Elmo Castle Guide: What are the software’s castles like?
| Your Strategy | Static Rook |
| Opponent’s Strategy | Ranging Rook |
| Pros | Not easy to deliver mating threats or checks. |
| Cons | Vulnerable to bishop exchanges. |
| Move count | 10 |
The elmo Castle got its name because it produces high evaluation values by the shogi software elmo.
Since around 2017, it has started to appear here and there in professional shogi matches.
How To Build A elmo formation
- Open the bishop’s diagonal.
- Advance the right silver and make sure it is ready for use.
- Move the king to the castle’s key position.
- Move the left silver general to the second rank to strengthen defense against side and above attacks.
- Connect the gold generals with the silver general to reinforce the defense.
After creating the Boat Castle, one option is to move to the elmo Castle. The positions of the right gold and right silver can be adjusted based on the situation. You can choose to keep them close together for a solid defense, or place them more towards the center-right for a balanced formation.
It takes fewer moves to set up and has great ease of arrangement, piece effectiveness, king’s safety, and balance. The average value per move is slightly higher than other castles. This makes it especially valued in modern shogi, which focuses on attacking.
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