Draft:Ogi (Komayo chess)

Ogi (王棋), also known as Komayo chess, is a modern variant of shogi (Japanese chess). It was invented in 2023 by Cyril Veltin.

This version features the princess piece, merging the chess knight's and bishop's movements to foster a more dynamic and decisive style of play.

Ogi upholds the core rules of shogi, enriched by modern mythos. The game's link to the urban legend of a yokai called Komayo places it in the realm of current Japanese folklore narratives.

Equipment
Two players face each other across a board composed of rectangles in a grid of 8 ranks (rows, 段) by 8 files (columns, 筋) yielding an 64-square board. In Japanese they are called Sente 先手 (first player) and Gote 後手 (second player), but in English are conventionally referred to as Black and White, with Black the first player. The board is nearly always rectangular, and the rectangles are undifferentiated by marking or color.

Each player has a set of 18 flat wedge-shaped pentagonal pieces of slightly different sizes. Except for the kings, opposing pieces are undifferentiated by marking or color. Pieces face forward by having the pointed side of each piece oriented toward the opponent's side – this shows who controls the piece during play. The pieces from largest (most important) to smallest (least important) are:


 * 1 king
 * 1 princess
 * 1 rook
 * 1 bishop
 * 2 silver generals
 * 2 knights
 * 2 lances
 * 8 pawns

Several of these names were chosen to correspond to their rough equivalents in international chess, and not as literal translations of the Japanese names.

Each piece has its name written on its surface in the form of two kanji (Chinese characters used as syllabograms or as logograms to record texts in Old Japanese), usually in black ink. On the reverse side of each piece, other than the king, are one or two other characters, in amateur sets often in a different color (usually red); this side is turned face up during play to indicate that the piece has been promoted.

Following is a table of the pieces with their Japanese representations and English equivalents. The abbreviations are used for game notation and often when referring to the pieces in speech in Japanese.

The primary distinction from traditional Shogi is the introduction of a unique piece known as the princess. This piece, not present in classical shogi, represents a key strategic element of the game. It merges the movement capabilities of a chess knight and a bishop, enabling it to leap over other pieces in an L-shape, as well as move diagonally across any number of unoccupied squares. This combination of movements gives the princess unparalleled versatility on the 8x8 board, making it a central and powerful piece in ogi.

Setup and gameplay


Each player sets up friendly pieces facing forward (toward the opponent).


 * In the rank nearest the player:
 * The princess and the king are placed in the center;
 * The two silver generals are placed adjacent to the princess and the king;
 * The two knights are placed adjacent to each silver general;
 * The two lances are placed in the corners, adjacent to each knight.


 * That is, the first rank is
 * {| class="wikitable"


 * - style="text-align:center;"
 * &thinsp;L&thinsp;||&thinsp;N&thinsp;||&thinsp;S&thinsp;||&thinsp;I&thinsp;||&thinsp;K&thinsp;||&thinsp;S&thinsp;||&thinsp;N&thinsp;||&thinsp;L&thinsp;
 * }
 * Or
 * {| class="wikitable"


 * - style="text-align:center;"
 * 香||桂||銀||妃||玉||銀||桂||香
 * }
 * In the second rank, each player places:
 * The bishop in the same file as the left knight;
 * The rook in the same file as the right knight.
 * In the third rank, the eight pawns are placed one per file.

Objective
The usual goal of a game is for one player to checkmate the other player's king, winning the game.

Movement
Most ogi pieces can move only to an adjacent square. A few may move across the board, and one jumps over intervening pieces.

The main differences from traditional shogi are:


 * Board Size: Ogi is played on an 8x8 board, unlike the standard 9x9 board used in shogi.
 * The Princess Piece: A unique addition in ogi is the princess piece, which combines the movements of a bishop and a knight in chess, making it a powerful and versatile piece.
 * Mandatory Promotion:
 * In Ogi, piece promotion is mandatory. This rule applies to all pieces, including the princess.
 * Upon promotion, the princess gains the movement capabilities of the king, in addition to its existing abilities.
 * Drop Pawn Mate: Ogi allows checkmate by dropping a pawn.

All other rules and gameplay mechanics in ogi are inherited from traditional shogi. This includes the general movement of pieces, capture methods, and the basic objective of the game.