Shogi glossary
Black (sente)
Japanese: 先手
In shogi, sente is the player who moves first, called Black in English and shown at the bottom of diagrams. The same word describes a move that forces a reply, letting you keep the initiative.
The player who moves first.
Who is Black?
Shogi pieces are not colored. Both sides use identical wedge-shaped pieces and tell them apart by the direction they point. Black's pieces start on ranks g to i and point up the board, with the rook on 2h, the bishop on 8h and the king on 5i. The English names match Go, where Black also moves first, so chess players should note the reversal: in chess, White starts.
Black's usual first moves are pawn to 7f, opening the bishop's diagonal, or pawn to 2f, starting the rook pawn's march. Moving first is generally seen as a small advantage, and in formal even games the first move is often decided by furigoma, a toss of five pawns.
Sente as initiative
Players also call a move sente when the opponent must answer it, such as a check, a mate threat or an attack on a rook. A string of sente moves lets you decide where the next fight happens, and a sente move that also improves your attack effectively gains a tempo in the endgame race.
FAQ
Is sente the same as White in chess?
It plays the same role, moving first, but in shogi notation the first player is called Black. Diagrams show Black at the bottom, with files numbered 1 to 9 from Black's right.
I don't do defense. Hope you brought a castle!
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