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This page is written by the game's inventor, Bob Greenwade.

Chu Kagamigi

Chu Kagamigi (which, if I've done this right, would translate as "Middle Mirror Chess") is a larger variation on Kagamigi, with a larger board and (of course) more pieces -- specifically, more pieces that reflect each other left-to-right. It expands the 9x9 board to 12x12.

Setup

The game is played on a 12x12 board, such as one intended for Chu Shogi or one intended for certain Chess variants.

 

files=12 ranks=12 promoZone=4 promoChoice= graphicsDir=/cgi-bin/fen2.php?s=50&t=Greenwade&w=F9F9F9&b=666666&p= squareSize=50 graphicsType= lightShade=#F0F080 darkShade=#AAAA50 symmetry=rotate firstRank=1 useMarkers=1 holdingsType=-1 maxPromote=21 promoOffset=25 royal=25 pawn:P:fW:shogipawn:a4,b4,c4,d4,e4,f4,g4,h4,i4,j4,k4,l4 lance:L:fR:lance:a1,l1 bishop:B:B:bishop:e1 rook:R:R:rook:h1 kirin:KR:FD:kirin:d1 phoenix:PH:WA:phoenix:i1 knight:N:ffN:knight:f3,g3 flying horse:FH:fF2W:pegasus:c1,j1 yaksha:Y:sW4bWfF:yaksha:b1,k1 gold general:G:WfF:goldgeneral:e2,h2 silver general:S:FfW:silvergeneral:d2,i2 left general:LG:FrvW:leftarrow--general:f2 right general:RG:FlvW:rightarrow--general:g2 left dog:LD:fRbrBbW:dog--leftarrow:a3 right dog:RD:fRblBbW:dog--rightarrow:l3 blue gecko:BG:frB4lbW2flFbrFfW:gecko--colorblue:c3 purple finch:PF:flB4rbW2frFblFfW:finch--colorpurple:j3 deva:SO:lWfFbrF:angel:e3 dark spirit:SW:rWfFblF:ghost--colorgrey:h3 left quail:LQ:fRbrBblF:quail--leftarrow:a2 right quail:RQ:fRblBbrF:quail--rightarrow:l2 left chariot:LC:fRflBbrBbW:leftarrow--chariot:b2 right chariot:RC:fRfrBblBbW:rightarrow--chariot:k2 flaming chariot:FC:vRfBsW:chariot--flame:f1 king:K:K:king:g1 tokin:+P:WfF:shogipawn--graduation: plodding ox:PO:vRF:ox--pause: dragon horse:DH:BW:bishopwazir: dragon king:DK:RF:rookferz: great dove:GD:BW3:bird: center standard:CS:RF3:flag--narrow: heavenly fortress:HF:BsR:castle--angel: mountain witch:MW:BbRfW:sorcerer--mountains: side boar:SB:sRK:boar--wide: gold pashtun:+G:WfFDfA:goldpashtun: silver pashtun:+S:FfWAfD:silverpashtun: left army:LA:KrhQ:shield--leftarrow: right army:RA:KlhQ:shield--rightarrow: left dragon:+LD:rhQlW2:dragon--leftarrow: right dragon:+RD:lhQrW2:dragon--rightarrow: divine turtle:DT:KrBlbB:turtle--angel: divine sparrow:!DS:KlBrbB:bird--angel: side ox:SO:sRfrFblF:ox--wide: side wolf:SW:sRflFbrF:wolf--wide: left tiger:LT:rhQlF:tiger--leftarrow: right tiger:RT:lhQrF:tiger--rightarrow:

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
King (K) Moves one space in any direction (K) Does not promote.
Left Chariot (LC) 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.
Right Chariot (RC) 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.
Burning Chariot (BC) Slides directly forward or backward, or diagonally forward; or steps one space to the left or right. (vRfBsW) Does not promote.
Deva (DV) Steps one space directly left, diagonally forward, or diagonally backward and to the right. (lWfFbrF) Side Wolf (SW) Slides orthogonally sideways; or steps one space diagonally forward and to the left, or backward and to the right. (sRflFbrF)
Dark Spirit (DS) Steps one space directly right, diagonally forward, or diagonally backward and to the left. (rWfFblF) Side Ox (SO) Slides orthogonally sideways; or steps one space diagonally forward and to the right, or backward and to the left. (sRfrFblF)
Bishop (B) Slides diagonally. (B) Dragon Horse (DH) Slides diagonally, or steps one space orthogonally. (BW)
Rook (R) Slides orthogonally. (R) Dragon King (DK) Slides orthogonally, or steps one space diagonally (RF)
Phoenix (PH) Steps one space orthogonally, or leaps two spaces diagonally. (WA) Great Dove (GD) Slides diagonally, or steps up to three spaces orthogonally. (BW3)
Kirin (KR) Steps one space diagonally, or leaps two spaces orthogonally. (FD) Center Standard (CS) Slides orthogonally, or steps up to three spaces diagonally. (RF3)
Blue Gecko (BG) 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) Divine Turtle (DT) Slides diagonally to the right, or backward and to the left; or steps to any adjacent space. (KrBlbB)
Purple Finch (PF) 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) Divine Sparrow (!DS) Slides diagonally to the left, or backward and to the right; or steps to any adjacent space. (KrBlbB)
Gold General (G) Steps one space orthogonally, or diagonally forward. (WfF) Gold Pashtun (+G) Steps one space or jumps two spaces orthogonally, or diagonally forward. (WfFDfA)
Silver General (G) Steps one space diagonally, or directly forward. (FfW) Silver Pashtun (+S) Steps one space or jumps two spaces diagonally, or directly forward. (FfWAfD)
Left General (LG) Steps one space in any direction except directly left. (FvrW) Left Army (LA) Slides directly or diagonally to the right, or steps one space in any other direction. (KrhQ)
Right General (RG) Steps one space in any direction except directly right. (FvlW) Right Army (RA) Slides directly or diagonally to the left, or steps one space in any other direction. (KlhQ)
Left Dog (LD) Slides directly forward, or diagonally back and to the right; or steps one space directly backward. (fRbrBbW) Left Dragon (+LD) Slides directly or diagonally to the right, or steps one or two spaces to the left. (rhQlW2)
Right Dog (RD) Slides directly forward, or diagonally back and to the left; or steps one space directly backward. (fRblBbW) Right Dragon (+RD) Slides directly or diagonally to the left, or steps one or two spaces to the right. (lhQrW2)
Left Quail (LQ) Slides directly forward, or diagonally backward and to the right; or steps one space backward and to the left. (fRbrBblF) Left Tiger (LT) Slides directly or diagonally to the right, or steps one space diagonally to the left. (rhQlF)
Right Quail (RQ) Slides directly forward, or diagonally backward and to the left; or steps one space backward and to the right. (fRblBbrF) Right Tiger (RT) Slides directly or diagonally to the left, or steps one space diagonally to the right. (lhQrF)
Knight (N) Leaps two steps forward and one step sideways. (ffN) Heavenly Fortress (HF) Slides diagonally, or orthogonally sideways. (BsR)
Flying Horse (FH) Steps one space orthogonally, or up to two spaces forward diagonally. (WfF2) Mountain Witch (MW) Slides directly backwards, or in any diagonal direction; or steps one space directly forward. (BbRfW)
Yaksha (Y) Steps up to four spaces left or right, or one space directly backward or diagonally forward. (sW4bWfF) Side Boar (SB) Slides orthogonally sideways, or steps one space in any other direction. (sRK)
Lance (L) Slides directly forward. (fR) Plodding Ox (PO) Slides directly forward or backward, or steps one space diagonally. (vRF)
Pawn (P) Steps one space directly forward. (fW) Tokin (+P) 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 (9 for White, 4 for Black) or beyond. Promotion is mandatory for Pawns and Lances upon reaching the furthest row (12 for White, 1 for Black), since otherwise they'd be trapped in place.

Promoted pieces, when captured, immediately and automatically 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 and Gold Pashtun were invented in 2007 by Charles Gilman, and featured in his variant Pashtun Shogi (presented on his page for Shogi-set Nearlydouble Variants).

All other pieces are from various forms of Shogi, primarily Taikyoku, Tai, and Ko.



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: 2024-01-26. Web page last updated: 2024-01-31