Shogi glossary
Entering king (nyugyoku)
Japanese: 入玉
In shogi, nyugyoku (entering king) is a king that has walked into the opponent's camp, the three ranks farthest from its owner. A king there is very hard to mate, and if both kings enter, the game may be decided by counting points.
A king that has reached the enemy camp; games can then be decided by counting points.
Why an entered king is safe
Most shogi pieces attack forward. Pawns, lances and knights never move backward, a silver has no straight step back, and a gold cannot retreat diagonally. A king that slips behind the enemy's lines is out of reach of most enemy pieces; only rooks, bishops, golds and drops can still chase it.
A player who is losing the attacking race sometimes runs the king up the board for exactly this reason. Note that the king itself never promotes.
How point counting works
For counting, each rook or bishop, promoted or not, is worth 5 points and every other piece except the king is worth 1, whether on the board or in hand. Each side starts with 27. Under the 24-point rule used in professional play, when both kings have entered and neither can be mated, a player with fewer than 24 points loses; if both reach 24, the game ends without a winner, called jishogi.
Many amateur tournaments use a declaration rule instead, which lets the owner of an entered king claim the win with enough pieces and points in the enemy camp and in hand.
FAQ
Does an entering king win automatically in shogi?
No. Entering only makes the king hard to mate. Play continues until someone is mated or resigns, or until the point count settles it.
I don't do defense. Hope you brought a castle!
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