Silicon Valley Shogi Club


With players from San Mateo, Palo Alto, Fremont, Los Gatos, San Jose, and even a few as far north as San Francisco, we come from all over the bay area. Mountain View is a great central location for all of us! We welcome all members, from new players to experts. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we regularly saw between 10-20 weekly members, and we'd love for you to be one of them!


Who We Are


Will Maynard President 13 years of 将棋

I'm a software engineer with a passion for food, travel, and strategy games. I first learned chess when I was four years old, later becoming the president of my high school chess club and participating in intra-school tournaments until college. While in Kyoto in 2008, I visited a local shogi club, learning the game from their members over a large language barrier. They were generous enough to gift me my first shogi set, and I adopted shogi as my strategy game of choice.

I love shogi because so much more can happen during a match! Though slower in the beginning, the entire landscape can shift with piece drops. There is less pressure to play perfectly because you have more options and opportunities to gain an advantage over your opponent, and the game isn't over because you lost a tempo.

Bigsby Mascot A lifetime of 将棋

I'm Bigsby, the Giant Osho! I'm an oversized shogi piece adopted from Shitennoji in Osaka! I sprouted a pair of eyes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since I couldn't meet all of our wonderful club members yet, I spent my days practicing new recipes and making content for the club Instagram account!

I look forward to the day when I can finally share all of my new recipes with everyone for our social events!