A Knight at the head of the King is hard to approach.

(Keitou no Gyoku yose nikushi.)


Vocabulary: Kei (Keima)=Knight, no=of, Gyoku=King, yose=approach, nikushi=not easy


What is the move you should NOT play in Diagram 1?

White in hand: nothing
  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
+---------------------------+
|wL wN bS  *  *  *  *  *  * |a
| *  * wS  *  *  *  *  *  * |b
|wK wP wP wG  *  *  *  *  * |c
|wP  *  * wP  *  *  *  *  * |d
| *  * bP  *  *  *  *  *  * |e
|bP  * bS  *  *  *  *  *  * |f
| * bP  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |g
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |h
|bL  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |i
+---------------------------+
Black in hand: G N P 
Diagram 1.
If you play N*8e, the King will come to 8d. Then even if you go on to play S8b-, there will not be any more effective moves on your part. (Diagram A)

White in hand: nothing
  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
+---------------------------+
|wL wN  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |a
| * bS wS  *  *  *  *  *  * |b
| * wP wP wG  *  *  *  *  * |c
|wP wK  * wP  *  *  *  *  * |d
| * bN bP  *  *  *  *  *  * |e
|bP  * bS  *  *  *  *  *  * |f
| * bP  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |g
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |h
|bL  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |i
+---------------------------+
Black in hand: G P 
Diagram A. Up to S-8b=.
Suppose there is no Knight on 8e above. (Diagram B)

White in hand: nothing
  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
+---------------------------+
|wL wN  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |a
| * bS wS  *  *  *  *  *  * |b
| * wP wP wG  *  *  *  *  * |c
|wP wK  * wP  *  *  *  *  * |d
| *  * bP  *  *  *  *  *  * |e
|bP  * bS  *  *  *  *  *  * |f
| * bP  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |g
| *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |h
|bL  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * |i
+---------------------------+
Black in hand: G P 
Diagram B.
There is an easy mate: G*8e. Please note that the Knight dropped at the head of the King blocked an easy access further on. This is why you should be careful when dropping a Knight in check in the endgame.

The right move in Diagram 1 is P9e. Again, use an edge Pawn against the edge King.

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