🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Mon, Apr 5, 2004 05:19 PM UTC:
One significant difference between Shogi and Chess is that the Bishop in
Shogi can change color, so to speak, by being captured and then dropped.
It is also possible in Shogi for a player to possess both Bishops. So, the
drop rules of Shogi are making up for the imbalance created by each side
beginning with only one Bishop. If Shogi were played without drops, it
would be a significantly less balanced game than it is with drops.