Openings · 右四間飛車
Right Fourth File Rook.
Count the fourth file from the RIGHT, aim rook, silver, knight and bishop at the same corner, and break with the pawn.
The idea
The name says fourth file, and anyone who knows the Fourth File Rook expects the rook to swing left. It does not. This is the fourth file counting from the right, so the rook never leaves its own half and this is a static rook opening.
What makes it worth learning is how blunt it is: the rook goes to 4h, the silver to 5f, the knight to 3g and the bishop to 7g, all four aimed at the same corner, with the pawn on 4f ready to break. It is the same four attackers every game, which is why club players love it and why anyone who has read a page like this one knows what to do about it.
How it goes together
Only Black’s moves are shown. This is a build order rather than a game: the opponent is left standing still, because a reply on every move would hide the shape instead of explaining it. Every move was still played through the engine, so the position is one the rules allow.
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 | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ▲７六歩 7g7f | Open the diagonal. |
| 2 | ▲２六歩 2g2f | The rook’s pawn, as in any static rook opening. |
| 3 | ▲４八銀 3i4h | The right silver starts towards the centre. |
| 4 | ▲４六歩 4g4f | And the pawn that will do the breaking. |
| 5 | ▲４七銀 4h4g | 4g, on the way. |
| 6 | ▲５六銀 4g5f | To 5f, where the silver supports the push to 4e. |
| 7 | ▲４八飛 2h4h | The rook comes to the fourth file counting from the RIGHT. It has not left its own half, which is why this is a static rook opening despite the name. |
| 8 | ▲６八玉 5i6h | Now the king, the other way. |
| 9 | ▲７八銀 7i7h | The silver that becomes the castle wall. |
| 10 | ▲７九玉 6h7i | Two steps. |
| 11 | ▲５八金右 4i5h | The right gold to 5h. |
| 12 | ▲７七角 8h7g | The bishop is the fourth attacker, looking down the diagonal at 4d and 3c behind the break, and it has to move before the king can have 8h. |
| 13 | ▲８八玉 7i8h | Left Mino: king 8h, silver 7h, gold 5h, with the 6i gold never moving. |
| 14 | ▲３六歩 3g3f | Room for the knight. |
| 15 | ▲３七桂 2i3g | And the knight joins. Four attackers and a pawn, all pointed at the same file. |
The plan once you are set up
- Break with 4e when all four attackers are in place and not before. The pawn exchange is what opens the file the rook is already sitting on.
- The order at the end is not optional: the bishop has to leave 8h before the king can walk onto it, so 7g comes before 8h every time.
- If they defend the file properly, change the target. The same four pieces work one file over, and the rook can always go back to the second file.
- Do not skip the castle. A Left Mino is a handful of moves and it is what lets you attack with everything else.
What to watch for
- A gold on 4b with a silver on 4c. That is the standard defence, and against it the break costs more than it wins.
- The file works both ways. An exchange on 4e opens it for their rook as much as for yours, so count the whole sequence before you break.
- The edge. A Left Mino is strong from the front and thin on the 9th file, which is where an opponent who knows the castle will come.
What it is played against
A Fourth File Rook most of all: the two openings are named after the same file counted from opposite sides, and they meet each other constantly. It is also played against a Yagura that has not guarded 4e.
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.