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Glossary and notation

Several Japanese terms will be used throughout this article. The glossary below defines each of them:

Japanese	English
sente	the player who moves first
gote	the player who moves second
ibisha	static rook — the strategy of leaving the rook on its starting square
furibisha	ranging rook — the strategy of moving the rook to a different file
shikenbisha	fourth-file rook — the rook placed on the fourth file from the left
ai furibisha	mutual ranging rook — both players use a ranging rook

Moves are written using a Latin letter followed by two Arabic digits.

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Why ibisha?

Before talking about furibisha, a quick reminder about ibisha is useful.

The appeal of ibisha comes down to a few key points:

• No tempo is lost repositioning the rook.
• The attack file lines up with the bishop’s head, which is undefended at the start of the game.

The main idea behind ibisha can be illustrated by this problem, which asks how to make use of the rook:

Why furibisha?

If the rook already attacks an undefended piece from its starting position, why move it to another file at all?

A few reasons:

• The furibisha player builds their castle on the right side and therefore avoids having an exposed castle pawn — which is a common problem in static rook when you open the bishop’s diagonal.
• The furibisha player can complete their castle faster, since they do not need to move the bishop out of the way first.

Ibisha vs furibisha

Note: this article does not cover the ai furibisha case.

In most games, the ibisha player will push the pawn on the rook’s file twice to apply pressure on that file. The furibisha player typically defends by advancing a pawn diagonally, as in this position:

Notice that the bishop is the only piece helping to defend the rook’s file — three generals are committed to the castle, and the last one is typically used for attack.

Tactical theme: removing the defender

Now consider the following partial position. How should sente attack on the static rook’s file?

After P-45 Px Bx33+ Nx P-24 Px, we reach a position similar to the one shown earlier in the “Why ibisha?” section, which allows sente to continue the attack with the rook.

This attacking idea follows a well-known proverb: Against furibisha, exchange the bishops.

Tactical theme: the preparatory sacrifice

Consider the following position:

Sente wants to launch an attack with the silver. How?

If sente plays S-46 immediately, gote can respond with P-45, attacking the silver and stopping the attack before it starts.

To prepare the attack, sente must first sacrifice a pawn with P-35.

If gote captures (Px), S-46 then threatens the pawn. If gote plays P-45 instead, the silver can take the pawn on 35 and continue the attack!

Strategic theme: exchanging rooks

An important theme in ibisha vs furibisha games is castle solidity.

Consider the following position:

Here, sente benefits from a sturdier castle. When one player has a more solid defence, exchanging pieces is generally in their favour — barring a tactical shot from the opponent.

In this specific position, the mino castle is better suited to lateral attacks than the boat castle. Exchanging rooks is therefore a good idea.

The rook exchange can be initiated here with S-67.

Exchanging rooks against a ranging rook is a classic strategic motif when playing furibisha, especially against fast attacks — since the ibisha side will by definition be left with a lighter castle after the exchange.

Game example

Let us now look at a full game to illustrate the points above.

In this example, sente plays shikenbisha and gote plays ibisha.

Intermediate positions are skipped to focus on the key moments.

Sente must defend against the pawn push — otherwise gote will be able to promote the rook.

Sente must defend with B-77, as explained at the start of this article.

We now reach the beginning of the attack. How should sente start?

Against furibisha, exchange the bishops.

Gote therefore attacks with P-65. If sente captures (Px), then Bx77+ Nx P-24 Px Rx and gote will be able to promote the rook.

Sente does not capture immediately. What is the best way to continue the attack?

P-24 is the preparatory sacrifice that makes Px P65 possible in order to exchange the bishops. If P65 is played immediately, Sx Nx Rx Bx77+ P-24 B*64 attacks both the rook and the pawn on 24, stopping gote’s attack.

We reach the final position of this lesson:

Playing Rx allows B*73 Rx74 Bx46 — gote has an intermediate check and appears to be attacking with both major pieces. Sente has completed the mino castle as a defence. How can sente make use of their solid position?

The answer is to exchange rooks with R-85! This move also advances the knight with tempo.