Anaguma castle

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.

Details

This castle can be executed on either side of the board. A player utilizing the Ranging Rook strategy uses a Ranging Rook Anaguma (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.^[1]

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 8h (Black) or 2b (White) square for Ranging Rook Anagumas and the 2h (Black) or 8b (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 7i instead of the gold). (Although possible, Bishop and Rook 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.^[1]

It's also possible for a gold to be positioned at 6g instead of 7h.^[2]

Anaguma variants

Pants-Off Anaguma (right) パンツを脱ぐ △ pieces in hand: – 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1                 王 a             銀 金 香 b           金 桂 歩 歩 c           歩 歩     d                   e     歩 歩           f 歩 歩 桂 金           g 香 銀               h 玉 金             i ▲ pieces in hand: –

Pants-Off Anaguma (left) パンツを脱ぐ △ pieces in hand: – 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1   王               a 香 金 銀             b 歩 歩 桂 金           c     歩 歩           d                   e           歩 歩     f           金 桂 歩 歩 g               銀 香 h             金 玉 i ▲ pieces in hand: –

Attacking Anaguma

Please see HIDETCHI's Shogi Exercises series.

See also

• Castle (shogi)

References

Bibliography

• Aono, Teruichi (2009) [First published in 1983]. Better Moves for Better Shogi. Translated by Fairbairn, John (2nd ed.). Ishi Press. ISBN 978-4-87187-999-6. 
• Fairbairn, John (1986). Shogi for beginners (2nd ed.). Ishi Press. ISBN 978-4-8718-720-10. 
• Hosking, Tony (1997). The Art of Shogi. The Shogi Foundation. ISBN 978-0-95310-890-9. 
• Kitao, Madoka (2012). Edge attack at a glance. Translated by Kawasaki, Tomohide. Nekomado. ISBN 978-4-9052-2502-7. 
• Kitao, Madoka (2014). Ending attack at a glance. Translated by Kawasaki, Tomohide. Nekomado. ISBN 978-4-9052-2513-3. 
• Nishio, Akira (2014). "4th-file rook vs. static rook (1)". Shogi Openings. 
• 塚田泰明監修、横田稔著『序盤戦! 囲いと攻めの形』、高橋書店、1997年 ISBN 4-4711-3299-7
• 神吉宏充. 神吉宏充の禁断の戦法 (videotape).