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  14 <TITLE>GNU Shogi manual: Shogi variants</TITLE>
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  39 <H2> 2.4 Shogi variants </H2>
  40 <!--docid::SEC17::-->
  41 <P>
  42
  43 Several historical variants of shogi exist.  Most of these were invented
  44 before modern shogi (in some cases hundreds of years before), are much
  45 larger than modern shogi and are not played with drops.  Thus, in many
  46 ways they are really more like giant chess games than like modern shogi.
  47 The only one of these games to have survived in Japan is Chu (middle)
  48 shogi, which is still played a little bit.  Thanks to the efforts of
  49 George Hodges and John Fairbairn of the Shogi Association (two British
  50 shogi enthusiasts), these games were resurrected and rules and sets for
  51 them can still be purchased from George Hodges (see section <A HREF="gnushogi_21.html#SEC21">5. References and links</A>).  I hope to eventually extend GNU shogi so that it can play at
  52 least some of these games.  There are also several non-historical
  53 variants of shogi; I don't know much about them but you can find
  54 information about them on the internet (see section <A HREF="gnushogi_21.html#SEC21">5. References and links</A>).
  55 </P><P>
  56
  57 The historical variants include:
  58 </P><P>
  59
  60 <OL>
  61
  62 <LI>
  63 Tori (bird) shogi, played on a 7x7 board with 32 pieces in all; this is
  64 the only variant that is known to have been played with drops.
  65 <P>
  66
  67 <LI>
  68 Wa shogi, played on an 11x11 board with 54 pieces.  This game can be
  69 played with or without drops but the historical evidence favors the view
  70 that it was played without drops.  However, most people who have tried
  71 it claim it is a much better game with drops, being even more intricate
  72 than standard shogi.
  73 <P>
  74
  75 <LI>
  76 Chu (middle) shogi, played on a 12x12 board with 92 pieces.  This was
  77 (and is) by far the most popular of the variants, and has 21 different
  78 kinds of pieces in the starting line-up alone (along with several others
  79 that appear upon promotion).  Unlike modern shogi, there are a
  80 tremendous number of ranging pieces and the game is definitely not
  81 played with drops.  There is also an amazing piece called the Lion which
  82 has a double king move and can capture two pieces at once!  Chu shogi
  83 has a small but fanatical following, some of whom consider it better
  84 than modern shogi.
  85 <P>
  86
  87 <LI>
  88 Dai (great) shogi, played on a 15x15 board with 130 pieces.  Other than
  89 the larger board, this game is very similar to Chu shogi.
  90 <P>
  91
  92 <LI>
  93 Tenjiku (exotic) shogi, played on a 16x16 board with 176 pieces.  This
  94 game is possibly the most complex tactical game in existence.  There are
  95 many astoundingly powerful pieces, including one (the Fire Demon) that
  96 can capture up to eight opposing pieces in a single move!  Despite the
  97 size of the game, checkmates can occur very suddenly (and often very
  98 early on) if one player makes a wrong move.  Tenjiku also has a small
  99 but fanatical following, one of whom (Colin Adams) has written a book on
 100 the game which is available for download at
 101 <A HREF="http://www.colina.demon.co.uk/tenjiku.html">http://www.colina.demon.co.uk/tenjiku.html</A>.
 102 <P>
 103
 104 <LI>
 105 Dai-dai (great-great) shogi, played on a 17x17 board with 192 pieces.
 106 The opening setup alone has 64 different kinds of pieces!  This game and
 107 the larger ones that follow sound pretty outlandish, but they have
 108 actually been played; a game of Dai-dai can supposedly be played in
 109 about 12 hours.
 110 <P>
 111
 112 <LI>
 113 Maka-dai-dai (great-great-great) shogi, played on a 19x19 board with 192
 114 pieces.  For those for whom Dai-dai shogi is just too small :-)
 115 <P>
 116
 117 <LI>
 118 Tai (grand) shogi, played on a 25x25 board with 354 pieces!  Until
 119 recently, this was thought to be the biggest chess game ever devised,
 120 but now there is...
 121 <P>
 122
 123 <LI>
 124 Kyoku tai (extremely grand?) shogi, played on a 36x36 board with 402
 125 pieces.  The rules for this have just been unearthed in an old Japanese
 126 book.  Hopefully someone will soon organize a postal Kyoku tai shogi
 127 championship; maybe their distant ancestors could finish it :-)
 128 <P>
 129
 130 It is thought that the really huge games (Dai-dai and up) were never
 131 really played to any significant extent (gee, wonder why?) and were
 132 devised merely so that the creators could have the fun of inventing
 133 enormous games, amazing their friends and confounding their enemies.
 134 However, the games up to Tenjiku shogi at least appear to be quite
 135 playable, assuming one has the time.
 136 </P><P>
 137
 138 </OL>
 139 <P>
 140
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