Takodori's Entrance to Shogi World

worldshogi.com update - The winner from Belarus

The winner from Belarus is Sergei Korchitsky for the 3rd World Shogi Championship to be held this November. You can replay the game of the final match through the linked page below;

The winner from Belarus | worldshogi.com

The Mainichi Daily News's article about Nakai's 500 victories

Here is the link to the article. Congratulation on Nakai's great achievement.

Nakai becomes first female shogi player to rack up 500 victories - The Mainichi Daily News

JAPAN TODAY selected a Ningen Shogi Photo as The Picture of the Day

JAPAN TODAY selected a Ninge Shogi Photo as The Picture of The Day of April 28.

Human chess › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

16 comments were written by readers on the photo article when I wrote this entry. Click the link above to read them as well as the article.

An Interesting article including shogi on NY Times

Especially if you are both a shogi and chess fan, the following article on NY Times is a must-see.

Chess - At Foxwoods Open, Moriuchi Takes a Break From Shogi - NYTimes.com

 

"Better moves for better shogi" has become availabe to buy in some on-line booksellers

Today I read the following post to shogi-l.

Better Moves for Better Shogi - SHOGI-L | Google group

The classic bilingual book "Better Moves for Better Shogi" has been reprinted by Sam Sloan and is available (I'm told) at Barnes and Noble online. It is an excellent book by Pro 9 Dan (now) Aono and one that I learned much from when it first appeared a quarter century ago.(posted by Larry Karfman)

So I searched it and found the following two on-line booksellers are selling it.

Better Moves For Better Shogi, Teruichi Aono, Book - Barnes & Noble

Better Moves for Better Shogi - Buy Cheap Books at DiscountBookSale.com

 

 

Link to The Mainichi Daily News article about Ningen Shogi(Human Japanese chess) in Tendo

The Mainichi Daily News reported the Ningen Shogi held in Tendo city last weekend with many photos. Here is the link to it.

Pro shogi players square off using high schoolers as pieces - The Mainichi Daily News

 

Recent blog entries I would like to recommend you to read related shogi

I would like to reccomend the following two blog entries related to shogi. Please click the links to read all the stories.

Ryou's Shogi World: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

Maybe it's not really killing two birds with one stone. It seems that there are more and more players in Japan Club Kuala Lumpur that are interested in playing Shogi (although they're not considering being an active player). I'm quite happy that there are players (non-Japanese) that I can actually teach and play Shogi. There are a few players who wanted to play against me so I decided to play two games of Shogi at the same time, with a handicapped of two lances, bishop and rook!

tohu va-bohu: An American Nerd in Tokyo

In spite of being possibly the world’s worst chess player I’m very interested in regional variants of chess, and Shogi not only seemed like an intriguing mutation of the game (captured pieces can be put back into play by the capturer), but a great aesthetic creation, combining carved wood and evocative calligraphy in that special Japanese way.

Goda tied the score in 1-1 - 2nd game of 67th Meijin-sen

Yesterday Goda beat Habu in 152 moves in the 2nd game of 67th Meijin-sen. It's my y-t-d top game to recommend to replay. You can replay the game here.

Here are my twitter entries of my comments on the moves for Day 2.

1. It's very exciting. My Y-T-D top game.34 minutes ago from web
     
2. On the other hand, Sente's King has no defense.36 minutes ago from web
3. 150. Kx4g 151. L*4i 152. K-5g Habu resigned the game after the 152nd move. It's clear that no mate for Gote's King.36 minutes ago from web
4. 149. S*2g check.39 minutes ago from web
5. 148. Kx3f Gote took the Pawn on 3f by King.40 minutes ago from web
6. 147. P*3f check again.40 minutes ago from web
7. 146. Kx3e, This was enabled since Gote dropped a pawn on 3g at the 108th move. If the Rook was on 3h, Gote's King should have been mated.41 minutes ago from web
8. 145. N*5f Another check.43 minutes ago from web
9. 144. Kx4d Compulsory.43 minutes ago from web
10. 143. B*3b check again.about 1 hour ago from web
11. 142. K-4c, Compulsory. If Gote's King escaped to other squares such as 2a,3a,4a or 3c, there would be mate.about 1 hour ago from web
12. 141. N*4d, check.about 1 hour ago from web
13. 140. +Sx7g, It's a natural move. Whether Gote's King woud be mated or not, That's the question here.about 1 hour ago from web
14. 139. Bx7g Compulsory. If Sente move the King to 7i instead, mate existed such as G*6iabout 1 hour ago from web
15. 138. N*7f, Check. Instead, +Sx8f would be a losing move since Gote's king was dangerous, too.about 1 hour ago from web
16. 137. K-8i Compulsory.about 1 hour ago from web
17. 136. S-8g+ Check supported by the kNight on 9e dropped on the 130th move.about 1 hour ago from web
18. 135. Bx8f Compulsory.about 1 hour ago from web
19. 135. Compulsory.about 1 hour ago from web
20. 134. Lx8f, threatmate such as S*8g K-8i G*8h Rx8h +Sx8habout 1 hour ago from web
21. 133. Gx8f almost compulsory.about 1 hour ago from web
22. 132. S-8f, Good silver advancement. The lance dropped on the 8th file at the 94th move worked well.about 1 hour ago from web
23. 131. G-7g Almost compulsory.about 1 hour ago from web
24. 130. N*9e, Gote would not like to Sente's King to escape to his right side. So he did not take the Gold by Sx8g+about 1 hour ago from web
25. 126. P-8g+ 127 Px8g 128 Nx8g 129 Gx8g. Gote continued attacking. Sente had to respond it.about 1 hour ago from web
26. 125. K-9h, Compulsory.about 1 hour ago from web
27. 124. S*9f Good Silver drop. There is a shogi proverb. "Drive the king to the back rank"about 1 hour ago from web
28. P*8h instead of P-8h.about 1 hour ago from web
29. 123. P-8h, Sente had to protect it.about 1 hour ago from web
30. 122. P*8f Aiming at P-8g supported by the kNight on 9e to trade it for the Gold on 7h.about 1 hour ago from web
31. 121. B-5i, Sente had to let his Bishop escape. Gote's King got safer since no menace from Sente's Bishop.about 1 hour ago from web
32. 120. Sx8e, Taking the kNight on 8e and threaten to take the vital Bishop on 8f.about 1 hour ago from web
33. 119. K-9g King's early escape.about 1 hour ago from web
34. 118. Kx3b Compulsory.about 1 hour ago from web
35. 117. Nx3b+ Taking the Gold on 3b with check. There were no generals which was guarding Gote's King.about 1 hour ago from web
36. 116. Lx8c Taking the Pawn on 8c.about 1 hour ago from web
37. 115. P*8c Blocking the Lance on 8a to loosen the pressure on the head of Sente's King.about 1 hour ago from web
38. 114. S*8d Gote still neglected R-2h which was threaten to take the Silver on 2d and gave a pressure on the head of Sente's King.about 1 hour ago from web
39. 113. Gx6f, Sente had to take it.about 1 hour ago from web
40. 112. Bx6f !! Bishop sacrifice!. Gote neglected R-2h and taking the Silver on 6f for a Bishop.about 1 hour ago from web
41. 111. R-2h, Threaten to take the Silver on 2e. Sente would like to keep initiative.about 1 hour ago from web
42. 110. Sx6c, Gote had to take it by the Silver since his King was pinned by the Bishop on 8f.about 1 hour ago from web
43. 109. P-6c+ Sacrificing a pawn with promotion to make the vital diagonal line of Bishop on 8f more workable.about 1 hour ago from web
44. 108. P*3g Droppinag a pawn on the head of the Rook. Gote would like Sente's move away from 3h.about 1 hour ago from web
45. 107. Px6d, Sente responded naturally.about 1 hour ago from web
46. 106. P-6d, Blocking the vital diagonal line of Bishop on 8f.about 1 hour ago from web
47. 105. N*4d, As an effect of pawn sacrifice on 5d, this kNight drop was enabled. If Gote's silver was located on 4c, Sente could not drop it.about 1 hour ago from web
48. 104. Sx5d, Gote had to take it by the Silver.about 1 hour ago from web
49. 103. P-5d, Pawn sacrifice to invite Gote's Silver to 5d. Gote could not take it by Gold since his King was pinned by the Bishop on 8f.about 1 hour ago from web
50. 102. P*5b, Supporting the Gold on 5c.about 1 hour ago from web
51. 101. B-8f Threaten to take the Gold on 5c.about 1 hour ago from web
52. 100. It's a natural move.about 1 hour ago from web
53. 99. P*9d It's a difficult move to guess why. Maybe this prevented Gote from dropping a Silver on 9d.about 1 hour ago from web
54. 98. Bx8d, Then, taking the Pawn on 8d by the Bishop escaping from the kNight on 8e.about 1 hour ago from web
55. 97. Nx8e But this was threaten to take the Bishop on 7c.about 1 hour ago from web
56. 96. P*8e Dropping a Sacrificing pawn to invite Sente's kNight to 8e to prevent Sente from dropping a Pawn on 8e after Lx8d.about 1 hour ago from web
57. 95. Px8d Taking the Pawn on 8d.about 1 hour ago from web
58. 94. L*8a Seems a good lance drop.about 1 hour ago from web
59. 93. P-8e, Since Sente's bishop could not develop on the right side due to his pawn on 3e, he tried to activate it on the left side.about 2 hours ago from web
60. 92. K-3a, Gote did not take the kNight on 3d since he would not like Sente's pawn to advance to 3d which is near his King.about 2 hours ago from web
61. 91. Nx3d, Taking the Pawn on 3d with check.about 2 hours ago from web
62. P-4e, Threaten to take the kNight on 4f.about 2 hours ago from web
63. 89. P-5e, Blocking Gote's Bishop diagonal line and aiming at another pawn advancement to 5d supported by the kNight on 4f.about 2 hours ago from web
64. 88. G-5c, The Gold escaped from the kNight on 4f.about 2 hours ago from web
65. 87. P-3e, This planned to activate the Rook on 3h or Bishop on 6h.about 2 hours ago from web
66. 86. Px9c It's a natural move.about 2 hours ago from web
67. 85. Px9c+ Taking the kNight.about 2 hours ago from web
68. 84. Sx2e Gote took it since he had no pawn in hand at the 83rd move.about 2 hours ago from web
69. 83. P-2e Pawn sacrifice to try to make Sente possible to drop a pawn on 2nd file to appoarch Gote's King later.about 2 hours ago from web
70. 82. S-4c, protecting both Gold on 5d and Pawn on 3d.about 2 hours ago from web
71. 81. N*4f Threaten to take the Gold on 5d. If Gote's Gold escaped, then Nx3d would be a nice forking jump.about 2 hours ago from web
72. 80. Gote responded to 79.Sx5d naturally.about 2 hours ago from web
73. 79. Sx5d, Sente sacrificed the Silver for a pawn. His plan was Gx5d N*4f after that.about 2 hours ago from web
74. 78. P*4d, Killing the Silver on 4e.about 2 hours ago from web
75. 77. Sx4e Taking this kNight since Gote already dropped his kNight.about 2 hours ago from web
76. 76. Nx9e It's a natural move.about 2 hours ago from web
77. 75. K-9f, Connecting with the Lance on 9e. But Sente's king went apart from yagura Castle of generals.about 2 hours ago from web
78. 74. N*8c Threaten to take the Lance on 9e.about 2 hours ago from web
79. 73. P*9d Killing the kNight on 9c.about 2 hours ago from web
80. 72. P*9b Supporting the kNight on 9c.about 2 hours ago from web
81. 71. Lx9e, As an effect of pawn sacrifice on 9c, Gote could not respond it by N*8c since Sente could take the kNight on 9c then.about 2 hours ago from web
82. 70. Nx9c, Gote could not allow +P-8c forking Bishop and Rook.about 2 hours ago from web
83. 69. P-9c+ Sente was trying to sacrifice the pawn before taking the pawn on 9e.about 2 hours ago from web
84. 68. P*9e I guess Gote's plan was Px9e N*8c after this move.about 2 hours ago from web
85. 67. P*9d, Sente did not take the kNight on 4e back since he gained a lance before. This was planning to make promoted pawn on the edge file.about 2 hours ago from web
86. 66. Nx4e, Taking the kNight.about 2 hours ago from web
87. 65. Nx4e, Sente accepted Gote's challenge on the 4th file.about 2 hours ago from web
88. 64. P-4e, Threaten to take the Silver. Gote extended the battlefield.about 2 hours ago from web
89. 63. K-8g, Preventing Gote from killing the kNight on 8g such as P*9e Lx9e P*9fabout 2 hours ago from web
90. 62. R-7b Early Rook's escape from Sente's possible Lance promotion on the edge file.about 2 hours ago from web
91. 61. L*9f Preventing Gote from dropping a pawn on 9f to kill the kNight on 9g and moving his Rook to the edge file.about 2 hours ago from web
92. 60. P*8d Gote's was planning to kill the kNight to drop a pawn on 9f in the next move preventing Sente from jumping it to 8e.about 2 hours ago from web
93. 58. Lx9g+ 59.Nx9g Taking the Lance by kNight was Sente's plan. If he took it by Lance(Lx9g), then P*9f Lx9f PX9e would occur.about 2 hours ago from web
94. 55. P*9f 56.Lx9f 57.P*9g Sente was trying to avoid Lance trade and to take it for 2 pawns.about 2 hours ago from web
95. 54. Lx9e, Another natural move.about 2 hours ago from web
96. 53. Px9e, It's a natural move.about 2 hours ago from web
97. 52. P-9e After Sente's bihop'r diagonal line to 9e was blocked, Gote tried to trade pawns and lances on the edge.about 2 hours ago from web
98. 51. Px8f, Sente took Gote's pawn by the Pawn, not the Bishop. I guess if he took it by Bishop, then Rx8f Px8f B*2g R-6h Bx3f+ would be.about 2 hours ago from web
99. You can replay the shogi game here. http://tinyurl.com/d8pfnfabout 2 hours ago from web
100. The result is Goda beat Habu. The score after the game is 1-1.about 2 hours ago from web
101. I had to be off the Net yesterday afternoon and evening. So just starting to follow the Day2 of 2nd game of Meijin-sen.about 2 hours ago from web
102. 50, P-8f, According to Asahi Shimbun, Goda took 118 minutes to make this move. It was a new move reportedly.about 24 hours ago from web
103. Oops, let me cancel the previous entry. Goda did not make 50th move. The candidates are P-4e and K-2a.12:19 PM Apr 22nd from web
104. 50 P-4e, Gote offered kNight trade by advancing this pawn. The possible variation after it is; Nx4e Nx4e Sx4e N*5c(N*3c) to kill the Silver.12:12 PM Apr 22nd from web
105. 49. S-6f, Securing the vanguard pawn on the 6th file and aiming at attacking the head of the Bishop on 7c to begin with P-7e.12:10 PM Apr 22nd from web
106. 48. B-7c It's a natural move to control Sente's attacking pieces utilizing the Bishop's diagonal line.12:09 PM Apr 22nd from web
107. Let me make a correction. the 46th move of N-3c was not offering kNight trade. But it's preparation for that.9:39 AM Apr 22nd from web
108. No, it says no more update till the game ends.9:26 AM Apr 22nd from web
109. It seems this page have restarted to upload the moves.http://tinyurl.com/d8pfnf9:25 AM Apr 22nd from web
110. 47. P-6e, This was Habu's sealed move. It aimed for Gote's Bishop on 6d to go to somewhere since its location of 6d was very good.9:11 AM Apr 22nd from web

Videos of Day 1 for 2nd game of 67th Meijin-sen(Habu vs Goda)

Here are the links to the videos;

Entering into the Playing Room in Kumamoto Castle

Venue info - Kumamoto Castle(wikipedia)

Start of Day 1

Habu made a Sealed move

Commentary show #1- by Kato Hifumi(9 dan)

Commentary Show #2 - Kato Hifumi(9 dan)

Commentary Show #3 - by Kato Hifumi(9 dan)

My comments on the moves of 2nd game of 67th Meijin-sen(Day 1).

The followings are my comments on the moves for the 2nd game of 67th Meijin-sen between Meijin Habu(Sente) and Goda (9 dan). I found Goda made the 46th move of N-3c just before the end of Day1. So Habu made a sealed move accordingly though it's missed in my comments below. The comments are put in a descending order.

1. It seems Goda is going to make a sealed move.about 4 hours ago from web
     
2. 45. P-9f, Habu did not seem to build anaguma. If he would like to, it's good to reserve advancing this edge pawn.about 4 hours ago from web
     
3. 44. S5c-4b, Goda strengthened his Yagura castle.about 4 hours ago from web
     
4. 43. L-1h, Escaped from Gote's Bishop's diagonal line.about 4 hours ago from web
     
5. 42. P-8e Gave a pressure on the head of Sente's King.about 4 hours ago from web
     
6. 41. R-3h This is the preparation for entering into hostilities to begin with P-3e after kNight Jump to 2e.about 4 hours ago from web
     
7. Just added myself to the http://wefollow.com twitter directory under:  #shogi #chess #bloggerabout 6 hours ago from WeFollow
     
8. Just added myself to the http://wefollow.com twitter directory under:about 6 hours ago from WeFollow
     
9. Just added myself to the http://wefollow.com twitter directory under:  #shogi #blogger #nonprofitabout 6 hours ago from WeFollow
     
10. 40. S-2d, The Silver escaped from Sente's possible N-2e in advance.about 6 hours ago from web
      
11. 39. P-2f, Sente advanced Rooked pawn to support the square of 2e where the kNight on 3g would jump to later.about 6 hours ago from web
      
12. 38. P-1d Gote responded to advance his Kingside edge pawn. It's good not to allow vanguard edge pawn when Sente's kNight is on 3g.about 6 hours ago from web
      
13. 37. P-1f Advanced edge pawn on the other side.about 6 hours ago from web
      
14. 36. P-9d Advanced edge pawn.about 6 hours ago from web
      
15. 35. N-3g, This was the follow-up to the previous S-4f.about 6 hours ago from web
      
16. 34. S-5c, This was a defensive move. If Gote moved his Silver 7c instead of 5c, then Gote's formation would be more offensive.about 6 hours ago from web
      
17. 33. S-4f Silver advancement to make Sente possible to jump the kNight on 2i to 3g.about 6 hours ago from web
      
18. 32. Gote did the same.about 6 hours ago from web
      
19. 31. K-8h Completed Yagura Castle.about 6 hours ago from web
      
20. 30. P-7d, It made Gote's Bishop possible to go back to 7c.about 6 hours ago from web
      
21. 29. K-7i It's a natural move to enter Sente's King into the Yagura castle.about 6 hours ago from web
      
22. 28. K-3a Gote was entering his King into the Yagura castle to 2b.about 6 hours ago from web
      
23. 27. B-6h,  Gave up trading pawns on 3e and made Sente possible to enter his King to the Yagura castle through 7i to 8h.about 6 hours ago from web
      
24. 26. B-6d Prevented Sente from trading pawns on 3e.about 6 hours ago from web
      
25. 25. S-3g Sente advanced his Silver to 3g. If Gote did nothing, then pawn trade on 3e by Bishop was sente's aim.about 7 hours ago from web
      
26. 24. Gote did the same.about 7 hours ago from web
      
27. 23. G5h-6g, Sente completed placing generals on the regular positions for Yagura castle.about 7 hours ago from web
      
28. 22. P-4d This made Gote possible to move his Gold on 5b to 4c to build Yagura castle.about 7 hours ago from web
      
29. 21. P-3f This made Sente possible to advance his Silver or kNight to 3g.about 7 hours ago from web
      
30. 20. B-3a Developing Gote's Bishop to his right, too.about 7 hours ago from web
      
31. 19. B-6i Developing Sente's bishop to the right.about 7 hours ago from web
      
32. 18. S-3c Gote seemed to give up quick attack since this move blocked his Bishop's diagonal line.about 7 hours ago from web
      
33. 17. S-7g Building Yagura Castle.about 7 hours ago from web
      
34. 16. G-5b, Look at the location of Gote's two gold. They were not on the path of his Bishop.about 7 hours ago from web
      
35. 15. K-6i, Sente did the same.about 7 hours ago from web
      
36. 14. K-4a Started moving Gote's King to his left side.(opposite side of his Rook).about 7 hours ago from web
      
37. Don't put your Gold on the path of your Bishop is one of the shogi secrets in the opening.about 7 hours ago from web
      
38. 13. G-7h, Look at the location of the two Golds. It's not on the possible path of the Bishop on 8h.about 7 hours ago from web
      
39. 12. G-3b Gote followed double Yagura.about 7 hours ago from web
      
40. 11. G4i-5h Sente was making Yagura castle.about 7 hours ago from web
      
41. 10. S-4b A Natural Silver advancement.about 7 hours ago from web
      
42. 9. S-4h, It's a natural move. It gave Sente wider choice for Silver advancement to 5g, 4g or 3g than S-3h instead.about 7 hours ago from web
      
43. 8.B-5d, Gote had an option to trade his pawns on 5e by using his Bishop on 2b since Sente's Bishop's diagonal line was blocked.about 7 hours ago from web
      
44. 7.P-5f It's a natural move to prepare for Bishop development such as B8h-7i later.about 7 hours ago from web
      
45. 6.S-6b This made Gote to advance Silver to 5c, 6c, or 7c afterwards. It gave wider choice than S-7b.about 7 hours ago from web
      
46. 5.P-6f Blocking Gote's Bishop's diagonal line to prevent him from trading bishops.about 7 hours ago from web
      
47. 4. P-3d, It's a natural move of opening Gote's Bishop's diagonal line.about 7 hours ago from web
      
48. 3.S-6h Habu offered Yagura strategy with this move, though there was possibility for him to take Furibisha(ranging Rook).about 7 hours ago from web
      
49. 1. P-7f Habu opened his Bishop's diagonal line. 2. P-8d Goda showed he would choose Ibisha(static Rook) strategy.about 7 hours ago from web