From: Michael Breier <Ajowan <at> AOL <dot> COM>
Date: 15 aug 2000
Subject: Impasse Thanks

Dear Shogi-L,

    My many heartfelt thanks go out to all those who offered insights on the
Impasse.  I now realize that my original concern was not so much with
Impasse, No-contest or Draw--but with Entering Kings in general.  I found
that in the relatively few games I have played with friends, this situation
occurred more than once and always with frustrating results.  We would just
dance around each other to little avail.  The question arose whether we
should just call for a Replay but I did not know if we COULD do that under
the circumstances.  I was under the impression that the scenario must be
played out until a conclusive resolution had been reached.  We would just
trudge on until one or the other Resigned from boredom.  It seems that we had
the option all along of starting afresh whenever we got stuck.  This type of
problem is, I suppose, only the sort of thing that happens with beginners.
Nonetheless, I am searching for ways to minimize this stumbling block.
Practice might be the best way.
    Senzaki's "Touchdown" is certainly an interesting alternative and I
suppose time will tell whether it gains adherents.  If anything, I could see
it gaining popularity as another "Propose-and-Accept" feature on a per game
basis, only as the need arises.  It possibly recalls Shogi's speculated
pre-Chaturanga origins in Ashtapada as it changes the fundamental nature of
the game to that of a simple race.  The King's "Home Square" definitely
brings to mind the Palace/Fortress of Xiang Qi and Tjyang Keui (Changgi).
    I sometimes think I see in Shogi other signs of evolution from the
aforementioned games.  Although it is often safer to speak of a shared
ancestry rather than outright migration since chess origins are a hotly
debated matter of national pride for so many and no one wants to be thought
of as imitative.  Even the fact that the King and his Gold Generals are the
only pieces never to promote seems to hearken back to a day when they were
confined to a small area around their starting positions.  In fact, the
Promotion Zones themselves seem like an outgrowth of the River in Chinese
Chess.  The Capture and Drop of enemy pieces reminds me of the Game of Three
Friends.  In this 3-player variant of Xiang Qi, a mating King adds the mated
King's remaining pieces to his own.  Annan Shogi is vaguely reminiscent of
the peculiar movement properties of the Cannon piece in Korean Chess.

~Michael