Week 00: Foundations

Introduction

Week 00 serves as your preparation phase before beginning the structured 20-week study plan. This foundational period may take anywhere from a few days to a month, depending on your prior experience with similar games. The goal is to learn the basic rules, piece movements, and essential concepts while getting comfortable with actual gameplay.

Shogi Basics

• Learn the Rules: Watch basic rules playlist, videos 1-16 by HIDETCHI: YouTube Playlist
• Master Piece Movements: Practice with this Anki deck: Ankiweb
• General Beginner Guidance: Go through Shogi Harbour’s study plan and Tips for beginner’s playlist until you get to specific openings and formations.

Start Playing

• AI Practice: Play against Piyo Shogi. The mobile app is in Japanese (Android), but you can use screenshots and Google Translate, or try the web version.
• Tactical Training: Begin daily Tsume Practice following the structured approach in the Tsume guide.
• Optional: Desktop Software: For a local setup for analysis, install ShogiHome with YaneuraOu engine (the same engine used by Lishogi).

Basic Strategies

• Piece Tactics: Learn fundamental piece interactions via Shogi Tips: Pawn Tactics or this YouTube Playlist from Shogi Techniques Channel
• Attack & Defense Principles: Understand the balance with this YouTube Guide from Shogi Ramen TV
• First Castle: Learn Yagura castle via Lishogi Study with additional details on Shogi Tips
• First Attack Pattern: Try playing Climbing Silver using this Tutorial from Chouwa SHOGI Channel

Establish Regular Practice

Weekdays:

• 15-20 minutes of tsume problems daily
• 1-2 casual games against AI per day
• Focus these games on applying the basic concepts you’re currently studying

Weekends:

• 3-5 games against human opponents (spread across both days)
• Create a game log on Lishogi
• Review and analyze 1-2 games in detail

When to Proceed

You’re ready to move on to Week 1 of the main study plan when:

• You can confidently identify all pieces and their movements
• You understand the basic rules including drops and promotion
• You’ve played at least 10-15 games against the AI
• You can form a basic Yagura castle and understand its purpose
• You’re comfortable with the daily practice routine outlined above

At some point, you’ll experience a moment when the “penny drops” - suddenly the game starts to make sense. You’ll begin to see potential forks before they happen, recognize areas where opponent pawns might be dropped, and understand how mating attacks develop.

This insight is crucial. Without it, you might find yourself blindly building castles without purpose, gaining material advantages without knowing how to convert them, or being surprised by pawn drops into your camp without understanding why they work or how to prevent them.

When these tactical elements start to become visible to you - even if you don’t always respond perfectly - you’re ready to proceed to the structured opening study in Week 1.