From: Larry Kaufman <lkaufman <at> WIZARD <dot> NET>
Date: 7 nov 1997
Subject: Re: Gold's good shape

At 05:07 PM 11/7/97 +0900, you wrote:
>Dear shogi fans,
>
>These days I enjoy playing e-mail shogi with some friends outside Japan
>using PBeM server. One of them asked me what is Gold's good shape. Here is
>the major part of my answer without private information. I hope this will
>somewhat help you.
>
>Regards
>Manabu Terao
>
>
>General rule of Gold's good shape.
>
> Rule 1 --- Golds are key pieces in defence. There are 7 positions to
>            form a good shape on the board if you play black such as 3h,
>            4g, 4i, 5h, 6g, 6i, 7h(See Diagram 1,If you play white, 180
>            degree rotation is applicable for whole diagrams).
>
>            I do not know well why these make good shape. It's a
>            feeling endorsed by many players' experience.

     The reason would be obvious if the shogi board were colored in two
colors the way a chess board is.  These 7 positions comprise all the squares
in the player's home territory in the central five files which are of a
different "color" than the color on which the bishops travel.  On these
squares, the golds neither get in their own bishop's way nor offer targets
for the enemy bishop.  As it happens, there are further benefits to some of
these squares with respect to the knights.  On none of these squares can an
enemy knight ever attack the gold, whereas on 3g, 5g, or 7g the golds could
be targets for a knight.  Furthermore, on 4g or 6g the golds defend the head
of a developed knight, whereas on 5g the gold would be of no help to the
knight and on 3g or 7g would actually obstruct it.  So there is no mystery
about why these squares are ideal for the gold.  These same arguments also
apply to the silver, but because silvers are more likely to advance for
attack the priority is for the golds to occupy these key defensive squares.


Larry Kaufman, 301-309-0904, 9213 Wooden Bridge Road, Potomac, Md. 20854