Tenjiku shogi
A pair of dots may be placed just beyond the fifth rank on each side to mark the promotion zones and aid in the initial setup of the two camps.
The queen is sometimes referred to as the free king, a direct translation of its Japanese name.
(The queen could also be abbreviated FK for free king, and the kirin as Ky for kylin.)
Many pieces can move any number of empty squares along a straight orthogonal or diagonal line, limited only by the edge of the board.
The ranging pieces are the great general, vice general, rook general, bishop general, free eagle, soaring eagle, horned falcon, queen, water buffalo, chariot soldier, fire demon, lion hawk, dragon king, dragon horse, rook, bishop, vertical mover, side mover, reverse chariot, vertical soldier, side soldier and lance.
The relevant ranking is: That is, bishop and rook generals cannot jump over any other range-jumping piece.
A player's promotion zone consists of the five far ranks, at the original line of the opponent's pawns and beyond.
This is reset by leaving the zone and reentering: promotion is possible on such a reentry even without a capture.
(In chu shogi, this provision applies to pawns, which are not completely upward compatible with the gold generals they promote to because of the rules against trading lions.)
This second chance, if it exists, could likewise be declined, leaving the knight or iron general as an immobile "dead piece" (死に駒).
By default continuation legs can go into all directions, but can be restricted to a single line by a modifier 'v' ("vertical", interpreted relative to the piece's current position on its path).
The default modality of all legs is the ability to move and capture: other possibilities are specified explicitly.
Because it cannot move orthogonally, an unpromoted bishop general can only reach half the squares on the board.
Because it cannot move orthogonally, an unpromoted bishop can only reach half the squares on the board.
Nevertheless, it seems more likely that the piece is intended to be singular, because there are four chariot soldiers in the initial position and hence four potential tetrarchs.
Since a knight cannot move backward or to the sides, it is trapped when it reaches the penultimate rank.
Since an iron general cannot move backward or to the sides, it is trapped when it reaches the far rank.
Note: Because of its unusual movement, an unpromoted kirin can only reach half the squares on the board.
Although obviously not often a good idea, a player with more than one royal may occasionally sacrifice one of these pieces as part of a gambit.
A player who captures the opponent's sole remaining king or prince wins the game.
The very artificial situation of a smothered stalemate, where no moves are possible (even those that would expose the king), is not covered in the historical sources.
In practice these winning conditions are rarely fulfilled, as a player will typically resign when checkmated, as otherwise when loss is inevitable.
[1] Games between players of disparate strength may be played with handicaps, by analogy with chu shogi.
(As the first move can cancel out weak handicaps, either the weaker player or the stronger can be White, as needed.)
The method used in English-language texts to express shogi moves was established by George Hodges in 1976.
It is derived from the algebraic notation used for chess, but modifications have been made for tenjiku shogi.
In handicap games White plays first, so Black's move 1 is replaced by an ellipsis.
In general, the presentation of the rules above follows The Chess Variant Pages, except for whether or not the water buffalo can immediately burn enemy pieces upon promotion.
According to the German Chu Shogi Association, the average values of the pieces are (using the interpretations of the English-language sources): These average values do not take into account the special status of the king and prince as royal pieces.
Additionally, pieces gain in value if they have a good chance of promotion (particularly for the water buffalo, which promotes to the most powerful piece in the game), and the jumping generals and fire demon tend to lose some power as the board empties (because they then cannot make full use of their jumping and burning abilities).
