Talk:Sennichite

Same pieces in hand

I am unfamiliar with the game, so it is very difficult for me to understand what is meant by "same" here. Does it mean physically the same piece? If that piece were dropped, and a subsequent piece (with the same name/designation) were captured would that be the "same" in hand? If an equivalent piece which was captured after it had been promoted (assuming first piece wasn't promoted) replaces the initial piece in hand, is that the "same"? The same number of the same type of (unpromoted) pieces are not literally the same pieces, necessarily. So, I guess the question is two-fold. The easiest one is is there anything that can happen on the board (or during play) which would make a piece not the same as a piece in hand (captures,drops, promotions, etc.)? The second question is are any two of the same type of piece considered "the same" for this rule?72.16.99.93 (talk) 15:20, 19 December 2018 (UTC)

In this context "same" doesn't mean the same exact identical piece, but rather the same piece type. For example, all of the pawns (歩）are pretty much the same in the sense that they aren't individually marked (perhaps by their iniital position on the board) to distinguish them from one another once the game begins. During the course of the game, when you capture one of your opponent's pawns, the pawn is referred to as a "piece (pawn) in hand" not as "the opponent's left lance's pawn in hand", etc. So, in a sennichite position, "same pieces in hand" refers to the same type and number of pieces in hand. If at the beginning of the three-position sequence one player has two pawns, one gold, one silver, one knight, one lance in hand and the other has three pawns, two golds, one bishop in hand, then both players need to have the same (type and number) of pieces in hand at the end of the three-position sequence for sennichite to be realized. Perhaps this YouTube video will help clear this up. -- Marchjuly (talk) 00:35, 20 December 2018 (UTC)