diagonal rear squares. His possible moves are shown on the left of the diagram. He has the three frontal squares, the ones straight to each side, and the one straight back.
The Gold is never promoted; he stays himself wherever he is. Most of the other pieces, when promoted, turn into Golds.
The Silver, too, is a sort of weaker King. He has the three frontal squares just like the Gold, but in retreat all he is allowed is the two diagonal rear squares. He can’t go straight back or straight to the side. Somehow you must make yourself associate the curly “S” with the diagonal rear directions. This will stop your confusing him with the Gold.
When a Silver makes all or part of his move beyond the promotion line on the far side, you may, on that move, promote him to Gold. This means that he gains slightly more power but he also loses his power of diagonal retreat, so quite often it pays you to forego the privilege for a move or two. A Silver, or any other piece whose promotion is optional, must be promoted on a move prior to the one in which it uses its promoted powers.
To show a promoted Silver in our diagrams, we put a ring around him; remember this means that he moves as a Gold. We don’t write him as a Gold because it is important to know that he was originally Silver. On the actual Shogi pieces the promotion is indicated on the reverse side.
More About Gold and Silver
Like most of the Shogi pieces, the Gold is poor in retreating, and this means that he must not be pushed forward too soon. The two Golds nearly always stay in their own lines to defend the King, and sometimes to prevent a break-through on the Rook’s side as well. The Golds have their initial position on either side of the King, and they try to go with him when he fortifies himself in one corner or the other. Think of the Gold as a defensive piece; he doesn’t go out to attack, as a rule.
The Silver on the other hand has two retreating squares, namely the two diagonals. These diagonal moves are very handy for threading his way in between the Pawns. The Silver is partly defensive, but also partly attacking. Generally one Silver stays at home (with his two Gold colleagues) to protect the King, but the other Silver goes out and tries to penetrate into the enemy lines, in co-operation with the Rook, Bishop, and maybe a Knight (which comes into action last of all). Whereas the Gold is a heavy-weight, the Silver is of lighter metal, alternately attacking and retreating to break up the opponent’s formation with feints and threats.
Several openings are named after Silver, depending on how the attacking Silver is used. There is no opening named after the Gold, and this gives you the hint that the Golds usually stay at home.
IV. The Rook
The Shogi Rook corresponds exactly to the Rook in our chess; so we have simply put the Japanese character inside our own castle.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
