Castles · ツノ銀雁木
Silver Horns Gangi.
A Gangi with the right silver on 4g instead of 5g: silvers on 6g and 4g, golds on 7h and 5h, the king on 6i.
How it goes together
The left side is the old Gangi’s: king on 6i, golds on 7h and 5h, the left silver on 6g behind the 6f pawn. The right silver stands on 4g, behind the 4f pawn, where the old Gangi had it on 5g. The 5h gold guards both silvers, and the 7h gold guards the 6g silver too. The 6g silver is the only piece guarding the 7f pawn.
Move by move
Black only, from the start position, as the Japan Shogi Association’s castle column builds it: the left side first, the rook pawn up to 2e, the king one step left, then the right silver to 4h, the fifth-file pawn and the right gold, the pawns on 3f and 4f, the silver on to 4g, and the knight to 3g last.
Step through the moves, or press play.
Tap a move to jump to it. Arrow keys work once the board has focus.
The column ends on the knight for a reason. The 4g silver covers 3f, the square in front of the knight. The column shows what happens with the silver on 5g instead: White pushes a pawn to 3e at once, hitting the knight’s head, and Black is worse. That is also why the rook pawn can go to 2e: the old Gangi keeps that pawn back for a Right Fourth File Rook attack, and this shape rarely plays one. Our old Gangi page differs in two more places: its left silver climbs through 7h, and it pushes the edge pawn to 9f.
What it is good against
Flexibility. ja.wikipedia lists three gains from the 4g silver: the king is steady on either wing, so a Right King stays possible; an enemy knight that jumps in hits neither silver; and with 5g empty you can pull the bishop back and use it. The golds on the second rank stand up to dropped bishops, so this Gangi welcomes a bishop trade. And in the version that leaves the fifth-file pawn at home, the silver can go on from 4g to 5f for a Reclining Silver.
Where it breaks
The seventh and eighth files. The 7f pawn has only the 6g silver on it, and opponents aim there, with the Rushing Silver for example; ja.wikipedia describes the fix of pulling the bishop back to 6h and bringing a gold up to 7g. The JSA column also warns against pushing the 4f pawn too early: against a Climbing Silver rush you want 4f free for the bishop, which can come out there and hit the rook.
When to build it
Double static rook games, for either player, and from almost any start: ja.wikipedia notes one player can close the bishop’s diagonal and go into a Gangi even when the other was heading for a Bishop Exchange or a Side Pawn game. The JSA column’s model game is Nishio Akira’s win as Black in the 75th Junisen, Class C2, in March 2017.
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.