Quick Ishida.

Ranging rook, a fast attack with traps · none (the king stops on 4h) · 早石田 haya-ishida

The idea

The Quick Ishida is the attacking way into the Ishida. Once both players have opened their bishops’ diagonals, Black pushes the same pawn again, to 7e, on move three instead of closing the diagonal, and swings the rook to 7h on move five. Both diagonals stay open, so the bishops can come off at any moment.

The attack Black wants is the pawn to 7d followed by a bishop drop, on 9e, 7g or 5e depending on how White has set up. en.wikipedia describes several traps that work when the opponent does not defend properly, and some Japanese sources list the opening with the surprise attacks (奇襲).

Before attacking, Black moves the king to 4h, which takes it off the diagonal a White bishop on 9e could check along. Masuda Kōzō turned the trap into a full opening in the 1971 Meijin match, and the form with the king on 4h often carries his name: Masuda’s Ishida (升田式石田流).

The line below is the best-known trap: White trades rook pawns too early and takes on 7d, and a bishop dropped on 9e checks the king and attacks the rook at once.

How it goes together

Both sides’ moves are shown, because this opening is an agreement rather than a system: one player cannot reach it alone, so a one-sided list of moves would be a fiction.

The plan once you are set up

• Push 7e only after White has opened the bishop’s diagonal with 3d. Against a closed diagonal the attack has nothing to hit.
• Swing the rook to 7h, then move the king to 4h before you attack.
• Strike with the pawn to 7d. If White takes, trade bishops on 2b and drop your bishop where it forks: on 9e when White’s rook has come to 8f, on 5e when it is still on 8b.
• If White defends calmly, build the full Ishida instead: rook to 7f and a Mino on the right, as on the Ishida page.

What to watch for

• White’s king to 4b on move four. The defending side’s sources call it the standard reply, and after it the bishop trade and a bishop dropped on 4e threaten both 6g and 2g.
• The bishop drop on 4e without that king move first. Answer it with a bishop dropped on 7f, which covers 6g and threatens to take on 4c and promote.
• White’s silver to 6b, then the gold to 7b, when you push to 7d. ja.wikipedia gives that as the reply White needs.
• The verdict on the old form. ja.wikipedia records that defences were worked out early and the attacking side was judged worse, which is why professionals stopped playing it until Masuda’s version.

What it is played against

A static rook that opens its bishop with 3d and pushes the rook pawn with 8d. en.wikipedia reads that pair as White welcoming the fight.

Against the king to 4b, the silver to 6b or the pawn to 5d on move four, the sources usually have Black switch to the slower Ishida and close the diagonal with 6f. The old, well-known plan against the Ishida is the Climbing Gold (棒金).