Japanese Chess: The Game of Shogi

Very new to shogi, and while this book didn't teach me everything I'd like to know it did set a good foundation, helping me learn some basic openings and strategies, and teaching me how to read a Japanese score properly so I have more resources to choose from afterwards. The author is a 4th dan at the time of writing it, and at the end of the book Yasuharu Oyama (who is a Shogi Meijin or Champion) put an afterward endorsing the book, so I'd say it's definitely worth checking out if you are interested in Shogi.

This book sets out clear instructions of the game of shogi. I like that it also gives a brief overview of the origins of the game. I especially like that the writer gives insight to strategy without bogging the reader down too much. Plus, if I didn't own my own shogi board and pieces, the book has paper sets to practice with in the back of the book.

This has been the best resource if you're and English only speaker and want to learn shogi. Coming with its own board to practice and going into plays that professionals vs new comers do makes it very useful.

I have been playing shogi with some friends for a little while, but I really wanted to brush up on my skills and try to develop more advanced techniques. Having read this book, I feel like a more confident shogi player. Mr. Leggett walks through the basics of shogi pieces, with the focus on how to effect mate with those pieces. Then dropping pieces is introduced. From there, Mr. Leggett works the player through basic strategy before showing championship games and the strategies used there. As an introduction to shogi, I think this book is a good effort, but is somewhat rough around the edges. The does pretty well in walking through the very basics, but starts to jump into advanced strategy without covering mid-level strategy much. Mr. Leggett has many useful mottos and pointers to keep in mind (you need X number of pieces to drop to effect mate, Y number if you have pieces promoted), and some of these have been helpful with my own gameplay. In addition, the basic pointers on how to mate an opponent have actually helped me to win games since reading this book. My only complaint (hence the 4 stars) is the focus on specific games, and not enough examples of general strategy. Also the length of the book is somewhat brief. I feel that each section could use some more expansion, particularly the later sections. In any case, I think this is a fine book, and a good read for anyone whose new to shogi, or wants to brush up on their skills. I think this book is good for rounding out one's knowledge of shogi.

The only thing I wanted from the book was for it to be longer! I loved this book and I think it is an excellent introduction to the game

I was up to speed on how to play quickly. The way Shogi is explained by pairing the Japanese symbols with the well known regular chess pieces made learning to identify them easy.

A bit difficult to understand the game. Think the order of the chapters should be rearranged making the moves of the different pieces the top priority. I found the rules of the game so complicated that I gave up reading the book about two thirds of the way through. But I will return to it in the future.

The included paper shogi board and pieces are kind of lame, but better than nothing. I would recommend purchasing one of the many cheap sets available in addition to this book.

Buenas explicaciones. Ideal para aprender.

Ein handlicher knapp aber übersichtlich gehaltener Einführungskurs für Einsteiger, der Lust auf das Spiel macht, ohne zu überfordern. Auch der Umstand, dass er in Englisch ist, sollte nicht abschrecken, denn er liest sich leicht und ist zusätzlich mit übersichtlichen Grafiken bebildert. Vertiefende Literatur wäre eine gute Ergänzung, habe ich aber noch keine (ausser auf Japanisch) gefunden.

My son reading it now and telling me far too many 'did you know mom' impossible to remember facts. He seems very interested

Good introduction to how the game is played.

Ottimo libro, contiene uone informazioni per chi si avvicina la prima volta allo shogi ed anche per chi già ci gioca da tempo. Unico difetto: non esiste ancora una copia in italiano, quindi come (ancora) molte cose inerenti al giappone per noi italiani rimane necessario armarci di buona pazienza ed una discreta conoscenza dell'inglese