Side Pawn Picker: A Guide to Classic Opening Moves
The Side Pawn Picker (横歩取り – Yokofudori) is a strategy where both players clash their pawns in front of their rooks while keeping their bishops’ paths open. After the rook captures an opponent’s pawn, instead of retreating, the next move is to move sideways and capture the side pawn. This is a key feature of the Yokofudori opening.
How to Make the Opening Moves ＆ Why
In this opening, both players adopt a Static Rook position, advancing their rook pawns while keeping their bishops’ paths open. True to its name, the next step is to capture the side pawn.
The Side Pawn Picker strategy is very well-known and can lead to various developments. However, let’s first look at a pattern that leads to great success when your opponent is unfamiliar with this tactic.
In this position, if your opponent is unfamiliar with the defense, you can quickly launch an attack after exchanging bishops. This setup takes advantage of the rook’s position on this file, allowing you to capture a pawn and promote your rook in the process.
Next Moves: A Famous Development Example
That said, in most cases, your opponent will likely know how to defend. This usually means they will exchange bishops first and then drop a piece to target your unstable rook.
If your opponent is very aggressive, they may invade with their bishop and then intentionally allow it to be captured by their gold, giving you the opportunity to promote your rook.
Well… in this position, we will introduce a common pattern of development. Even if the rook escapes, it will still be attacked by a pawn. The standard response is to ignore the rook capture and counterattack by dropping the bishop on the 7-7 square.
After that, exchanging rooks and then attacking with the lance that has been captured when the opponent has no pawns is one of the theories.
As you can see, well-known strategies have been thoroughly researched, and there are many defensive moves available. Be sure to give this opening a try!
