Learn surface shogi

Select a piece, then a highlighted square. These study boards leave out pieces that are not needed, and may move one army several times to demonstrate a rule.

Letter pieces

Loading lesson…

Piece reference

Forward follows the pointed end of a piece. Black or White identifies its owner, even when its facing changes.

The eight shogi pieces, their movement, and their promoted movement
Piece	Movement	After promotion
王`K`King	One square in any direction.	Does not promote.
飛`R`Rook	Any unobstructed distance horizontally or vertically.	龍`+R` DragonRook movement, plus one square diagonally.
角`B`Bishop	Any unobstructed distance diagonally.	馬`+B` HorseBishop movement, plus one square horizontally or vertically.
金`G`Gold	One square forward, diagonally forward, sideways, or straight backward.	Does not promote.
銀`S`Silver	One square straight forward or in any diagonal direction.	全`+S`Moves as a gold.
桂`N`Knight	Two squares forward and one sideways; jumps over intervening pieces.	圭`+N`Moves as a gold.
香`L`Lance	Any unobstructed distance straight forward.	杏`+L`Moves as a gold.
歩`P`Pawn	One square straight forward. Captures in that same direction.	と`+P` TokinMoves as a gold.

All moves follow the board’s connections. On genus two, a knight follows forward–sideways–forward, and a diagonal cannot pass through a marked cone point. Captured pieces return to their unpromoted form before entering a hand.

Reading the moves

A square has a file letter and a rank: e4. Genus-two squares also name the chart: I:e4 or II:e4.

P e3–e4: A pawn moves from e3 to e4. A capture uses × instead of the dash.
P*e5: A pawn is dropped from the hand onto e5.
+ and =: A final + promotes the piece; = declines available promotion. A leading +, as in +P, identifies an already promoted piece.
↑ and ↓: After a change of facing, the arrow indicates higher or lower ranks. It does not change the owner.

Complete notation guide

Board examples

Black gold at a8, now pointing downward after crossing from i4 on the Möbius board. — **Möbius**After G i4–a8 ↓, the gold is still Black but points toward lower ranks. The side connection reverses both rank and facing.

Klein rook at e1 after wrapping from e18, shown on two coordinate panels. — **Klein**After R e18–e1, the rook has crossed the top–bottom join without turning. The two panels display one continuous 9 × 18 board.

Selected Black pawn on I:a4 and its available destination II:a4 on the other chart. — **Genus 2**The pawn on I:a4 can step to the marked II:a4 square. Staircase edges connect the charts; diamond markers stop diagonals through cone points.