Kagamigi
Kagamigi (the best translation I could find into Japanese for "mirror chess")* is my first foray into making Shogi variants, and the start of a "family" of variants featuring the same principle.
The idea here came when I noticed how many "left/right" pieces there were in Shogi. Not all were called that (the Divine Turtle/Divine Sparrow and Great Dove/Center Standard pairs used in this game being among the exceptions), but it did make me think about ways to feature as many of them in a single game as I could.
This Variant is actually just the beginning; I plan to make this the smallest of a series, with the establishment of each version leading to the creation of a new one with three new spaces in each direction, until I run out of left/right pieces to add.
*With any due apologies to native Japanese speakers if I got that wrong.
Setup
Setup is on the traditional 9x9 square Shogi board, even though most pieces are very different from what you'd find in a regular Shogi game.
The Interactive Diagram below shows the setup, with the Pieces list below to be used as a guide. Currently it uses only icons (both single and compound) from my SVG set; hopefully, Mnemonic pieces and perhaps even traditional Kanji-stamped Shogi pieces will be added soon.
Pieces
The table below lists all of the pieces used in this game, showing their names, icons, Piece IDs, move descriptions, and promotions.
| Initial Piece | Promoted Piece | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Moves one space in any direction (K) | Does not promote. | ||
| Slides directly forward, diagonally forward and to the left, or diagonally backward and to the right; or steps one space directly backward. (fRflBbrBbW) | Does not promote. | ||
| Slides directly forward, diagonally forward and to the right, or diagonally backward and to the left; or steps one space directly backward. (fRfrBblBbW) | Does not promote. | ||
| Slides diagonally. (B) | Slides diagonally, or steps one space orthogonally. (BW) | ||
| Slides orthogonally. (R) | Slides orthogonally, or steps one space diagonally (RF) | ||
| Steps one space orthogonally, or leaps two spaces diagonally. (WA) | Slides diagonally, or steps up to three spaces orthogonally. (BW3) | ||
| Steps one space diagonally, or leaps two spaces orthogonally. (FD) | Slides orthogonally, or steps up to three spaces diagonally. (RF3) | ||
| Steps up to four spaces forward and to the right; or up to two spaces directly backward or to the left; or one space backward and to the right, forward and to the left, or directly forward.(frB4lbW2flFbrFfW) | Slides diagonally to the right, or backward and to the left; or steps to any adjacent space. (KrBlbB) | ||
| Steps up to four spaces forward and to the left; or up to two spaces directly backward or to the right; or one space backward and to the left, forward and to the right, or directly forward.(flB4rbW2frFblFfW) | Slides diagonally to the left, or backward and to the right; or steps to any adjacent space. (KrBlbB) | ||
| Steps one space diagonally, or directly forward. (FfW) | Steps one space or jumps two spaces diagonally, or directly forward. (FfWAfD) | ||
| Steps one space in any direction except directly left. (FvrW) | Slides directly or diagonally to the right, or steps one space in any other direction. (KrhQ) | ||
| Steps one space in any direction except directly right. (FvlW) | Slides directly or diagonally to the left, or steps one space in any other direction. (KlhQ) | ||
| Slides directly forward, or diagonally backward and to the right; or steps one space backward and to the left. (fRbrBblF) | Slides directly or diagonally to the right, or steps one space diagonally to the left. (rhQlF) | ||
| Slides directly forward, or diagonally backward and to the left; or steps one space backward and to the right. (fRblBbrF) | Slides directly or diagonally to the left, or steps one space diagonally to the right. (lhQrF) | ||
| Steps one space directly forward. (fW) | Steps one space orthgonally, or diagonally forward. (WfF) | ||
Rules
Except where noted otherwise, the normal rules for shogi apply here, including the use of drops.
Promotions: All pieces that promote may do so upon reaching the opponent's Pawn Row (7 for White, 3 for Black) or beyond. Promotion is mandatory for Pawns upon reaching the furthest row (9 for White, 1 for Black), since otherwise they'd be unable to move.
Promoted pieces, when captured, immediately demote to their original form.
Notes
The Blue Gecko is actually a creation of Adrian King, for his game Jupiter. I created the Purple Finch as a reflection, originally just on principle though the two pieces do go nicely with this game.
Similarly, the Silver Pashtun (along with its Gold cousin) was invented in 2007 by Charles Gilman, and featured in his variant Pashtun Shogi (presented on his page for Shogi-set Nearlydouble Variants).
This 'user submitted' page is a collaboration between the posting user and the Chess Variant Pages. Registered contributors to the Chess Variant Pages have the ability to post their own works, subject to review and editing by the Chess Variant Pages Editorial Staff.
By Bob Greenwade.
Last revised by Bob Greenwade.
Web page created: 2024-01-21. Web page last updated: 2024-01-26