About ShogiDojo
ShogiDojo is a study hall for shogi — Japanese chess, played on a 9×9 board. It is built for ages 15–18 who want to think seriously about the game: no cartoon mascots, no rush, just the board and the reasoning behind good moves. Pieces are shown as clear English letters (K R B G S N L P; a promoted piece is prefixed +), not kanji.
What makes shogi its own game
- The drop. A piece you capture switches sides and enters YOUR hand — and instead of a board move you may DROP it (unpromoted) onto almost any empty square. Material you win becomes material you can redeploy, so the board rarely empties out.
- Promotion. In the far three ranks most pieces may promote to a stronger form (and some must, if they would have no move). Promotion is a choice, not a reflex.
- Two drop rules. No two unpromoted pawns on one file (nifu), and no pawn-DROP that gives immediate checkmate (uchifuzume). The dojo shows you only legal drops.
The three surfaces
- Play — the full 9×9 game (with drops and promotion) against a graded study bot (a credible opponent that reasons a couple of moves ahead, not a perfect solver) or two players on one device.
- Study — pick a line and the same engine ranks every legal reply by its value, so you can read why one move is stronger. Off the clock, no opponent.
- Coach — five real decisions (the drop, promotion, the drop rules, the castle, sacrifice for tempo) you reason through, then reflect on.