Step 3: King Safety Is the Foundation of Your Attack
Guide › Step 3 of 3
Shogi is a game of checkmating the opponent's King before they checkmate yours. How safe your King is always directly affects the balance of the position.
In the opening and middlegame, the standard approach is to build a castle to protect your King. In the endgame, the focus shifts to flexibly creating a formation that is hard to checkmate, rather than clinging rigidly to a specific castle shape.
King safety affects your attack, not just your defense
It is easy to think of King safety as purely a defensive concern — but it actually has a major impact on your attacking ability as well. When your King is not safe, the following problems arise:
- Your attack gets interrupted: The moment a check comes in, you must stop attacking and deal with it. This breaks the flow of your attack and can be very difficult to recover from.
- You cannot attack aggressively: When your King is in danger, your opponent's counterattack becomes lethal, making it impossible to launch the kind of bold, piece-sacrificing attacks that win games.
- You are vulnerable to a comeback loss: Even if you build an advantage, a King under threat means a single mistake can collapse your position. The risk of losing from a winning position stays high until the very end.
Keeping your King safe is not just defense — it is building the stable foundation you need to keep attacking.
Course summary
Here is a quick recap of all three principles:
Step 1: Know the value of each piece
Be conscious of material gain and loss in every exchange. Promoted pieces are top-tier attacking forces.
Step 2: Each move becomes more valuable in the endgame
Avoiding bad formations in the opening and middlegame determines how you fight at the end.
Step 3: King safety is the foundation of your attack
A safe King is what allows you to attack boldly and avoid collapse.
These three principles apply regardless of what opening or strategy you choose. Try keeping them in mind in your next game.