<s>
Computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
is	O
a	O
field	O
of	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
concerned	O
with	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
computer	B-Application
programs	I-Application
which	O
can	O
play	O
shogi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
shogi	O
has	O
a	O
higher	O
branching	B-Data_Structure
factor	I-Data_Structure
than	O
other	O
chess	B-Application
variants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
gives	O
shogi	O
the	O
highest	O
number	O
of	O
legal	O
positions	O
and	O
the	O
highest	O
number	O
of	O
possible	O
games	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
popular	O
chess	B-Application
variants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
information	O
on	O
the	O
complexity	O
of	O
Chess	B-Application
can	O
be	O
found	O
at	O
Shannon	O
number	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
components	O
of	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
program	O
are	O
the	O
opening	O
book	O
,	O
the	O
search	B-Application
algorithm	I-Application
and	O
the	O
endgame	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shogi	O
professionals	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
do	O
not	O
always	O
follow	O
an	O
opening	O
sequence	O
as	O
in	O
chess	B-Application
,	O
but	O
make	O
different	O
moves	O
to	O
create	O
good	O
formation	O
of	O
pieces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
search	B-Application
algorithm	I-Application
"	O
looks	O
ahead	O
more	O
deeply	O
in	O
a	O
sequence	O
of	O
moves	O
and	O
allows	O
the	O
program	O
to	O
better	O
evaluate	O
a	O
move	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
search	O
is	O
harder	O
in	O
shogi	O
than	O
in	O
chess	B-Application
because	O
of	O
the	O
larger	O
number	O
of	O
possible	O
moves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
chess	B-Application
,	O
there	O
are	O
fewer	O
pieces	O
which	O
leads	O
to	O
perfect	O
play	O
by	O
endgame	O
databases	O
;	O
However	O
,	O
pieces	O
can	O
be	O
dropped	O
in	O
shogi	O
so	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
endgame	O
databases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
immaturity	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
in	O
such	O
fields	O
as	O
programming	B-General_Concept
,	O
CPUs	B-Device
and	O
memory	O
,	O
computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
programs	O
took	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
to	O
think	O
,	O
and	O
often	O
made	O
moves	O
for	O
which	O
there	O
was	O
no	O
apparent	O
justification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
first	O
decade	O
of	O
the	O
21st	O
century	O
,	O
computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
has	O
taken	O
large	O
steps	O
forward	O
in	O
software	O
and	O
hardware	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
top	O
shogi	O
player	O
Yoshiharu	O
Habu	O
estimated	O
the	O
strength	O
of	O
the	O
2006	O
world	O
computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
champion	O
Bonanza	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
past	O
steady	O
progress	O
of	O
computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
is	O
a	O
guide	O
for	O
the	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
23	O
October	O
2005	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
3rd	O
International	O
Shogi	O
Forum	O
,	O
the	O
Japan	O
Shogi	O
Association	O
permitted	O
Toshiyuki	O
Moriuchi	O
,	O
2005	O
Meijin	O
,	O
to	O
play	O
computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
program	O
YSS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Japan	O
Shogi	O
Association	O
(	O
JSA	O
)	O
gave	O
reigning	O
Ryuo	O
Champion	O
Watanabe	O
permission	O
to	O
compete	O
against	O
the	O
reigning	O
World	O
Computer	B-Application
Shogi	I-Application
Champion	O
Bonanza	O
on	O
21	O
March	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Longer	O
playing	O
time	O
also	O
means	O
human	O
players	O
can	O
make	O
long-term	O
plans	O
beyond	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
calculating	B-General_Concept
horizon	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
indication	O
Bonanza	O
was	O
far	O
below	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
professional	O
Watanabe	O
came	O
2	O
months	O
after	O
the	O
match	O
at	O
the	O
May	O
2007	O
World	O
Computer	B-Application
Shogi	I-Application
Championship	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bonanza	O
lost	O
to	O
the	O
2007	O
World	O
Computer	B-Application
Shogi	I-Application
Champion	O
YSS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
Akara	O
defeated	O
the	O
women	O
's	O
Osho	O
champion	O
Ichiyo	O
Shimizu	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
programs	O
beat	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
two	O
amateurs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
21	O
December	O
2011	O
,	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
Bonkras	O
crushed	O
retired	O
68-year-old	O
Kunio	O
Yonenaga	O
,	O
the	O
1993	O
Meijin	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
winners	O
of	O
the	O
previous	O
World	O
Computer	B-Application
Shogi	I-Application
Championship	O
played	O
against	O
professional	O
shogi	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miura	O
decided	O
to	O
use	O
trusted	O
opening	O
theory	O
instead	O
of	O
an	O
anti-computer	B-General_Concept
strategy	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
USI	O
was	O
designed	O
by	O
Norwegian	O
computer	B-Application
chess	I-Application
programmer	O
Tord	O
Romstad	O
in	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tord	O
Romstad	O
based	O
USI	O
on	O
Universal	B-General_Concept
Chess	I-General_Concept
Interface	I-General_Concept
(	O
UCI	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UCI	O
was	O
designed	O
by	O
computer	B-Application
chess	I-Application
programmer	O
Stefan	O
Meyer-Kahlen	O
in	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
relmo	O
(	O
elmo	B-Application
WCSC27	O
+	O
rezero8	O
)	O
,	O
</s>
<s>
XBoard/WinBoard	O
is	O
another	O
GUI	O
that	O
supports	O
shogi	O
and	O
other	O
chess	B-Application
variants	O
including	O
western	O
chess	B-Application
and	O
xiangqi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shogi	O
support	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
WinBoard	B-Application
in	O
2007	O
by	O
H.G.	O
</s>
<s>
WinBoard	B-Application
uses	O
its	O
own	O
protocol	O
(	O
Chess	B-Application
Engine	I-Application
Communication	O
Protocol	O
)	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
engines	O
,	O
but	O
can	O
connect	O
to	O
USI	O
engines	O
through	O
the	O
UCI2WB	O
adapter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Engines	O
that	O
can	O
natively	O
support	O
WinBoard	B-Application
protocol	O
are	O
Shokidoki	O
,	O
TJshogi	O
,	O
GNU	O
Shogi	O
and	O
Bonanza	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Shogidokoro	O
,	O
WinBoard	B-Application
is	O
free/libre	O
and	O
open	O
source	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
X	O
Window	O
System	O
as	O
XBoard	B-Application
(	O
for	O
Linux	O
and	O
Mac	O
systems	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
Shogi	O
variants	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Chu	O
Shogi	O
and	O
Dai	O
Shogi	O
,	O
are	O
playable	O
against	O
AI	B-Application
using	O
a	O
forked	O
version	O
of	O
Winboard	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
BCMShogi	O
is	O
an	O
English	O
language	O
graphical	O
user	O
interface	O
for	O
the	O
USI	O
protocol	O
and	O
the	O
WinBoard	B-Application
shogi	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Floodgate	O
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
server	O
for	O
computers	O
to	O
compete	O
and	O
receive	O
ratings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
annual	O
computer	O
vs	O
computer	O
world	O
shogi	O
championship	O
is	O
organized	O
by	O
the	O
Computer	B-Application
Shogi	I-Application
Association	O
(	O
CSA	O
)	O
of	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hiroshi	O
Yamashita	O
,	O
the	O
author	O
of	O
YSS	O
,	O
maintains	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
all	O
shogi	O
programs	O
that	O
played	O
in	O
World	O
Computer	B-Application
Shogi	I-Application
Championship	O
by	O
year	O
and	O
winning	O
rank	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
commercial	O
game	O
software	O
which	O
play	O
shogi	O
are	O
Habu	B-Application
Meijin	I-Application
no	I-Application
Omoshiro	I-Application
Shōgi	I-Application
for	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
,	O
Clubhouse	B-Application
Games	I-Application
for	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
and	O
Shotest	B-Application
Shogi	I-Application
for	O
Xbox	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Matsue	O
National	O
College	O
of	O
Technology	O
developed	O
the	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
Tacos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Japan	O
Shogi	O
Association	O
said	O
the	O
rule	O
is	O
to	O
preserve	O
the	O
dignity	O
of	O
its	O
professionals	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
most	O
of	O
computer	B-Application
shogi	I-Application
as	O
a	O
potential	O
business	O
opportunity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2008	O
:	O
May	O
,	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
Tanase	O
Shogi	O
beat	O
Asahi	O
Amateur	O
Meijin	O
title	O
holder	O
Yukio	O
Kato	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2008	O
:	O
May	O
,	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
Gekisashi	O
beat	O
Amateur	O
Meijin	O
Toru	O
Shimizugami	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2011	O
:	O
May	O
,	O
highest	O
rated	O
player	O
on	O
Shogi	O
Club	O
24	O
is	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
Ponanza	O
,	O
rated	O
3211	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2011	O
:	O
December	O
,	O
highest	O
rated	O
player	O
on	O
Shogi	O
Club	O
24	O
is	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
Bonkras	O
,	O
rated	O
3364	O
after	O
2116	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2013	O
:	O
12	O
May	O
,	O
highest	O
rated	O
player	O
on	O
Shogi	O
Club	O
24	O
is	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
Ponanza	O
,	O
rated	O
3453	O
.	O
</s>
