Handicap shogi: playing with piece odds
In shogi, two players of different strength get a real game because the stronger one takes pieces off their own side of the board. Nine rungs, from the lightest to the most generous, each with four hundred years of theory behind it.
Uwate and shitate
Uwate (上手) - the one giving odds The stronger player. Theirs are the pieces that come off, and they sit where gote sits, at the top.
Shitate (下手) - the one receiving The weaker player. A full army, sitting where sente sits, at the bottom - and moving first.
A handicap game does not use sente and gote: shitate always moves first, which is the player who received the odds. That is not a choice, it is the rule - and it is why every published line assumes it.
The ladder
Nine rungs, lightest first. Each diagram is the position the game actually starts from, and the ladder is meant to be climbed: pick the rung where you lose about two games in three.
Do handicap games count towards the rating?
No, deliberately. A rating is one number answering "how strong is this person at shogi". A two-piece win says how strong they are at two-piece shogi, which is a different game with its own theory. Mixing the two would make the number mean less the more the odds ladder was used - which is exactly backwards.
Which handicap should I ask for?
The Japanese rule of thumb is the handicap at which you lose about two games in three. Winning almost every time means go up a rung; getting nowhere means come down one. Beginners usually start at six or eight pieces and work up.
Do any rules change?
None. Promotion, drops, nifu, uchifuzume, checkmate: all identical. The only differences are which pieces are on the board at move one and who plays it.
Why does shitate move first?
Because the odds belong to the weaker side and the first move is part of them. It is the universal convention: komaochi does not use sente and gote, it uses uwate and shitate, and shitate opens.