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Castles 囲い

Step through how each castle is built, one move at a time. Only the builder's moves are shown — the opponent stands still — so you can see the shape form. In a real game you play these between your opponent's moves, and the order bends to what they do.

Ranging-rook Anaguma 振り飛車穴熊

furibisha anaguma · Bear in the hole

The Anaguma on the right, after the rook has ranged left.

Strong: The same corner fortress: very hard to check once complete.
Weak: Slow, and the rook's side of the board has few defenders.

Move order

Open the bishop's diagonal.
Space for the rook.
Rook to f2.
The lance steps up: the hole.
King walks right…
…
…
…into the hole.
Silver seals the lid.
Right gold up beside it.
The left gold comes across along the back rank…
…
…to c1. Closed.

Why castles matter and how to choose one: the castles lesson · see which castles players here actually reach in the opening explorer.