On April 22, GM Nigel Short came to Japan after his victory in Thailand and played two simultaneous chess games with Habu Yoshiharu and Japanese current chess champion Kojima Shinya. Habu made a draw. Here is the Mainichi Weekly report on May 11.
◇Major Mover
A recent promotional event in Tokyo witnessed a clash between East and West, ending in a stalemate.
Habu Yoshiharu, one of the top players of the Japanese board game "shogi," faced off against chess grand master Nigel Short, ranked 51st in the world, in a chess match. The result was a tie.
The event was aimed at making more Japanese people interested in chess. Among the organizers was Kojima Shinya, 23, Japan's chess champion.
The participation of Habu, a chess lover, was notable because the event coincided with shogi's "Meijin‐sen," or Masters Game, just as he is trying to take back his master's title.
When asked to compare the two games, he admitted there are a lot of similarities, like how some of the pieces move alike. "But they share critical differences as well. One is the presence of a strong queen. Another is that at the end of a (chess) game, when fewer pieces are left, the game tends to be calm and quiet − which is the opposite of shogi."
The English language is important to Habu's side interest in chess: he reads English books when studying the game. "Most of the good chess books are in English, so it's best if you know English when studying chess," Habu says.
"When I play shogi abroad, a translator sometimes doesn't know the rules of shogi. When that's the case, it's sometimes easier if I talk directly in my own (English) words."
Habu is also keen to help spread shogi throughout the world. The International Shogi Forum, whose purpose is to spread shogi internationally, took place in October last year in Rueil‐Malmaison, near Paris. During his stay in France, he played against a French chess champion as a cross‐game event. He also reached a stalemate in that match.
The shogi player has cooperated for some English books about shogi to be sold in England, for example by writing commentaries. These commentaries have usually been translated from Japanese. Although he is humble about his English skills, the shogi master is passionate about serving as an international bridge for the shogi world.
Habu's accomplishments in both shogi and chess keep inspiring many Japanese, and will undoubtedly help popularize chess in Japan, and shogi to the world.
(By Ikeda Maria)
The game is said to be here to play through.
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