Practical tutorial

The ultimate goal is to “Avoid violations and adopt a strategy of enclosure and attack.”. From the judgment of checks and illegal moves, to representative fighting styles, enclosures, and close-up tactics and their responses.

1. 1
   Answer Check by Moving Away, Capturing, or Interposing

   A check must always be answered. The three basic options are moving the king to a safe square, capturing the checking piece, or interposing against a rook, bishop, or lance. Here, drop a gold on ５八（5h） to block the check.

2. 2
   Distinguish Mate, Mating Threats, and Hisshi

   Mate means a check cannot be answered, a mating threat aims to mate on the next move, and hisshi means the opponent cannot defend against that threat. Promote the bishop to remove an escape square first and create a hisshi.

3. 3
   Avoiding double pawn

   Nifu—having two unpromoted pawns on the same file—is illegal. A promoted pawn, or tokin, does not count. Avoid the fifth file and drop the pawn on the fourth file.

4. 4
   Avoid Pawn-Drop Mate and Pieces with No Legal Move

   Uchifuzume—delivering immediate checkmate by dropping a pawn—is illegal. You also may not drop a pawn, lance, or knight on a rank from which it would have no legal move. Use a gold instead of a pawn in this position.

5. 5
   Learn About Tesuji, Openings, and Castles

   A tesuji is a technique useful in many positions, an opening is a studied early-game sequence, and a castle is a piece formation that protects the king. Here, learn what these terms mean before studying individual strategies and castle shapes.

6. 6
   Think about attack and defense together

   Attack in the endgame means bringing the opposing king closer to mate, while defense means stopping the opponent's threats and checks. A bishop capture on ９五（9e） that takes a checking rook and creates a horse gives you both defense and counterattack.

7. 7
   Learn the Ideas Behind Common Opening Lines

   Yagura, Bishop Exchange, Double Wing Attack, and Side Pawn Picker are major Static Rook openings; Fourth-File Rook, Third-File Rook, and Central Rook are major Ranging Rook openings. Rather than memorizing sequences, compare the bishop diagonals, rook placement, and king safety.

8. 8
   Identify Castle Structures and Their Weak Points

   A castle is a defensive structure of gold and silver generals around the king. Consider not only its solidity, but also how many moves it takes to complete, how it fits your attack, and vulnerable points such as the edge, the king's head, and diagonals.