In shogi, a?Castle?is a formation of defensive pieces around your king, and?Castling?refers to the process used to make a castle. Except for advanced strategies, you should always try to castle your king to make it harder for your opponent to attack. There is a shogi proverb that says, “Avoid a sitting king,” which means not to let your king remain on its initial position. The following is a standard example to show the importance of castling.

This is a very common mistake among entry-level shogi players, and illustrates very clearly why you should castle instead of leaving your king sitting. But how do you castle? There’s a proverb that says, “Castle the king with three generals: Two golds and a silver.” Here are some examples of standard castles that are utilise this proverb.

Yagura

Mino

Anaguma

For more information on castles and castling, see the?Castling article?on?Shogipedia.

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