english

Anaguma castle – Bear in the Hole

Kanji
穴熊囲い

Hiragana
あなぐまがこい

Romaji
Anaguma gakoi

Meaning
Bear in the hole

Usage
Ranging rook

Pros
Excellent vertical defence
Very good horizontal defence

Cons
Slow
Experienced players know how to destroy it

Notes
Anaguma offers excellent frontal strength and good lateral strength. Slow to build, it requires the king to be placed in its final position before the rest of the castle is built and closed.

english

Castle strength

Anaguma gakoi (穴熊囲い) is an extremely tough castle. The Furibisha (振り飛車) version takes defense away from classic Ibisha (居飛車) opponent attacks. Gyokusho (玉将) has no escape route.