(A/N: This chapter took unbelievable time and effort. But I did have fun writing this one. I also learned a little about Shogi thanks to this chapter. I have included the picture. So, you can look at it to understand their moves.)
"Okay, let's start," Sakura said, forcing her mind to calm. She was going to learn as much as possible from Shikamaru. In this world without the internet, she would die of boredom if she didn't find hobbies, and shogi seemed like a perfect fit. If she could learn, she could play with Shikamaru, other ninja, or the old men from her neighborhood who gathered to play all day in the tea shop.
"I will start with this," Shikamaru began, moving the pawn in front of his rook, a standard opening move.
Sakura knew shogi was far more complicated than chess. If she tried an aggressive attack right away, the only result would be a swift and humiliating loss. Her strategy was purely defensive. She would try to last as long as she can and try to understand the game.
"I will also move the pawn in front of my rook," Sakura replied, mirroring his opening. She wanted to activate her rook first. She considered activating her bishop but decided against it. If Shikamaru activated his in response, they would likely trade bishops early on. That would just put a powerful, captured piece into his hand, which he could later drop anywhere on the board like a bomb. She was certain she would lose, but she aimed to make the game last as long as possible to learn more.
Shikamaru moved the pawn beside the Bishop, activating it. Sakura moved her gold general beside her Bishop to defend against a possible Bishop attack. This will protect three pawns in front of the Gold general. Sikamaru also moved his gold general beside his bishop. He may have thought Sakura would activate her Bishop in the next move and prepared for trade, but Sakura moved the pawn in front of the Rook.
Shikamaru moved the Bishop to the square before the Gold general, intercepting the pawn. If Sakura moved that pawn again, then Shikamaru would take it with his Bishop. She can take the Bishop with her Rook, then his pawn will take her Rook. In other words, an exchange. But, in a game like Shogi, where you can drop the piece, you win anywhere she doesn't want to give a Rook to Shikamaru.
She may get the Bishop, but the Rook in the master strategist's hand will be many times powerful than the Bishop in hers.
"Now, what will you do? Your defensive game is going to harm you more." Shikamaru reminded Sakura. And he was right; even in chess, a purely defensive game will never win you a match unless your opponent makes a blunder or is weaker than you.
On top of that, this was Shogi. In her past life, Chess was used to symbolize war in Western media, and Shogi and Go in the East. After playing Shogi for real, she felt that the depiction of Shogi as such was correct. The promotion of the pieces was like gaining a strategic advantage, and the dropping of a piece represented all the other factors that can influence a war.
War isn't only the battlefield of soldiers but also logistics, planning, strategies, politics, and betrayals. Shogi resembled real war more than chess ever could. A captured piece wasn't a lost asset; it was a prisoner of war, ready to be turned against its former masters.
"I don't have any attacking strategy," Sakura muttered to herself, her shoulders slumping in resignation. The board felt like it was closing in on her. "I have to exchange the bishop. At least it will make the position safer for a while."
Hesitantly, she advanced the pawn blocking her bishop's path, finally activating the piece. Now, her bishop and his stood on the same long diagonal, a direct and open challenge. A tense, silent offer of a trade. Shikamaru ignored her move and continued to move his pawn in front of the Rook.
She knew Sikamaru wanted her to take it so that his Gold general can take her Bishop and advance a step. This isn't a good move even in chess but she is going to do it otherwise the open Bishop will be like a sword hanging above her head. A moment of negligence can cause a disaster.
The trade went just like she expected; her Bisop was taken by his Gold General.
"Now, what should I do?" she muttered, her mind racing. Her options felt limited and dangerous. "Maybe I can push a pawn to try and activate my rook and lance."
But even that plan felt flimsy. If she aggressively sent a pawn toward Shikamaru's camp, he would likely capture it. She would only regain a pawn, while he would gain a powerful rook or lance for his reserves. The exchange would be disastrous. Then her eye fell on the Pawn of Shikamaru that was just a square away from her Pawn that used to guard the Bishop. The Bishop may be gone, but if that Pawn is taken, it will open my left side of the board to his Rook.
Feeling threatened, Sakura dropped her captured bishop from her hand, placing it to protect the threatened pawn. The idea was simple: if Shikamaru took her pawn with his, she could recapture with the bishop. If he then took that bishop with his rook, her gold general could capture the rook. It was a small, defensive sequence, but it momentarily stalled Shikamaru's plan to infiltrate her position.
Shikamaru placed his silver general beside his Rook to strengthen his position. His Rook may have been stopped for now, but it will not sit still. It will strike when it sees a chance.
"Now, I have to take the lead to attack; otherwise, my disadvantage will increase." Sakura thought. Sakura looked at Shikamaru's position and then hers several times.
"Think of something, think of something," Sakura urged herself, her eyes darting across the board. "My rook and lance are stuck. What else is there...?" Her gaze fell upon her knight, a piece she had largely ignored. "The knight! I forgot about it. It may not be free like in chess, as it can only jump forward. But if I can get it promoted..."
A spark of a plan ignited. A promoted knight became a Dragon Horse, a powerful piece that could move any number of squares diagonally and one square in all directions. It was essentially a super-powered bishop.
"I have to promote it. That's the only way," she decided, and began maneuvering the knight forward, hoping to slip it past his defenses.
But Shikamaru was a step ahead. He immediately dropped his own captured bishop from his stand, placing it squarely in front of the pawn protecting her left gold general. The move was a perfect, infuriating roadblock, halting her knight's advance dead in its tracks. It was also targeting her Knight. If her Knight doesn't move then he can take it anytime he wants and if it moved it will make her Lance vulnerable.
"Dammit!" Sakura cursed under her breath, the frustration boiling over. The match felt utterly one-sided.
Playing Shogi with Shikamaru felt exactly like the first time she had played chess with her friend, whose rating was 1300 points higher than her own. That friend had effortlessly countered her every move; her positional understanding left her shocked. And that friend wasn't even a prodigy, just a long-time player who couldn't even hold a good game against a professional chess player.
Now, she was facing a true, natural-born prodigy with high intelligence, who she was certain could have dethroned the world chess champion in her previous life. The intellectual pressure alone was immense.
With no plan in sight, Sakura timidly pushed more pawns, afraid to risk her valuable pieces. This only gave Shikamaru more time to perfect his strategy. His attacks grew increasingly lethal. Slowly, her pawns were captured, her defenses crumbled, and after he dropped a few key pieces into perfect position, he delivered checkmate.