Using Castle Maps for Guiding Opening and Middle Game Play in Shogi

Grimbergen, R. and Rollason, J. (2001)

Information Processing Society of Japan Report 2001-GI-6, pp. 51--57

Abstract

Shogi programs are quite strong in the endgame, but continue to have problems in the opening and early middle game. This is caused by the strategic nature of the early stage of a shogi game. Long-term strategies are known to be hard to program in games. Particularly in chess this is supposed to be the Achilles' heel of strong chess programs. This paper presents a new method for guiding opening and middle game play in shogi. Board maps for castle formations are used to evaluate the strategic value of a position. These maps have importantly improved the playing strength of the shogi program Spear.