Ishida.

Ranging rook · castles into Mino · 石田流 ishida-ryū

The idea

Named after a blind player of the seventeenth century, the Ishida is a ranging rook with a difference: instead of waiting, it attacks. The pawn goes to 7e early, the rook swings to 7h and then steps up to 7f, the knight jumps to 7g and the bishop comes round to 9g, so that rook, knight and bishop all look at the opponent’s left side. The king castles into a Mino on the right as usual. It is fast, it is aggressive, and the shape is one of the prettiest in shogi; it is also the most popular ranging rook among club players today.

How it goes together

Every move of the line, with reasons

#	Black	White	Why
1	▲７六歩 7g7f	△３四歩 3c3d
3	▲７五歩 7f7e	△８四歩 8c8d	The second pawn push: the Ishida is on.
5	▲７八飛 2h7h	△８五歩 8d8e	The rook to the third file from the left.
7	▲４八玉 5i4h	△６二銀 7a6b
9	▲３八玉 4h3h	△４二玉 5a4b
11	▲２八玉 3h2h	△３二玉 4b3b	Home, as in every ranging rook.
13	▲３八銀 3i3h	△５四歩 5c5d
15	▲７六飛 7h7f	△５二金右 6a5b	The rook steps up behind its pawn: the signature square.
17	▲７七桂 8i7g	△４二銀 3a4b	The knight comes out to support the rook and eye 6e and 8e.
19	▲９六歩 9g9f	△３三銀 4b3c
21	▲９七角 8h9g	△１四歩 1c1d	The bishop swings round to the edge, looking down the long diagonal.
23	▲５八金左 6i5h	△６四歩 6c6d	The Mino is complete.
25	▲６八銀 7i6h	△６三銀 6b6c	The left silver comes up behind the rook.
27	▲６六歩 6g6f		The sixth-file pawn steps up beside the formation. The full Ishida shape: rook 7f, pawn 7e, knight 7g, bishop 9g, silver 6h.

The plan once you are set up

• Get the shape before the fight: pawn 7e, rook 7f, knight 7g, bishop 9g. Each piece protects the next.
• The attack is the 7e pawn: push it to 7d when the exchange favours you, and the rook and knight pour through.
• The bishop on 9g and the rook on 7f both watch 8e. A pawn that advances there is a target, not a threat.
• Keep the Mino honest: silver 3h and gold 5h before the attack starts, because an Ishida attack that fails leaves your king to face the music alone.

What to watch for

• The early bishop trade. If white can exchange bishops before your rook reaches 7f, the knight on 7g becomes a target for a dropped bishop.
• The 8e pawn push comes with a threat on 8f; answer it with the bishop or the knight in time.
• A quiet opponent who refuses to open anything. Then the Ishida turns into a normal ranging rook: finish the castle and wait.

What it is played against

A static rook, most often. The rapid form, pushing 7e on move three, is the Early Ishida; the line above builds the full shape.