Tsume Puzzles for Japanese Chess

Book excerpt: Centuries before sudoku, crossword puzzles, or word searches challenged Western minds, Japanese military and royalty were creating and enjoying tsume puzzles. Tsume puzzles are mating puzzles for shogi (Japanese chess.) Shogi's history dates back 1000 years with archeological evidence that shogi existed in Japan at least by the 11th century. Some of the greatest know tsume puzzle books date back several centuries. Tsume puzzles have a long and honored tradition. Tsume are widely recognized to improve shogi skills. Tsume are also fun puzzles that anyone can enjoy. Whether your interest is in improving your shogi game, or just solving puzzles, this book provides many hours of entertaining shogi riddles. In this book you will find: * A complete introduction with rules of tsume puzzles and shogi rules that apply * Over 200 tsume puzzles of varying difficulty * Puzzles ranging from one move to thirteen moves * Solutions * Explanatory notes to many solutions * A quick reference section for those new to tsume and shogi