KNIGHT (1)

Drop the Knight Well Back. (Keima wa hikaete ute)

Vocabulary: Keima=Knight, wa=as for, hikaete=reservedly, in the rear, ute= to drop

(1)

White in hand: nothing 

  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
+---------------------------+
| *  *  *  *  *  *  * wN wL |a
| *  *  *  * wG wG  * wK  * |b
| *  *  *  * wS wP  * wP  * |c
| *  *  *  * wP  * wP  * wP |d
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |e
| *  *  *  * bP bP bP  * bP |f
| *  *  *  *  * bG bN bP  * |g
| *  *  *  *  *  * bS bK  * |h
| *  *  *  *  * bG  *  * bL |i
+---------------------------+
Black in hand: B N 
Diagram 1.
Diagram 1 shows part of the position from the static Rook versus ranging Rook game. White's King is in an odd square, but this actually happens when White plays Kx2b after Black's Bx2b+, Bishop exchange.

Now is the good time for Black to drop a Knight, but where?

N*2f. (Diagram 2)

White in hand: nothing
  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
+---------------------------+
| *  *  *  *  *  *  * wN wL |a
| *  *  *  * wG wG  * wK  * |b
| *  *  *  * wS wP  * wP  * |c
| *  *  *  * wP  * wP  * wP |d
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |e
| *  *  *  * bP bP bP bN bP |f
| *  *  *  *  * bG bN bP  * |g
| *  *  *  *  *  * bS bK  * |h
| *  *  *  *  * bG  *  * bL |i
+---------------------------+
Black in hand: B 
Diagram 2. Up to N*2f.
N*2f illustrates the Knight dropped well back, so that it can leap onto 3d, forking King and Gold.

White cannot allow his/her Gold to be taken. A Gold general should be by the King in guard.

K-3b,    Nx3d,    
G-4a,    B*2b 
.....
If White plays G-3c on Diagram 2, Black will play N-4e, another fork.

After White's K-3b, a natural move, Black goes on to play Nx3d. If White plays G-4a, B*2b will do. There'll be no stopping Black's Bx1a. If White plays G-3c, Black can still play B*2b. Then, Gx3d and Bx1a will follow, leading to a favorable position for Black.

When you cannot drop a Knight where it can fork, see if you can drop it further back. You may come up with a smart move.

(2)

A knight comes in handy when attacking the Mino-castle. Look at Diagram 3, where Black has just dropped a Knight on 8f. Surprisingly, this very move is threatmate to the seemingly unshakable Mino-castle.

White in hand: nothing
  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
+---------------------------+
|wL wN  * wG  *  *  *  *  * |a
| * wK wS  * wG  *  *  *  * |b
| * wP wP wP  *  *  *  *  * |c
|wP  *  *  * wP  *  *  *  * |d
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |e
|bP bN bP bP  *  *  *  *  * |f
| * bP  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |g
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |h
|bL  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |i
+---------------------------+
Black in hand: B G S N 
Diagram 3. Up to N*8f.
Moves to mate are: N*7d, Px7d, Nx7d, K-9b, S*9c, Kx9c, B*8b,
Followed by, if a) K-8d, G*7e,
if b) K-9b, Bx9a+, Kx9a, G*8b. 
White in hand: nothing
  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
+---------------------------+
|wL wN  * wG  *  *  *  *  * |a
| * wK wS  * wG  *  *  *  * |b
| * wP  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |c
|wP  * wP wP wP  *  *  *  * |d
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |e
|bP bN bP bP  *  *  *  *  * |f
| * bP  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |g
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |h
|bL  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |i
+---------------------------+
Black in hand: nothing
Diagram 4.
Diagram 4 shows a similar position as Diagram 3. Again N*8f is a smart move. If you have a Pawn in hand, you can attack from the 9th file. If you have more pieces in hand, you can just play N-7d, mate.

Lastly let me show you how a Knight works in the edge attack.

White in hand: nothing
  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
+---------------------------+
|wL wN  * wG  *  *  *  *  * |a
| * wK wS  * wG  *  *  *  * |b
| * wP wP wP  *  *  *  *  * |c
|wP  *  *  * wP  *  *  *  * |d
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |e
|bP  * bP bP  *  *  *  *  * |f
| * bP  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |g
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |h
|bL  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |i
+---------------------------+
Black in hand: N P2 
Diagram 5.

Moves from Diagram 5:
P-9e    Px9e    
P*9c    Lx9c    
P*9d    Lx9d    
N*8f    ...
The basic pattern of the edge attack begins with P-9e followed by P*9c.

If you have more Pawns in hand, you can play P*9b before P*9c, which will give your opponent no choice.

After luring White's Lance up to 9d, you play N*8f claiming the Lance. A very promising prospect on your part.

When playing with the Mino-castle, you should remember that it is a sturdy castle when attacked from the side, but from the edge it could be pretty vulnerable.

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