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'' ...

, Right King or Right-hand King (右玉 ''migi gyoku'') is a defensive subcomponent of different

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 * , ...

s 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 eighth file. It is an exception to the general rule that the king is castled away from the rook. It is possible to use a Right King formation within a Bishop Exchange opening as well as other openings. The castle formation used in these strategies is also called a Right King castle.

Overview

When an opponent is building up a

Static Rook Static Rook (居飛車 ''ibisha'') openings in shogi typically have the player's rook at its start position, which is the second file (on the 28 square) for Black and the eighth file (on the 82 square) for White. Explanation Static Rook is a ...

position, castling the king to the left means that the player will need to defend from attacks from above. However, were the king to be placed in the right, far away from the opponent's attack, the efficacy of such an attack could be diminished. As for variations in right king, in the case where a castle has been built on the left flank, the opponent will expect that the king will transfer to the left as well, and hence will start many attacks toward there. Hence, playing right king can be said to be an effective move to counter this assumption. While it may appear at first glance to contradict the maxim of "Don't place the king and the rook close to each other," insofar as there are no gaps where the opponent can drop pieces and it's possible to attack, it can be said that Right King has good balance. For example, if an opponent has attacked from the left flank, by way of P-4e, P-2d, the player can launch a counterattack aimed at the king's head with rook, bishop and knight. In some circumstances the rook can range in preparation for attacks from the left flank.

Yoshiharu Habu is a professional shogi player and a chess FIDE Master. His master is Tatsuya Futakami. He is the only person to simultaneously hold seven major professional shogi titles at the same time and is also the only person to qualify as a lifetime tit ...

adopted this strategy in his seventh game in the title match of the Ōi tournament, playing white (''gote''), in September 12 and 13, 2016''.'' Although Habu had initially moved his king leftwards to the 42 square earlier in the game, he later moved his king rightwards (K-52, K-61, K-72) to form a Right King position. Additionally, his left silver that was earlier on the 33 square has moved after a pawn trade on the fourth file to the 53 square (via S-44) further strengthening the Right King castle. On the other hand, there are countermeasures for Right King, among the most notorious of which are Feint Ranging Rook and

Subway Rook Subway Rook (地下鉄飛車 ''chikatetsubisha'') is an uncommon Static Rook shogi opening with the rook on the bottom rank 9 (or rank 1 for White) that supports an attack on the ninth file. It may be useful against an opponent playing a Rangin ...

, or Chikara Akutsu's switching from a Floating Chrysanthemum Fortress to a Silver Crown.

Against Ranging Rook

Itodani's Right King

It was developed by

Tetsurō Itodani is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8-dan and former Ryūō title holder. Itodani, together with Akira Inaba, Masayuki Toyoshima and Akihiro Murata, is one of four Kansai-based young shogi professionals who are collectively refe ...

. It can be used against

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 ...

openings (especially against

Cheerful Central Rook In shogi, Cheerful Central Rook (ゴキゲン中飛車 ''gokigen nakabisha'', also Gokigen Central Rook or Go-As-You-Please Central Rook) is a type of Central Rook opening in which the Central Rook player's bishop diagonal remains open. This is ...

). The king itself defends the center, while the rook uses the left side to attack on Ranging Rook's king's head.

References

Bibliography

* 阿久津主税必ず役立つプロの常識（2009年12月、毎日コミュニケーションズ、） * 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 * 豊川孝弘著、『パワーアップ戦法塾』NHK出版、2002年、 *

External links