Iijima Bishop Pullback
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White's Iijima Bishop Pullback vs Black's Fourth File Rook △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
Black's Iijima Bishop Pullback vs White's Fourth File Rook △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
In shogi, Iijima Bishop Pullback or Iijima-style Back Bishop (飯島流引き角 Iijima-ryuu hiki kaku) is a less common defensive Static Rook (居飛車) opening (戦法) used against a Ranging Rook (振り飛車) opponent. It has been used in both Black (先手) and White (後手) positions.
It is characterized by not opening the bishop's diagonal (角道) with a pawn (歩) push (P-3d or P-7f) and instead moving the bishop (角) back (to 3a if played by White or 7i if played by Black) so that it can then exit one's camp via the central (5th) file, which has been opened by advancing the central pawn.[1] With the bishop out of way, it possible to castle the king (玉) into a Left Mino castle.
The opening is named after professional player Eiji Iijima (飯島栄治) who has won a shogi award for developing such tactics.
Formation
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White plays Static Rook △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
Black suggests Central Rook △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
The example here is an Iijima Bishop Pullback position played by White against a Central Rook (中飛車) position played by Black.
White first suggests their intention to play a Static Rook position while Black hints at a Central Rook position.
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Pawn push & defense △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
Black plays Central Rook △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
After Black pushes their rook (飛) pawn to the mid rank, Black shows their clear intention for Central Rook.
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Bishop Pullback △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
Bishop Pullback △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
From this point, White starts the Iijima Bishop Pullback development by moving their left silver (銀) straight up to make way for a space in which to pull back their bishop. Black starts castling their king rightward, and White pulls their bishop back to the a rank, which allows for a possible pawn and bishop exchange on the eighth file at the 8f square focal point.
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White's Iijima Bishop Pullback △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
Left Mino castle △ pieces in hand: –
▲ pieces in hand: – |
In later development, White's left silver and right gold have been moved to construct a Left Mino castle.
| 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 香 | 桂 | 金 | 桂 | 香 | a | ||||
| 飛 | 金 | 銀 | 王 | b | |||||
| 歩 | 歩 | 銀 | 角 | 歩 | 歩 | 歩 | 歩 | c | |
| 歩 | d | ||||||||
| 歩 | e | ||||||||
| 歩 | 銀 | f | |||||||
| 歩 | 歩 | 角 | 歩 | 歩 | 歩 | 歩 | 歩 | g | |
| 飛 | 銀 | 玉 | h | ||||||
| 香 | 桂 | 銀 | 金 | 金 | 桂 | 香 | i |
In the last diagram, both players have (1) finished moving their kings into their castles, (2) developed their attacking silvers further, and (3) exchanged their central file pawns.