Openings · 一間飛車
First File Rook.
Push the edge pawn to 1e, put the rook behind it on 1h, then float it up to 1f before the king has moved.
The idea
The First File Rook is a surprise opening.
Black pushes the 1st-file pawn twice, moves the rook behind it to 1h and lifts it to 1f, from where it can later travel sideways along its rank. ja.wikipedia says the usual castle that follows is an Anaguma, with a Mino or a Half Mino as other choices, and that the aim is a counterattack from a low formation: swinging the rook across into an Ishida, as the Twisting Rook does, or offering a rook trade.
Both Wikipedias class it as a static rook opening, since the rook stays on its own side, although its plans often take the rook left later. Several sources point out a joke in the name: by the counting that gives the Fourth File Rook its name, a rook on 1h stands on the ninth file, the joke behind the Ninth File Rook too.
Only ja.wikipedia prints White’s replies, and it stops when the rook reaches 1f; White’s moves here are ordinary ones and could be others.
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.
Step through the moves, or press play.
Tap a move to jump to it. Arrow keys work once the board has focus.
Every move of the line, with reasons
| # | Black | White | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ▲１六歩 1g1f | △３四歩 3c3d | The edge pawn first. One blog says most players start with it. White opens the bishop’s diagonal. |
| 3 | ▲１五歩 1f1e | △８四歩 8c8d | The edge pawn goes on to 1e, taking space on the edge. White pushes the rook pawn. |
| 5 | ▲１八飛 2h1h | △８五歩 8d8e | The rook moves behind the pawn, to 1h. White’s rook pawn on to 8e. |
| 7 | ▲１六飛 1h1f | The rook floats up to 1f. This is the whole formation, and where ja.wikipedia’s line stops; the king is still on 5i. |
The plan once you are set up
- Push the edge pawn twice, to 1f and 1e, to take space on the edge.
- Put the rook behind it on 1h, then lift it to 1f.
- Castle. ja.wikipedia says the usual choice is an Anaguma in the same corner; the section below shows its example.
- Then choose: push the pawn to 7f and 7e and bring the rook across its rank to 7f for an Ishida, or to 3f, at the pawn on 3d.
What to watch for
- White meeting your edge pawn with its own early. Then the push to 1e is an exchange rather than space, and the formation cannot be built.
- The king is still on 5i while the rook moves. The plan relies on White not having an attack ready yet.
- While the Anaguma is being built, a Third File Rook has two chances, one guide warns; they are in the section below.
What it is played against
Any opponent: Black opens with the edge pawn, so the choice is Black’s. For the side facing it, one blog’s advice is to answer the edge pawn with an edge pawn.
The usual castle
First File Rook Anaguma (一間飛車穴熊)
The usual way to follow the First File Rook is to dig the king into an Anaguma in the same corner.
The lance steps up to 1h, the king goes under it on 1i, and the right silver closes the castle from 2h, with the rook still standing above on 1f. ja.wikipedia’s example also puts the bishop on 9g behind a pushed 9th-file pawn; it draws Black’s pieces only, with no moves, so the board shows the shape and not an order. Shogi Wars awards it as an item of its own.
One guide warns that against a Third File Rook, White’s bishop to 5e and a pawn pushed to 3f just as the king steps to 2h are the dangers while the castle is being built; once it stands, the game tends to be slow.
Play it against the bot.
The bot’s search levels, 9 to 12, open from a book that holds two of these openings, the Fourth File Rook and the Yagura; the Mino levels play the openings people play. Either way the review afterwards shows you where the game left the line. Try the line, then try the plan.