Openings · ノーガード戦法
No Guard.
In a Side Pawn opening, leave the gold at home, exchange rook pawns first, and if Black exchanges too, trade bishops and drop one on 3c at the rook and the silver.
The idea
This line is White’s, and it is named for the gold you leave at home. In the Side Pawn opening White normally answers Black’s gold to 7h with the gold to 3b, guarding the bishop’s head. Here you exchange rook pawns at once instead. If Black exchanges back on the 2nd file, you trade bishops and drop one on 3c, which attacks the rook on 2d and the silver on 8h together.
Black’s best is to promote the rook on 2a, taking the knight; you break in on 8h with the rook first and then the bishop. ja.wikipedia counts the result as a rook and a knight against a gold and a silver, about even, with Black to move, and both sources say Black can play the final position: the trap does not win by force.
Both also give the answer that takes the sting out of it, a pawn dropped on 8g instead of the exchange. The line is ja.wikipedia’s and an opening guide’s, which agree on all 21 moves. The English name is ja.wikipedia’s gloss.
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 | ▲７六歩 7g7f | △３四歩 3c3d | Black opens the bishop’s diagonal. You open yours. |
| 3 | ▲２六歩 2g2f | △８四歩 8c8d | Black pushes the rook pawn. You push yours. |
| 5 | ▲２五歩 2f2e | △８五歩 8d8e | Black’s pawn to 2e. Yours to 8e. |
| 7 | ▲７八金 6i7h | △８六歩 8e8f | Black’s gold to 7h guards the bishop’s head. The point of the opening: no gold to 3b. You exchange rook pawns at once. |
| 9 | ▲同歩 8g8f | △同飛 8b8f | Black takes. The rook takes back. Here a pawn dropped on 8g is the answer the sources recommend. |
| 11 | ▲２四歩 2e2d | △同歩 2c2d | Black exchanges on the other wing, the reply the opening wants. You take. |
| 13 | ▲同飛 2h2d | △８八角成 2b8h+ | Black’s rook takes back on 2d. You trade bishops. |
| 15 | ▲同銀 7i8h | △３三角 B*3c | Black takes back with the silver. A bishop dropped on 3c attacks the rook on 2d and the silver on 8h together. |
| 17 | ▲２一飛成 2d2a+ | △８八飛成 8f8h+ | Black’s strongest reply: the rook takes the knight on 2a and promotes. The rook first: it takes the silver on 8h and promotes. The bishop first would let Black drop a bishop on 3c, check and a fork of your dragon. |
| 19 | ▲同金 7h8h | △同角成 3c8h+ | Black’s gold takes the dragon. The bishop takes the gold and promotes. ja.wikipedia counts the material, a rook and a knight against a gold and a silver, as about even, with Black to move. |
| 21 | ▲７七角 B*7g | Black drops a bishop on 7g, at the horse. Both sources say Black can play this position. |
The plan once you are set up
- Play the Side Pawn start to Black’s gold on 7h, then exchange rook pawns at once instead of moving your gold to 3b.
- If Black exchanges on the 2nd file, trade bishops on 8h and drop one on 3c.
- Against the rook promoting on 2a, take on 8h with the rook first, then with the bishop.
- If Black pulls the rook back to 2h instead of promoting, ja.wikipedia’s answer is a pawn dropped on 2g, at the rook.
What to watch for
- The order on 8h. Take with the rook first: the bishop first, then the gold taking it and your rook taking the gold, lets Black drop a bishop on 3c, check and a fork of your dragon.
- After Black’s bishop drop on 7g your horse is attacked. One source shows the horse taking the knight on 8i and Black’s bishop taking the lance on 1a and promoting, and calls Black fine.
- The answer, for the side facing it: do not exchange back. Drop a pawn on 8g and see where the rook goes.
What it is played against
A pawn dropped on 8g at once, instead of the exchange on the 2nd file: both sources recommend it.
If the rook retreats to 8d it becomes a target, and Black, who attacks first, is better; if it retreats to 8b, Black exchanges on the 2nd file and moves the king to 5h, which takes the edge off most of White’s tricks.
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.