<p>Most likely, the metaphor is not so well thought out that every shogi piece actually represents something.</p>
<p>I looked through some clips to get the following info.</p>
<ul>
<li>Most of this, if not all, comes from episode 77: <em>Climbing Silver</em>, which I skimmed after writing this answer. The official subtitles differs from what I've quoted, but not so much that I felt inclined to fix them.</li>
</ul>
<p>As Asuma says, he himself is a sacrificial pawn. True to this, he sacrifices himself in battle in order to give Shikamaru a chance to formulate a strategy to defeat their foes.</p>
<p>Asuma says Shikamaru is the knight. Of Shikamaru, he says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This game is a must for people like you who are good at coming up with strategies.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In episode 71: <em>My Friend</em>, Asuma explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Although weak in strength, a knight can advance by jumping over pieces. The unique movement represents your flexible thinking.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Asuma likens the Climbing Silver, a strategy where pieces are deliberately sacrificed, to a sacrificial assault to break through enemy lines.</p>
<p>Shikamaru likens Hidan and Kakuzu to a rook and bishop (or simply <em>great pieces</em> in official translation), and says that to capture those pieces, bait is needed.</p>
<p>The king is, of course</p>
<blockquote class="spoiler">
<p> The children of the village, who must be protected at all costs to ensure the future.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Asuma states the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Shogi allows you to work through various situations by utilizing each of the piece's individual attributes.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As far as I'm aware, there isn't much more information than this regarding which piece is what. The last quote is important though. We can guess that the other pieces, with their differing movements, simply represent in general that there are different types of shinobi with differing abilities and strength. This is a game to represent combat, so we can guess that non-combatants are not represented and all shogi pieces represent shinobi (excepting the king). Extrapolating from that, we can guess supply lines and other support positions are not directly represented in the game (If there is a way to regain captured pieces, that could be a way to indirectly represent medical ninjas). We can guess that the Hokage is represented by the strongest piece.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-23T16:22:25.580Z
If anyone wants to dig further: list of all Shogi matches in Naruto can be found here: https://shogiwar.webs.com/Shogi_War_Page/anime.html Can confirm the match in episode 68 offered no additional information to the Shogi metaphor.
Shaymin Gratitude
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-23T14:44:54.827Z
2023-04-23T16:29:55.800Z
2023-04-23T16:29:55.800Z
Shaymin Gratitude
<p>I think Shikamaru would be more of a knight because its move pattern is different than other figures, he can jump over them - sort of similar to the way Shikamaru thinks.</p>
<p>Asuma is a pawn, a simple guy/soldier who jumps in to help and sacrifices if necessary.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-24T10:43:07.620Z
2022-11-24T10:54:45.427Z
2022-11-24T10:54:45.427Z
Luke Peet
<p>In Naruto, Sarutobi Asuma gave Shikamaru a puzzle that his father Hiruzen had previously given him. While playing Shogi with Shikamaru, He asked if Shikamaru could figure out what piece represents the Hokage. Which of the chess pieces do?</p>

<p>Do all the other chess pieces have similar representations? Because Asuma mentioned that Shikamaru seemed more like a Knight and himself like a Pawn. Whats the reasoning behind this match up?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-03T03:50:16.823Z
In the anime it is explained that shikamaru is a knight because in a way knight moves different than other pieces he thinks differently & asuma is a kind of guy that jumps in and sacrifices himself like a sacrificial pawn which happened later in shippuden.
Ch.Siva Ram Kishore
<naruto>
What is the logic for the representation of the various chess pieces?
# What is the logic for the representation of the various chess pieces?
Posted by: username_0 on 2019-06-02
In Naruto, Sarutobi Asuma gave Shikamaru a puzzle that his father Hiruzen had previously given him. While playing Shogi with Shikamaru, He asked if Shikamaru could figure out what piece represents the Hokage. Which of the chess pieces do?

Do all the other chess pieces have similar representations? Because Asuma mentioned that Shikamaru seemed more like a Knight and himself like a Pawn. Whats the reasoning behind this match up?
**Tags:** naruto
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: In the anime it is explained that shikamaru is a knight because in a way knight moves different than other pieces he thinks differently & asuma is a kind of guy that jumps in and sacrifices himself like a sacrificial pawn which happened later in shippuden.  
---
## 2 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2023-04-23. Score: 2
Most likely, the metaphor is not so well thought out that every shogi piece actually represents something.

I looked through some clips to get the following info.

* Most of this, if not all, comes from episode 77: *Climbing Silver*, which I skimmed after writing this answer. The official subtitles differs from what I've quoted, but not so much that I felt inclined to fix them.

As Asuma says, he himself is a sacrificial pawn. True to this, he sacrifices himself in battle in order to give Shikamaru a chance to formulate a strategy to defeat their foes.

Asuma says Shikamaru is the knight. Of Shikamaru, he says:

> This game is a must for people like you who are good at coming up with strategies.

In episode 71: *My Friend*, Asuma explains:

> Although weak in strength, a knight can advance by jumping over pieces. The unique movement represents your flexible thinking.

Asuma likens the Climbing Silver, a strategy where pieces are deliberately sacrificed, to a sacrificial assault to break through enemy lines.

Shikamaru likens Hidan and Kakuzu to a rook and bishop (or simply *great pieces* in official translation), and says that to capture those pieces, bait is needed.

The king is, of course

> The children of the village, who must be protected at all costs to ensure the future.

Asuma states the following:

> Shogi allows you to work through various situations by utilizing each of the piece's individual attributes.

As far as I'm aware, there isn't much more information than this regarding which piece is what. The last quote is important though. We can guess that the other pieces, with their differing movements, simply represent in general that there are different types of shinobi with differing abilities and strength. This is a game to represent combat, so we can guess that non-combatants are not represented and all shogi pieces represent shinobi (excepting the king). Extrapolating from that, we can guess supply lines and other support positions are not directly represented in the game (If there is a way to regain captured pieces, that could be a way to indirectly represent medical ninjas). We can guess that the Hokage is represented by the strongest piece.
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2023-04-23): If anyone wants to dig further: list of all Shogi matches in Naruto can be found here: https://shogiwar.webs.com/Shogi_War_Page/anime.html Can confirm the match in episode 68 offered no additional information to the Shogi metaphor.  
---
### Answer by username_3 on 2022-11-24. Score: -1
I think Shikamaru would be more of a knight because its move pattern is different than other figures, he can jump over them - sort of similar to the way Shikamaru thinks.

Asuma is a pawn, a simple guy/soldier who jumps in to help and sacrifices if necessary.
---
