Shogi Day in Japan

Researchers at Japan's RIKEN Brain Science Institute report evidence that the professional players of a chesslike board game from Japan, known as shogi, have brains that crackle with activity in two areas that are less active in amateurs. Their findings are published in issue of the journal Science.

Shogi in its present form was played as early as the 16th century, while a direct ancestor without the drop rule was recorded from 1210 in a historical document Nichūreki, which is an edited copy of Shōchūreki and Kaichūreki from the late Heian period (c. 1120).

In shogi, all 40 pieces can still be used in the endgame given the possibility of dropping taken pieces. The greater range of moves available with dropping pieces, placing taken pieces down to block check moves, and the choice between promoting or not promoting pieces all make shogi mating problems infinitely more complex and interesting.