The Shogi Foundation has been established in England by Tony Hosking (British & European Shogi Champion 2000), in order to help spread the playing of shogi (Japanese chess) world-wide. The original publication 'The Art Of Shogi' (1996) has been very well received - by not only amateur players, but also Japanese men and women professional players. As a result of this response, further publications continue to follow, especially through the very kind and vital help of First 7 Crowns professional title holder Yoshiharu Habu. The Shogi Foundation has at present 5 products on offer (4 books and a set), as shown below on this page.
Shogi is a very popular traditional part of Japanese culture - with an estimated 20 million Japanese players or more !
Shogi and Western chess are very closely related - sharing the same winning objective of enforcing capture (checkmate) of the opponent's king, and some similar movement of pieces (kings, rooks, bishops, knights and pawns). However, one of the most distinctive and creative features of shogi is that all captured pieces immediately change sides (a reflection of change of allegiance in past warfare in Japan, when the rules of shogi were codified in the 17th century). All captured pieces become the capturing player's reserves or 'pieces in hand', which can be placed or 'dropped' back onto the board (instead of moving a piece already on the board). In shogi all the pieces are thus kept in play for the whole of the game, with capturing greatly increasing move possibilities.
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THE ART OF SHOGI (book) by Tony Hosking with a Foreword by Yoshiharu Habu |
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HABU'S WORDS (book) by Yoshiharu Habu "If you read this book
and find a new appeal of shogi, or it helps your improvement, this would
give me great pleasure as an author" (Yoshiharu Habu). |
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CLASSIC SHOGI (book) by Tony Hosking 80 Annotated Games Collection celebrating 400 years of shogi with a Foreword by Yoshiharu Habu "During the Edo era, shogi was played in a style which focused on the value of the centre ... In modern shogi gaining advantages in speed is emphasized... I will be very happy if you feel such transition in shogi history from this book" (Yoshiharu Habu). |
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4 GREAT GAMES (book) by Tony
Hosking Western chess Grandmaster Ray Keene reviewed '4 Great Games' in the The Times newspaper in June 1998, saying: 'The book is ideal for those who wish to broaden their chess cultural horizons.' |
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THE ART OF SHOGI (Portable Shogi Set) "...I also use the portable set. This I discovered purely by accident and I love it...How can I get more of the Portable Sets for friends?" (US shogi player). |