Anaguma castle

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Anaguma Castle
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The Anaguma or Bear In The Hole (穴熊 anaguma, lit. "hole-bear") is a castle used in shogi. (An anaguma is a Japanese badger.) It is commonly used in professional shogi.

In shogi, castles are strong defensive configurations of pieces that protect the king (玉).

Shogi chess variant native to Japan

Shogi, also known as Japanese chess or the Game of Generals, is a two-player strategy board game native to Japan in the same family as chess, makruk, shatranj, janggi and xiangqi, and is the most popular chess variant in Japan. Shōgi means general's board game.

Contents

History

The Anaguma was initially a castle used by Ranging Rook players. In modern times, it was first considered a poor choice for Ranging Rook. And, the renaissance of Ranging Rook strategies that was happening in the first part of the 20th century was in part attributed to the strength of the Mino castle. However, a Static Rook strategy – the King's Head Vanguard Pawn – became a formidable challenge to Ranging Rook positions as the Mino castle is weak against frontal attacks and the King's Head Vanguard Pawn strategy exploits these weaknesses by attacking the Mino from above. [lower-alpha 1] Therefore, a change from a Mino to an Anaguma was considered since the Ranging Rook player's king is moved one rank further away from the vanguard pawn offense. [1]

Ranging Rook or Swinging Rook openings in shogi position the rook to the center or left of the player's board to support an attack there.

The Mino castle is a castle used in shogi.

Static Rook openings in shogi typically have the player's rook at its start position, which is the second file for Black and the eighth file for White.

The Anaguma variant used for Static Rook positions was initially called Harada's Anaguma (原田流穴熊 harada-ryū anagauma) named after professional player Yasuo Harada (原田泰夫) who used his own particular Anaguma configuration. [2]

Torahiko Tanaka helped popularize the Anaguma castle as a castle for Counter-Ranging Rook Static Rook positions among professional players. At the time, the Anaguma was used primarily for Ranging Rook positions. [3] The adjacent diagram shows Tanaka (Black) using Static Rook position with an Incomplete Anaguma castle in a October 1976 professional match. [4] His opponent Daigorō Satō (佐藤大五郎) is using an Ishida position (developed from an earlier Fourth File Rook position). Later, Tanaka claimed to be the originator of the Static Rook Anaguma. According to retired professional Noboru Tamaru (田丸昇), an amateur player who had used the Static Rook Anaguma in the 1970s brought a lawsuit against Tanaka for Tanaka's alleged false claims. The court case was eventually dismissed. [5]

Torahiko Tanaka is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is a former Kisei title holder and also a former senior managing director of the Japan Shogi Association.

In shogi, the Ishida Opening is a major variation in Third File Rook openings.

In shogi, Fourth File Rook is a class of Ranging Rook openings in which the rook is initially positioned on the fourth file if played by White or the sixth file if played by Black.

Although originally considered a primarily Ranging Rook castle, the Static Rook Anaguma became a very tough castle for Ranging Rook players to attack. However, in the mid-1990s, the Fujii System was developed for Ranging Rook that created many problems for Static Rook Anaguma positions leading to changes in Static Rook strategies including even abandoning the Anaguma for other castles (such as the Millenium castle) in some variations.

In shogi, the Fujii System is a set of Fourth File Rook strategies used against various Static Rook strategies. It was created as a way to attack Static Rook Anaguma castle positions.

Details

This castle can be executed on either side of the board. A player utilizing the Ranging Rook strategy uses a Ranging Rook Anaguma [ ja ] (振り飛車穴熊 furibisha anaguma) on the right side while a player employing the Static Rook strategy builds a Static Rook Anaguma (居飛車穴熊 ibisha anaguma) on the left side. The end-result will place the king in the corner square where the lance started, defended by two gold generals and one silver. This way, the King cannot be easily checked by a knight or a ranging piece. [6]

In shogi, Static Rook Anaguma or Static Rook Bear In The Hole is a Static Rook opening that utilizes an Anaguma castle.

Bishop Anaguma
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Other than the Static Rook and Ranging Rook classification, Anaguma castles can be categorized depending upon which piece cover the square at the ear of the king. When the king is positioned at the corner square, if there were only the knight and the lance with no generals, there would be a hole diagonally in front of the king – the 88 (Black) or 22 (White) square for Ranging Rook Anagumas and the 28 (Black) or 82 (White) squares for Static Rook Anagumas. This square is called the diagonal hole. The piece that covers the diagonal hole names the castle. Thus, a Silver Anaguma has a silver positioned on this square whereas a Gold Anaguma uses a gold for this purpose (with the silver on 79 instead of the gold). (Although possible, Bishop Anagumas are rare.)

Construction

One suggested strategy for a rook-side castle is:

  1. Move the rook to the sixth or seventh file.
  2. Move the king to the rook's starting square.
  3. Move the lance up one square, then move the king to the lance's starting square.

Now for silver anaguma:

  1. Move the silver diagonally forward to the right.
  2. Move both golds to the castle for additional defense.

Or gold anaguma:

  1. Move the right gold in front of the knight.
  2. Leave the silver in its initial starting position. Move the other gold to the castle for extra defence.

When building a left side Anaguma (with a static rook opening), the bishop is moved out of the way of the king, and the 7th file pawn is moved to make space for the bishop, which may be moved elsewhere later. [6]

Silver Anaguma Gold-67 Variant
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It's also possible for a gold to be positioned at 67 instead of 78. [7]

Anaguma variants

Kanki Static Rook Anaguma
神吉流居飛車穴熊
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香銀金      8
玉桂金      9
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Attacking Anaguma

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The term vanguard pawn (位取り kuraidori) refers to a positioning of a pawn advanced to the middle rank supported by generals as a phalanx-like attacking formation.

Related Research Articles

Shogi, like western chess, can be divided into the opening, middle game and endgame, each requiring a different strategy. The opening consists of arranging one's defenses and positioning for attack, the middle game consists of attempting to break through the opposing defenses while maintaining one's own, and the endgame starts when one side's defenses have been compromised.

A shogi opening is the sequence of initial moves of a shogi game before the middle game. The more general Japanese term for the beginning of the game is 序盤 joban.

In shogi, Third File Rook is a class of Ranging Rook openings in which the rook is positioned on the third file if played by White or the seventh file if played by Black.

Left Silver-57 Rapid Attack or Left Silver-5g Rapid Attack or Left Silver-5g Quick Attack is a fast attacking strategy in shogi used with several different Static Rook openings often played by Black against Ranging Rook positions played by White. It is characterized by moving the left silver from its start position on 79 to the 57 square.

In shogi, Cheerful Central Rook is a type of Central Rook opening in which the Central Rook player's bishop diagonal remains open.

In shogi, the Bishop Exchange Fourth File Rook or Open Bishop Diagonal Fourth File Rook is a Fourth File Rook opening in which the player's bishop diagonal remains open allowing for a bishop exchange to occur early in the opening. Following the bishop exchange, the rook is moved to the Fourth File.

In shogi, Central Rook is a subclass of Ranging Rook openings in which the rook is positioned on the fifth (central) file.

In shogi, Iijima Bishop Pullback or Iijima's Back Bishop is a less common defensive Static Rook opening used against a Ranging Rook opponent. It has been used in both Black and White positions by professional players.

Yagura castle

Yagura or Fortress is a castle used in shogi. It is considered by many to be the strongest defensive position in shogi in Double Static Rook games.

In shogi, Double Ranging Rook is a class of Ranging Rook openings in which both players choose a Ranging Rook position.

In shogi, Primitive Central Rook is a Central Rook opening in which the player attacks their opponent very aggressively and early usually giving up castling the king.

Central Rook Left Anaguma is Central Rook opening (戦法) used in Double Ranging Rook games.

References

  1. ↑ Ōuchi (1978)
  2. ↑ Hodges (1977)
  3. ↑ http://tamarunoboru.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2010/05/post-dcb7.html
  4. ↑ https://shogidb2.com/games/5fdeffafc975d692e2af090e94c8377292f1c5c3
  5. ↑ http://tamarunoboru.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2010/05/post-dcb7.html
  6. 1 2 Hosking 1997, p. 53–54, Part 1, Chapter 8: Castles.
  7. ↑ Nishio 2014.

Bibliography

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