You’ve played your first few games of shogi, and want some quick tips to impove your game. Shogi players range in skill from first-time players to fully professional players making their living off shogi play. Advanced strategies aren’t a good starting point for novice players. Here are five tips tailored for shogi begginers. These tips just might save your king.
Tip #1: Don’t Forget Drops
Every new shogi player has said it. “I forgot you could drop.” With a 9×9 board, and most pieces only moving one square at a time, it’s easy to mistakenly think of shogi as a slow moving game.
With the proper exchange and drop, a shogi pawn can cross the entire 9×9 board and assume the powers of a gold general in just a few moves. Drops make shogi an extremely fast paced game.
Watch out for drops!
