shogi , also known as Japanese chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as Western chess, ''chaturanga, Xiangqi'', Indian chess, and '' janggi''. ''Shōgi'' ...

, Silver Horns Central Rook (ツノ銀中飛車 ''tsuno gin nakabisha'') is a type of

Central Rook In shogi, Central Rook (中飛車 ''nakabisha'') is a subclass of Ranging Rook openings in which the rook is positioned on the fifth (central) file. However, since the central file can be thought of as the dividing line between Ranging Rook and ...

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

that uses the Silver Horn formation where the right and left silver are positioned at the ears of the player's rook, which is positioned on the bottom rank. Silver Horns uses a Kimura Mino (木村美濃) castle instead of the usual

Mino castle The Mino castle (美濃囲い ''minō gakoi'' or 本美濃囲い ''hon minō gakoi'') is a castle used in shogi. Mino castle is a very commonly used defensive formation that may be used within both Ranging Rook and Static Rook positions again ...

Formation

This

ranging rook Ranging Rook or Swinging Rook (振り飛車 ''furibisha'') openings in shogi position the rook to the center or left of the player's board to support an attack there. Ranging Rook strategies used in Ranging Rook vs Static Rook are among the old ...

opening is characterized by moving the rook to the 5th file, and then placing the left silver at 67 (43, if playing White). If the opponent opts for a quick game, the game is played with the position as is, in which case it is called Incomplete Silver Horns (片ツノ銀 ''kata tsuno gin''). In case of a slow game, the right silver is placed at 47 (63, if playing White), the right gold at 38 (72) or 48 (62), and the king at 28 (82) or 38 (72) (this castle is called Kimura Mino). The left gold is often set at 78 (32). As can be seen in the accompanying diagrams, this leads to a symmetrical stance. The name comes from the fact that the two silvers look like horns or antlers. Yasuharu Oyama used to favor a sequence of moves attacking with the gold and silver on the left while defending the king. In addition, a counterattack with a

sleeve rook In shogi, Sleeve Rook (袖飛車 ''sodebisha,'' also translated as ''Right Third File Rook, Sideways Rook'' or ''Sidestepped Rook'') is a Static Rook opening in which the rook is moved to the third file if played by Black or the seventh file if ...

from 38 (72) is also a powerful tactic. On the other hand, it is very difficult for the static rook side to set up a quick game such as

Climbing Silver Climbing Silver (棒銀 ''bōgin'', literally "pole-silver") is a shogi strategy. Climbing Silver involves advancing a silver upward along with an advanced or dropped pawn supported by the rook aiming to break through the opponent's camp on thei ...

, unlike the case of a static rook vs.

Fourth File Rook In shogi, Fourth File Rook (四間飛車 ''shikenbisha'') 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. History The earli ...

. However, Katō-style Sleeve Rook and the Standing Gold strategy (金立ち戦法 ''kintachi senpō'') are known to be effective against White Central Rook. In addition, Static Rook Anaguma and

King's Head Vanguard Pawn In shogi, King's Head Vanguard Pawn or King's Side Vanguard Pawn (玉頭位取り ''gyoku tō kuraidori'') is a Static Rook opening. This opening utilizes a Boat castle in which the king (if played by Black) is positioned on 78 square. The pa ...

are effective countermeasures for slow game strategies. When the pawn isn't pushed along 5th. file, it is called "Hi-chan style" after the nickname of Hideo Yamaguchi, who developed the tactic. In addition, another possibility (favored by players such as Hatasu Itō) is setting up the rook at the 1st. rank, and then moving the bishop to the 5th file, with the king sometimes castled in a Central House, which would constitute a Pinwheel formation. The pinwheel can be developed from the silver horns central rook, but there are also ways to aim for the pinwheel from the beginning (namely, Static Rook

First File Rook In shogi, First File Rook (一間飛車 ''ikkenbisha'' or ''ichigenbisha'') is a Static Rook surprise opening in which the player's rook supports an attack on the player's rightmost edge file. The player may also attempt to move the lance first a ...

Right King In shogi, Right King or Right-hand King (右玉 ''migi gyoku'') is a defensive subcomponent of different openings in which the king stays on the right side of the board together with the rook, which protects the back rank (rank 9) as well as the e ...

to Pinwheel).

Bibliography

* 山田道美『現代将棋の急所』（

日本将棋連盟 The , or JSA, is the primary organizing body for professional shogi in Japan. The JSA sets the professional calendar, negotiates sponsorship and media promotion deals, helps organize tournaments and title matches, publishes shogi-related materia ...

、1990年）…出版年は復刊時のもの。 * 勝又清和『消えた戦法の謎』（毎日コミュニケーションズ、1995年） * 藤井猛・鈴木宏彦『現代に生きる大山振り飛車』（日本将棋連盟、2006年） * * {{Shogi openings Shogi openings Ranging Rook openings Central Rook openings

Formation

See also

Bibliography