Tori Shogi
Tori Shogi — starting position
https://engine.moddable.games/play/?game=shogi&variant=tori-shogi
Tori Shogi (禽将棋, “Bird Shogi”) is a Shogi variant invented by Toyota Genryu in 1799, traditionally attributed to his master Ohashi Soei. Played on a 7×7 board with a bird-themed piece set, Tori Shogi has sustained popularity, English-language books, and active tournaments. It is one of the oldest Shogi variants to use the drop rule. The goal is to checkmate the opposing Phoenix (the royal piece).
Setup
Board: 7 files (a–g) × 7 ranks.
Pieces per player: 16 — 1 Phoenix, 1 Left Quail, 1 Right Quail, 2 Cranes, 2 Pheasants, 1 Falcon, 8 Swallows.
Starting position:
| Rank | Contents |
|---|---|
| Rank 1 — Gote back | Right Quail(a) · Pheasant(b) · Crane© · Phoenix(d) · Crane(e) · Pheasant(f) · Left Quail(g) |
| Rank 2 — Gote | · · · Falcon(d) · · · |
| Rank 3 — Gote Swallows | Swallow × 7 (all files) |
| Rank 4 — Advanced | Gote Swallow© · · · Sente Swallow(e) |
| Rank 5 — Sente Swallows | Swallow × 7 (all files) |
| Rank 6 — Sente | · · · Falcon(d) · · · |
| Rank 7 — Sente back | Left Quail(a) · Pheasant(b) · Crane© · Phoenix(d) · Crane(e) · Pheasant(f) · Right Quail(g) |
Each side’s 8 Swallows: 7 on their home Swallow rank + 1 advanced to rank 4. Gote moves first.
SFEN: rpckcpl/3f3/sssssss/2s1S2/SSSSSSS/3F3/LPCKCPR[-] w 0 1
(Piece letter assignments — r/R = Right Quail, l/L = Left Quail, p/P = Pheasant, c/C = Crane, k/K = Phoenix (royal), f/F = Falcon, s/S = Swallow. Empty hand at start: [-].)
Pieces
| Piece | Symbol | Movement |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | K | One step in any of the 8 directions. Royal piece. |
| Crane | C | One step in any direction except left or right (six directions: forward, backward, four diagonals). |
| Pheasant | P | One step diagonally backward (two diagonal directions), OR jumps two squares straight forward (cannot be blocked). |
| Left Quail | L | Slides any number of squares straight forward; slides any number of squares diagonally right-backward; one step diagonally left-backward. |
| Right Quail | R | Mirror of Left Quail: slides forward; slides diagonally left-backward; one step diagonally right-backward. |
| Falcon | F | One step in any of the 8 directions except straight backward (seven directions). Promotes to Eagle. |
| Swallow | S | One step directly forward. Promotes to Goose. |
| Goose (+S) | +S | Jumps exactly two squares diagonally forward (either direction), OR exactly two squares straight backward. Cannot be blocked. |
| Eagle (+F) | +F | Slides any number of squares diagonally forward or straight backward; one step in any direction; up to two squares diagonally backward (not a jump; can be blocked). Strongest piece in the game. |
Only the Swallow and Falcon promote. Phoenix, Cranes, Pheasants, and Quails never promote.
Rules
Drops: Captured pieces go to the capturing player’s hand and may be dropped on any empty square on a later turn, with the following restrictions specific to Swallows:
- A Swallow may not be dropped to give immediate checkmate.
- A Swallow may not be dropped on a file that already contains two friendly Swallows.
- A Swallow may not be dropped on the last rank (rank 1 for Gote, rank 7 for Sente).
Promotion zone: the last two ranks (ranks 6–7 for Sente). Promotion is compulsory when a Swallow or Falcon reaches the promotion zone.
Repetition: If the same position occurs three times with the same player to move and the same pieces in hand, the player who caused the repetition loses. This is the reverse of the standard Shogi draw rule.
Perpetual check is likewise a loss for the player causing it.
Stalemate: A player with no legal move loses.
Win Conditions
Checkmate the opponent’s Phoenix — attack it such that no legal move can escape. A player with no legal move loses.
Attribution
Tori Shogi was invented by Toyota Genryu (1799). Public domain. Rules documented from pychess.org/variants/torishogi.