From: "Randal J. Andrews" IX NETCOM COM> Date: 20 jun 1996 Subject: Playing on NTT Shogi Server You don't need kanji to play on the NTT shogi server. Ignore the warnings. Here is all you need to do: 1 To log on for the first time type: n YourName 2 Type h: This will give the list of commands (in English) 3 Type w: This tells you who is online 4 The computer S1 is always online, so you can play it, if no one else is there. 5 Type v opponent to start a game. 6 Type in your moves using Japanese numeric notation. It is not necessary to specify the piece moving, only the squares involved. For example, P-7f becomes 7776. Add 1 to promote your piece, thus Bx2b+ becomes 88221. A 5 digit number is also necessary to drop a piece, thus G*5e becomes 00555. The codes are: 1 = pawn = Jb 2 = lance = 9a 3 = knight = 7k 4 = silver = 6d 5 = gold = 6b 6 = bishop = 3Q 7 = rook = Ht The other codes are the DOS equivalent of the Japanese characters, so that when your opponent drops a piece you will see 0055 6b if your opponent drops a gold on 5e. The best time to play (find an opponent) is 0400-0900 Eastern USA time which corresponds to the Japanese evening. Good luck! You can even download the game score from the NTT shogi web page. Ignore the warning that says you can't use it if you don't have kanji. All the characters are in Japanese, but the file is relatively easy to decipher. The names of the opponents are in English, so you can find your game easily.