S H O G I B O O K S L I S T ============================= This is the list of ENGLISH Shogi literature. There are a few smaller issues to be added, but the list below already contains the most relevant information. Useful comments were provided by Barry Archer and Chris Sterritt. Books 1 - 3 are beginners' books. I would recommend book 2 "Shogi for Beginners". It contains alll information for beginning Shogi players and also provides information to the slightly advanced ones. Books 4 and 5 are bilingual Shogi books, written by Aono Teruichi (7-dan pro at that time) and translated by John Fairbairn. Next to the diagrams text is written in Japanese. Below the diagrams the English translation is given. These two books are a must for every western Shogi enthousiast. Item 6 "Shogi" is an English Shogi magazine. It was published for 12 years and contains lots of useful information, but admittedly also a substantial amount of less relevant material. The magazine was aimed at a wide audience. Considering the fact that there is not a lot of English literature, this magazine served a very useful purpose. My advice to western Shogi fans would be to buy the whole lot. Books 7 - 9 are more general books on games. Book 7 is about writing programs that play games. Book 8 covers several games in rather great detail, gives some hints for playing and provides sample games. Book 9 contains many, many different games, does not deal with them in great detail, but provides a historical perspective and lots of references. Needless to say that books 7 -9 all deal with Shogi is some way. Pieter Stouten 19-th June 1990. Updated 13-th February 1996. Note that most of the info below is more than 5 years old! --- 1. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "How to Play Shogi", by John Fairbairn, 1979. Published by: The Shogi Association, P.O. Box 77, Bromley, Kent, England. Available from: George F. Hodges, P.O. Box 77, Bromley, Kent BR1 2WT, England, Tel. (44) 81 - 468 7050, Fax (44) 81 - 295 1550. 1.50 pound sterling. Booklet. English. --- 2. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Shogi for Beginners", by John Fairbairn, 1983. Published by: The Ishi Press, Inc., CPO Box 2126, Japan. Available from: George Hodges, for address see book 1. Superb book for beginners. English. --- 3. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Shogi - Japan's Game of Strategy", by Trevor Leggett, 1966. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc. Rutland, Vermont, USA & Tokyo, Japan. $3.50 in 1971. Hard cover. English. Does have some good examples for moves and a few Shogi problems. Uncertain if it's still in print. --- 4. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Guide to Shogi Openings", by Aono Teruichi (7-dan pro), 1983. Sankaido Ltd., 5-18 Hongo 5 chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 850 yen. Book. Bilingual: English and Japanes. --- 5. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Better moves for better Shogi (The NHK Shogi Lectures)", by Aono Teruichi (7-dan pro), 1983. Sankaido Ltd., 5-18 Hongo 5 chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 2500 yen. Book. Bilingual: English and Japanes. --- 6. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Shogi" The Shogi Association, P.O. Box 77, Bromley, Kent, England. Available from: George Hodges, for address see book 1. Magazine. English. This bimonthly was published from January 1976 until November 1987 (70 issues). All issues, except #1, are still available. They can also be purchased as a bound hardcover edition. One can learn a lot from these magazines. --- 7. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Computer Gamesmanship: Elements of Intelligent Game Design", by David Levy. Simon & Schuster, Inc. (their Computer Division), New York. ISBN 0-671-49532-1. First published as a periodical by "Personal Computer World" in 1980. First publication as a book in Great Britain (1983). A very interesting book that gives ideas on how to write programs that play good games of Checkers, (western) Chess, Bridge, Poker, Othello, Dominoes, Backgammon, Go-Moku, Rummy and Shogi. It contains excellent information on how to program the main AI techniques of intelligent game design, such as Alpha-Beta search, evaluation functions, Killer Heuristics, etc. It's fun to read even if you never want to write a program. --- 8. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Book of Games, editor P. Arnold, 1985. Newnes Books, 84-88 The Centre, Feltham, Middlesex, England. ISBN 0-600-35151-3. --- 9. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Board and Table Games (From Many Civilizations), R.C. Bell, 1979. Revised edition, two volumes bound as one. Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, U.S.A.. ISBN 0-486-23855-5.