Shogi Ladder Notation

NOTATION AND INITIAL SETUP

Notation

Moves are represented by the abbreviation of a piece, followed by the indication of the square where the piece goes to. Abbreviations are: K = King, DE = Drunken Elephant, G = Gold, S = Silver, C = Copper, FL = Ferocious Leopard, L = Lance, RC = Reverse Chariot, B = Bishop, BT = Blind Tiger, Ph = Phoenix, Ky = Kylin, SM = Side Mover, VM = Vertical Mover, R = Rook, DH = Dragon Horse, DK = Dragon King, Ln = Lion, FK = Free King, P = Pawn, GB = Go-Between, CP (+DE) = Crown Prince, FS (+BT) = Flying Stag, FO (+VM) = Flying Ox, FBo (+SM) = Free Boar, HF (+DH) = Horned Falcon, SEg (+DK) = Soaring Eagle, W (+RC) = Whale, WH (+L) = White Horse. If the representation is ambiguous then the starting square is given too (e.g. DK5j-6k). Captures are indicated by an x (e.g. Px5e). Igui capture of the Ln, +Ky, HF and SE are indicated by x! (e.g. Lnx!4g). Promotion is indicated by a + behind the move (e.g. B7g+). A promoted piece is represented by a + followed by the abbreviation of the unpromoted piece (e.g. +S3d). Sometimes not promoting a piece that could have promoted is indicated by = behind the move (e.g. S3c=).

Initial Setup

The representation of the board with the initial setup is given below. The w and b in front of the abbreviations indicate white and black respectively. When a piece promotes, it will be usually shown on the e-mail board with a preceding "+", as in "+bL". When sending games back and forth between players, the moves are listed above the board. This works well, as you can see the latest moves and the board as well at the bottom of the file.

 12    11   10    9    8    7    6    5    4    3    2    1
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| wL | wFL| wC | wS | wG | wDE| wK | wG | wS | wC | wFL| wL |a
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| wRC|    | wB |    | wBT| wPh| wKy| wBT|    | wB |    | wRC|b
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| wSM| wVM| wR | wDH| wDK| wFK| wLn| wDK| wDH| wR | wVM| wSM|c
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP |d
+----+----+----+----0----+----+----+----0----+----+----+----+
|    |    |    | wGB|    |    |    |    | wGB|    |    |    |e
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |f
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |g
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|    |    |    | bGB|    |    |    |    | bGB|    |    |    |h
+----+----+----+----0----+----+----+----0----+----+----+----+
| bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP |i
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| bSM| bVM| bR | bDH| bDK| bLn| bFK| bDK| bDH| bR | bVM| bSM|j
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| bRC|    | bB |    | bBT| bKy| bPh| bBT|    | bB |    | bRC|k
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| bL | bFL| bC | bS | bG | bK | bDE| bG | bS | bC | bFL| bL |l
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+

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