I Wrote a Book for People Who Know the Rules of Shogi but Aren’t Sure How to Play
Contents
“I know the rules of shogi, but when I try to play, I don’t know how to think about my moves.”
Have you ever felt that way?
Shogi has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years, sparked by “Fujii fever.”
The term for fans who mainly watch shogi has become commonplace in Japan, and it feels as though the fan base is expanding.
But as someone who plays, I wonder: are we really getting across how much fun it is to play shogi?
Shogi Is Even More Fun When You Play
I suspect many people know the rules but feel that getting started is intimidating or that there’s too much to memorize.
In reality, it’s a casual pastime open to people of all ages. These days, you can use a smartphone to find an opponent at a suitable level anytime, anywhere…
And in amateur shogi, even at dan level, improvising at the board matters far more than memorization. My view is that you don’t need to memorize vast amounts simply to enjoy shogi.
Shogi has continued to fascinate people for over 400 years with the same rules. Even today, with entertainment everywhere, people keep falling in love with it.
I think it’s a rare kind of game, that enjoyable and that deep.
But if only a limited group of people gets to experience that appeal—the pleasure of actually playing—that’s a real shame.
I’m just an amateur, but I keep wondering what would help more people discover the enjoyment of shogi.
Too Few Books for the People in Between
There’s plenty of material teaching the rules to people who want to start playing.
There are also lots of opening-analysis books and checkmate puzzle books for dedicated players.
But for people thinking, “I know the rules, but I can’t win. What should I be thinking about?”
there’s not much material bridging the gap between beginners and active, experienced shogi fans.
I wish there were more books that could encourage people standing at the entrance to shogi to take that next step and enjoy playing it themselves.
So, although I’m nowhere near the top tier of shogi players, I decided to have a go myself and wrote this Kindle ebook.
Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read it at no additional cost! I’d be delighted if you had a look through it.
Shogi Beyond the Rules
View on AmazonThe link below is for anyone whose ad blocker prevents the book from appearing.
Shogi Beyond the Rules
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G6XPB6S7
I’m confident I can teach beginners and kyu-level players, and the moves in the book have been checked with strong shogi software, so you can read with confidence!
The Joy of Improvement You Can Feel Right Away
As much as shogi is a game, it can be hard to find it enjoyable if you can’t win, don’t improve, or don’t understand what’s happening.
So in this book, I deliberately avoided difficult calculation and opening theory,
and filled it with ways of thinking you can put to use immediately.
The tagline is “Improve by one kyu just by reading.” I don’t mean that as an exaggeration: if you’ve never been taught how to think about shogi, I believe that’s entirely possible!
I think there’s a great deal that can make you stronger simply by being aware of it, but which hasn’t been properly communicated.
I also avoided the long strings of move notation common in shogi books—such as Black P-76, White P-34—as much as possible, adding frequent diagrams to make it easier for beginners to follow.
If even one person reads this and thinks, “Shogi might actually be fun to play,” or “I’m starting to win more than before,” that would be wonderful.
If you’re getting curious about shogi, or struggling to win, I’d be happy if you picked it up.
I think it should be useful up to about 4-kyu on Shogi Wars or Shogi Quest.
For stronger players, the content probably won’t be useful. But if you relate to what I’ve written here, a like would be encouraging.
Thank you for reading! <(_ _)>
