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Openings · メリケン向かい飛車

American Opposing Rook.

Push the seventh-file pawn to 7e so White has to answer on the eighth file, then swing to the Opposing Rook, lift the left gold to 7h and attack with the king still at home.

On this page 5The ideaHow it goes togetherThe plan once you are set upWhat to watch forWhat it is played against

Ranging rook, an Opposing Rook · none (Black attacks with the king at home) ·

The American Opposing Rook after move 31987654321abcdefghi 香香 金金 銀銀 桂桂 香香 飛飛 金金 王王 角角 桂桂 歩歩 銀銀 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 銀銀 歩歩 角角 金金 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 飛飛 香香 桂桂 玉玉 金金 銀銀 桂桂 香香 歩歩 their handin hand
The shape. The American Opposing Rook after 31 moves of the main line, with the key squares ringed. Black is at the bottom, both sides’ moves are shown, and the pieces in hand are drawn above and below the board.

The idea

Black closes the bishop’s diagonal and brings the left silver to 6g, then pushes the pawn to 7e. That threatens the rook to 7h and up to 7f, an Ishida, so White pushes the rook pawn to 8e to stop it, and that is exactly what an Opposing Rook wants: the bishop goes to 7g and the rook to 8h, facing White’s rook.

The left gold comes up to 7h beside the rook, so that if the rooks are traded there is no square on Black’s left for a dropped rook. Then Black attacks at once with the pawn to 8f, without castling. If White declines the rook trade by dropping a pawn on 8e, the silver comes to 7f and goes after that pawn.

The opening is Yokoyama’s, a former apprentice professional and amateur champion. The line follows 将棋の戦法図鑑, which calls the final position clearly better for Black; a second source gives the same moves to move 25, and moves 26 to 31 have the one source.

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.

Start position987654321abcdefghi 香香 桂桂 銀銀 金金 王王 金金 銀銀 桂桂 香香 飛飛 角角 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 歩歩 角角 飛飛 香香 桂桂 銀銀 金金 玉玉 金金 銀銀 桂桂 香香 their handin hand
Start position

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
#BlackWhiteWhy
1▲７六歩 △３四歩 Open the bishop’s diagonal. White opens its own.
3▲６六歩 △８四歩 And close it again with the pawn on 6f. White pushes the rook pawn: a static rook.
5▲６八銀 △６二銀 The left silver to 6h, on its way to 6g. White’s right silver to 6b.
7▲６七銀 △５四歩 The silver reaches 6g. White pushes the centre pawn.
9▲７五歩 △８五歩 The move that gives the opening its point: the pawn to 7e. Next, the rook to 7h and 7f would be an Ishida. White stops the Ishida by pushing the rook pawn to 8e.
11▲７七角 △４二玉 The bishop to 7g, making room on 8h. White’s king steps to 4b.
13▲８八飛 △３二玉 The rook swings to 8h: the Opposing Rook. White’s king on to 3b.
15▲７八金 △５二金右 The left gold to 7h. After a rook trade, Black’s left side has no square for a dropped rook. White’s right gold to 5b.
17▲８六歩 △同歩 The attack, with the king still on 5i: the pawn to 8f. White takes.
19▲同飛 △８五歩 The rook takes back. The source calls Black better here: a rook trade would favour Black. White declines the trade and drops a pawn on 8e.
21▲８八飛 △９四歩 The rook goes back to 8h. White pushes the edge pawn, so that the knight can come to 9c.
23▲７六銀 △９三桂 The silver to 7f, heading for the pawn on 8e. White’s knight to 9c, guarding 8e.
25▲９六歩 △６四歩 The edge pawn to 9f, aiming at the knight’s head. White pushes the sixth-file pawn.
27▲６七金 △６三銀 The gold steps up to 6g. White’s silver to 6c.
29▲９五歩 △同歩 The edge pawn on to 9e. White takes.
31▲９四歩 A pawn dropped on 9d, at the knight. The source calls Black clearly better.

The plan once you are set up

  • Close the diagonal with the pawn on 6f and bring the left silver to 6g.
  • Push the pawn to 7e. White has to stop the Ishida with the rook pawn to 8e.
  • Bishop to 7g, rook to 8h, then the left gold to 7h.
  • Push 8f. If White trades rooks, Black’s camp has no gap for a dropped rook; if White drops a pawn on 8e instead, take the rook back to 8h and bring the silver to 7f.
  • Against the edge pawn and the knight on 9c, push the edge pawn and attack the knight’s head.

What to watch for

  • The gold to 7h before the pawn to 8f. Without it, a rook trade leaves White a rook drop on Black’s left.
  • The king is still on 5i. The attack has to keep going; one blog’s slower version castles into a Mino first.
  • White can leave the pawn on 8d and castle quickly instead. Then the pawn on 7e has done its job, and Black can go into the Ishida.

What it is played against

A static rook that has pushed the rook pawn to 8d. The usual White answers are to stop the Ishida with the pawn to 8e, castle with the gold to 5b, and decline the rook trade with a pawn dropped on 8e.

In the line above White then tries the edge pawn and the knight to 9c against the silver, and still ends clearly worse.

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.

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