision for handicap play has nevertheless been included in this program. The same rules for handicaps as in Shogi have been adopted. Under these rules, the player offering the handicap plays 'White'and his opponent (as 'Black') removes the handicap pieces as the first move of the game. In handicap play 'White' therefore makes the first move on the board. NOTATION ========== The following notation system is used for recording Tai Shogi games in this program. The files are designated by numbers (1 to 25), and the ranks by letters (a to y). The files are numbered from right to left (in the Japanese fashion), and the ranks from top to bottom (from Black's point of view). The top right square is therefore 1a. A move is described by giving: a) the designation of the piece (eg: Ln for Lion); this designation is preceded by a '+' if it is at its promoted rank, b) followed by the method of moving; '-' for a simple move on the board, 'x' for a capture, c) then the destination square is recorded, d) finally if the piece promoted on that turn, this is recorded by adding '+' after the move, or if promotion was possible but was refused, the symbol '=' is added. If more than one piece of the same type can reach the destination square then the starting square is also given after the piece designation to avoid confusion. When a 'Lion','Furious Fiend' or 'Buddhist Spirit' captures by 'igui' (ie: without moving) the square of the piece being captured is used instead of the destination square, and this is preceded by the symbol '!' (eg: a Lion on 8c capturing a piece on 9d would be shown as Lnx!9d). When a piece makes a double capture with 'Lion' powers both captures are shown in the order that they were made. (eg: a Lion on 3g capturing a piece on 3h and then capturing another on 2i, would be represented by Lnx3hx2i). NOTE: This system is the official notation system of 'The Shogi Association'. DISPLAYING LEGAL MOVES ========================= If the 'Show Move' option is selected from the Moves Menu, clicking the left mouse button on a piece during play will show all the legal moves of that piece: - Legal moves to vacant squares are represented as White Circles. - Legal captures are shown as Red Circles. - Legal moves by a piece with 'Lion' powers to an 'A' square, are shown as a Dark Blue Circle. - Legal moves by a piece with 'Lion' powers to a 'B' square are indicated by a Light Blue Circle. - The move of the 'Teaching King' (Version 2) to an adjacent square is shown as a Purple Circle, with a move to the 2nd square represented by a Dark Blue Circle, and the 3rd as a Light Blue Circle. - The 'Emperor's' influence is shown in Blue, with any possible captures identified in Red."