Castles · 銀冠穴熊
Silver Crown Anaguma.
A Silver Crown on the left with the king gone on into the corner: Anaguma depth under a silver roof.
How it goes together
Open the bishop’s diagonal and lift the bishop to 7g, so the left silver can step into 8h; the left gold follows to 7h and the king walks to 6i and 7i. Then the crown: push 8f and lift the silver to 8g. Only now does the king go down, through 8h, with the lance stepping up to 9h and the king settling on 9i behind it. Last, the right gold walks across to 5h and 6h, and the two golds close the lid: the 7h gold steps across to 8h and the other takes 7h. English sources also call it the Left Silver Crown Anaguma.
Move by move
Black only, from the start position. The crown goes up first, the king goes into the corner after it, and the golds come last.
Step through the moves, or press play.
Tap a move to jump to it. Arrow keys work once the board has focus.
Fifteen moves. The silver on 8g stands on two golds, the golds on 8h and 7h guard each other, and the 7h gold guards the bishop in front of it.
What it is good against
Height and depth at once. A plain Static Rook Anaguma keeps its silver on 8h; here the silver has climbed to 8g on top of the two golds, so an attack down the eighth file meets a silver backed by two golds before it reaches the corner. Shogi Wars rates it very strong from above and from the side, and says it can grow on into the Big Four (ビッグ4). Japanese teaching sites add that it leaves fewer gaps than a plain Anaguma while it is being built, and is easier to build with the bishop’s diagonal open.
Where it breaks
Time, and the silver’s head. Fifteen moves gives a ranging rook plenty of time to start something, and shogi-gym’s advice is to stop at the Silver Crown and fight from there if the opponent moves early. Once it stands, a pawn attack on the eighth file goes straight at the 8g silver’s head. And nothing guards 6i: a silver dropped there attacks the 7h gold. shogi-rule.com also finds it a little weaker than a plain Anaguma against an attack from the side.
When to build it
A static rook against a Fourth or Third File Rook in a slow game, when neither side is attacking early. Against a Ranging Rook Anaguma, ja.wikipedia calls switching from the Left Silver Crown into the corner a strong plan, and it also appears against ranging rooks that trade bishops early.
Build it at the board.
The app’s lesson walks the king into a Mino one step at a time, and its review names the castle you were building when a game turned.