Les bases de Furibisha et éléments tactiques et stratégiques - partie 2
Published on May 14, 2026 - Written by: Romain MILVILLE
Lexicon and notation
Several language elements will use Japanese terms. The lexicon below lists the different terms used in this article:
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| sente | the player who starts the game |
| gote | the player who plays second |
| ibisha | the static rook, the strategy of leaving the rook on its starting square |
| furibisha | the ranging rook, the strategy of changing the rook’s column |
| shikenbisha | the rook on the fourth column from the left |
| ai furibisha | double ranging rooks or mutual ranging rooks |
| bougin | a strategy that consists of advancing a silver general along the rook’s column |
| tokin | a promoted pawn |
Moves will be notated with a Latin letter followed by two Arabic numerals.
A dash (-) indicates a standard move.
An asterisk (*) indicates a drop.
An x indicates a capture.
If no number is indicated, it means the piece goes to the same square as in the previous move.
Looking back at the previous article
The previous article covered using the bishop exchange to attack on the ibisha side, as well as counterattacking ideas for the furibisha player.
The following position shows an example where the ibisha player can begin the attack:
P-45 attempts to exchange the bishops against furibisha, as the proverb states. The goal is to remove the bishop from its defensive role in order to play P-24.
However, if gote has not played S-43 and leaves the silver on 32, the bishop is defended and P-64 is no longer possible.
Indeed, after P-45 Px Bx33+ Sx, square 24 is still protected.
An alternative plan — concentrating the attackers
The ibisha player therefore needs an alternative plan for the case where the silver stays on 32.
Here, ibisha will build the attack around a concentration of attacking pieces, using the bougin. For those unfamiliar, the principle is explained below.
Let us start from this intermediate position where gote leaves the silver on 32 and sente has played S-53:
The more attentive readers will recognise the partial position from the “Tactical element: the anticipatory sacrifice” chapter in the previous article.
Playing S-46 immediately allows gote to halt the attack with P-45…
We therefore continue with P-35 Px S-46, and the silver now threatens to recapture the pawn…
It is however possible to advance the pawn to 36 to prevent it from being taken. Sente continues the plan with S-35, reaching the following position:
This position illustrates the concentration of attackers mentioned earlier.
There are now 3 attackers on square 24 against two defenders, and sente threatens P-24 Px Sx24, which appears to allow the attack to succeed. This is the principle of the bougin: concentrating rook, silver, and pawn on the same attacking square.
However, gote has a troublesome counter available in this position: P-37+ Nx P*36, which wins the knight.
Engine analysis indicates the position is playable, but a captured knight and a tokin threat are the kind of problems one generally prefers to avoid.
Sente would have liked a piece covering square 37 to prevent this counter…
It is therefore time to revise the plan and, for once, break one of the rules usually taught to beginners.
What about the other silver?
The right silver develops via 48, where it defends square 37, mentioned above.
What if it were the other silver that advanced to 57?
Sente gives gote an extra tempo by using the left silver. Gote therefore plays P-64.
From this position, sente launches the attack with P-35 Px S-46 P-36 S-35, successfully concentrating the attackers on 24 while defending 37, reaching the following position.
This is where hostilities truly begin. Gote must find a way to counterattack.
The answer here is P-45, offering the bishop exchange — made possible by the silver on 32, which still defends the bishop.
After Bx33+ Sx, sente cannot yet play P-24 Px Sx Sx Rx because B*33 creates a fork between the rook on 24 and the lance on 99…
The position is equal and playable for both sides from here.
Tactical element: place the rook where the opponent pushed the pawn
Let us go back a little and consider that gote plays S-43 to defend the bishop’s head.
First, note that it is once again possible to use P-45 to start the attack as seen in the previous article.
However, it is also possible to attempt to continue with the bougin here.
Sente will not sacrifice the pawn with P-35 first as before, because gote can play S-34 to defend it.
We therefore continue with S-46 P-54 P-35, reaching the next notable position.
Here, it is possible to play P-45 to attack the silver and force the bishop exchange. The line follows P-45 Bx33+ Nx S-53 (the silver was under attack, so P-24 is not immediately possible).
After S-53, gote has a tempo to play R-22, defending the attack column.
The line we will explore instead follows a proverb: place the rook where the opponent pushed the pawn.
After P-35, R-32 Px34 Sx R-38, we reach this position:
The silver is under attack. Retreating with S-43 allows P*34, pushing the bishop back and applying pressure to gote’s defence.
Instead, gote has a strong counterattacking move with P-45!
If Rx34, Bx22+ Kx allows Rx34, winning a rook for a silver for gote.
We therefore continue with Bx33+ Rx — gote defends the silver again and has exchanged bishops. The silver on 46 is still under attack. If S-53, S-43 offers a rook exchange (reminder: against the static rook, exchange the rooks).
The position continues with complex lines involving moves like B*22, B*33, or B*44, which can be explored via the links in the For further study section at the end of this article.
Aside: the rook on the third column
Alternatively, if gote places the rook on the third column and defends against the attack with P-45, the same proverb applies — place the rook where the opponent pushed the pawn:
After R-42 Px44 Sx P*45, we fall into a continuation similar to what was seen in the previous study, but with gote having lost a tempo to reposition the rook.
Conclusion
In this two-part series, we have seen that the ibisha player has two main attack plans: the bishop exchange (previous article) and the bougin (this article).
The key lies in the position of the opposing silver: on 43, the bishop exchange becomes possible again; on 32, the bougin with the left silver avoids the counter on 37.
It is therefore largely gote who, through defensive choices, determines which line will be played.
Following the proverb “place the rook where the opponent pushes the pawn”, we can see that against both attack types presented in this series, shifting from the fourth column to the third column (or vice versa) is a natural defensive resource for gote.