From: Reijer Grimbergen MACPOST PSYCH KUN NL> Date: 17 may 1993 Subject: Shape in Shogi There has been some discussion about the importance of shape in Shogi and I like to add some of my comments (being a danplayer and all). Unfortunately I am not a Go player, so I can't really judge whether "shape" in Go and "shape" in Shogi are comparable. However, I do believe the Kanji for both is the same, so the meaning of the term should be the same for both games. In Shogi, shape is of vital importance. It is so important, that Aono's masterpiece "Better moves for better Shogi" (bilangual and a must for every player from 15kyu to 4-dan) even starts with a chapter on the issue of shape (Ivan Tuckwell already pointed this out). Good shape is important for several reasons. The first is the natural development of pieces through good shape. In the P2f P8d P2e P8e S7h example, if white plays P3d it is very hard for black to develop his bishop. (If he moves it to 7i and 6h, for example, he will leave a hole on 8h for a pawn drop.) The second reason for good shape are the possibilities of attacking a formation. For example, the formation with a gold on the back rank and a silver right on top (e.g. G6a-S6b) cannot be attocked by drop next to on of the generals. On the other hand, if the formation is the other way around it can be attoacked by dropping a piece on either side of the silver. The third reason for good shape is flexibility and balance of the position. If you have good shape of your pieces, it is much easier to adapt to your opponents plans, defending strongly or counterattacking easily. Together with shape, the closely related "balance" of the position is extremely important and must be mastered to become a really strong player (top amateur or professional). I am still learning the finesses of shape and balance, but since most of you out there are novices, buy Aono's book for a introduction to these important issues. He explains it much better than I can. Reijer Grimbergen Reijer Grimbergen Nijmegen Institute of Cognition Research and Information Technology P.O. Box 9104 6500 HE Nijmegen The Netherlands E-mail: grimbergen macpost psych kun nl