Shogi: Japan's Game of Strategy

Rating:
Summary: A Good Introduction to a Challenging Game
Review: The Japanese play Chess as enthusiastically as we play golf, but Japanese Chess, or Shogi, is quite unlike Chess. At first glance, Shogi bears no resemblance whatsoever to Chess. The 9x9 board is uncheckered and is marked with dots similar to those on a Go board. The pieces look like little pentagonal arrowheads or wedges, and enemy pieces are distinguished, not by color, but by the direction in which they point. Probably the most intimidating aspect of Shogi is that the pieces' ranks are displayed in Japanese hieroglyphics. The pieces' ranks appear in black on one side, and their promoted value in red on the other side. The pieces are really quite easy to learn, and although Westernized sets abound, the game loses some of its charm when played with pieces marked with English initials and arrows indicating the movement of the pieces.

For almost twenty years, until the publication of John Fairbairn's "Shogi for Beginners," this book served as the only English language introduction to the game. Fairbairn's book is more thorough and gives deeper insight into the game, but Fairbairn's diagrams are in Japanese hieroglyphics. Legget's book uses Westernized symbols which are easier to decipher. Leggett's book also has this advantage over Fairbairn's: It comes with a cardboard punchout Shogi set.

Thus, Fairbairn's book gives better instruction, but Leggett's is more user-friendly.

Rating:
Summary: If you can play chess, this book is for you.
Review: This is my first review of a book at Amazon, but I was moved to write because this book does not deserve the three star rating given by the only other reviewer. While it is true that (until recently) this was the only book in English about Shogi, it is in my opinion a much better introduction than most beginning books on chess. Trevor starts with the rules of chess, and quickly converts that knowledge into how the pieces move in Shogi, adding info where needed. Then he offers an (admittedly brief) introduction to two different opening styles (like King's pawn vs Queen's pawn openings if you will). He uses the game with mistakes as an illustration because, as a beginner, one learns more from mistakes than from flawless master-level play. I have lived in Japan now for four years and have had ample opportunity to see such high-level play -- it baffles me. Still, with this book, I have turned my chess skills into a moderate level Shogi game. I've even won a few games against some friends. In the end, this book hooked me on Shogi. It is a great game, and this book does much to take you from beginner to moderate player (I recommend a computer game to help you learn too)