Silver Crown.

How it goes together

Push 2f, lift the silver from 3h to 2g, and bring the right gold from 4i to the 3h square the silver has just left. The king now has a silver directly over his head, a gold beside him, and the other gold still in front on 4g. Everything sits on the g and h ranks, which is the point: there is nothing left above the king for an attacker to land on.

A Silver Crown is a High Mino with three more moves on top; the first nine below are that castle.

Move by move

Black only, from the start position. Seven moves of Mino, two that make it a High Mino, and then the last three: the pawn, the crown, and the gold underneath it.

Twelve moves is a great deal to spend, and all of it goes on one thing: the squares above the king.

What it is good against

Anything from the front or from above. A rook or a knight aiming at 2f or 3f meets the silver and the gold on 4g, and the king can breathe upward instead of being pinned to the bottom rank. It is the shape a ranging rook player wants in a long, slow game where both sides have moves to spare.

Where it breaks

Around the king the bottom rank is empty: the knight on 2i, the lance on 1i, and nothing else until the far side of the board. A rook that gets in behind, or a gold dropped underneath, is what a Silver Crown fears. The edge is the other one, and the pawn is already on 1f: a lance behind it with a rook on the file is the classic way in.

When to build it

When you have the time. It grows out of a High Mino, so it is a destination rather than a separate plan: build a Mino, add the gold, and if the opponent is still preparing, add the crown. In a fast game those three moves are better spent on the attack.