Takodori's Entrance to Shogi World

Shogi Boardlive Schedule for Week 13

Here is a web-casting board-live schedule for week 13.

Wednesday March 26, to start at 9:00am(JST)
Osho Watanabe Akira vs three crown Habu Yoshiharu
Day1, 7th(final) game of the 63rd Osho-sen best of seven match (3-3, The score is tied.)

ITmedia Mirro of Nico Nico Live - http://www.itmedia.co.jp/live/articles/1403/26/news141.html
Nico Nico Live - http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv164042301　(Commentator - 6th dan Nakamura Taichi MC - Joryu shodan Ajiki Fusako)
Liveboard - http://mainichi.jp/feature/shougi/ohsho ... 40326.html
(You need to sign up for Mainichi to watch the game through this page athttps://ipaper.mainichi.co.jp/fsn/r/mail:input?mode=3 I am afraid it is difficult to register without Japanese literacy. It requires you to input your name and email address as well as your consent to its terms of use.)
Official Blog(in Japanese, but lots of photos related to the game to be uploaded) - http://kifulog.shogi.or.jp/ousho/
Expected end time - 6:00pm(JST)

Queen Satomi Kana vs Shoreikai 1 kyu Kato Momoko
1st game of the 7th Mynavi Joshi Open best of five match
Liveboard - http://mynavi-open.jp/result/7/mynavi201403260101.html
Official Blog(in Japanese, but lots of photos related to the game to be uploaded) - http://mynavi-open.jp/weblog/
Official site(in Japanese) - http://mynavi-open.jp/index.html
Expected end time - around 5:00pm(JST)

Thursday March 27, to start at 9:00am(JST)
Osho Watanabe Akira vs three crown Habu Yoshiharu
Day 2, 7th(final) game of the 63rd Osho-sen best of seven match (3-3, The score is tied.)
Nico Nico Live - http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv164042552　(Commentator - 9th dan Kubo Toshiaki MC - Joryu Shodan Fujita Aya)
Liveboard - http://mainichi.jp/feature/shougi/ohsho ... 40326.html
(You need to sign up for Mainichi to watch the game through this page athttps://ipaper.mainichi.co.jp/fsn/r/mail:input?mode=3 I am afraid it is difficult to register without Japanese literacy. It requires you to input your name and email address as well as your consent to its terms of use.)
Official Blog(in Japanese, but lots of photos related to the game to be uploaded) - http://kifulog.shogi.or.jp/ousho/
Expected end time - around 7:00(JST), but it may end earlier depending on how the game goes.

Saturday March 29, to start at 10:00am(JST), (Nico Nico Live program will start at 9:30am)
7th dan Toyoshima vs YSS(Machine) 
Second game of the team match, Denou-sen 3.0
Niconico Live - http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv161974585 (Commentator - 9th dan Kubo Toshiaki, 7th dan Nozuki Hirotaka, MC - Joryu Osho Kagawa Manao) It is highly likely only paid users can watch the program since it's extremely popular and they will be prioritized to watch it, though you can watch most of Nico Nico programs basically free.)
Expected end time - sometime after 7:00pm(JST)

There are many other webcasting boardlives available to watch on an iPhone/iPad or Android terminal almost every weekday which is a pay service. Go to either of these two links if you are interested;
iPhone/iPad - https://itunes.apple.com/app/id389456852
Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... free&hl=en

Kids Web Japan's article on shogi

It's a good article to read. Kids Web Japan is sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign affairs of Japan.

• http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cool/14-03/index.html

Shogi Boardlive Schedule for Week 12

Here is a web-casting board-live schedule for week 12. 

Saturday March 22, to start at 10:00am(JST), (Nico Nico Live program will start at 9:30am)
6th dan Sato Shinya vs Yaneuraoh(Machine) 
Second game of the team match, Denou-sen 3.0
Niconico Live - http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv161973445 (Commentator - 8th dan Kimura Kazuki, 7th dan Iijima Eiji, MC - Joryu sho dan Ajiki Fusako, on-site reporter - Joryu shodan Fujita Ayako It is highly likely only paid users can watch the program since it's extremely popular and they will be prioritized to watch it, though you can watch most of Nico Nico programs basically free.)
Expected end time - sometime after 7:00pm(JST)

There are many other webcasting boardlives available to watch on an iPhone/iPad or Android terminal almost every weekday which is a pay service. Go to either of these two links if you are interested;
iPhone/iPad - https://itunes.apple.com/app/id389456852
Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... free&hl=en

Monthly flash ELOlist based on a fan-site(End of February 2014)

I posted the update on 81 square universe forum.

Monthly flash ELOlist based on a fan-site(End of February 2014)

Shogi Strategy Tips #1 - "Don't underestimate the power of Bishops"

This is a duplicate. It has been originally posted in my "What's on your mind" field of Facebook.

Here is one of my shogi strategic tips for players with chess background. "Don't underestimate the power of Bishops in shogi." In chess, Rooks are major pieces and Bishops are minor pieces while both pieces are major pieces in shogi. In chess, the relative value of a Bishop is 60% of a Rook, meaning 3 divided by 5. In shogi, a bishop is 13 points and a Rook is 15 points according to 9th dan Tanigawa, so the relative value of a shogi bishop is 86.7% of that of a Rook, meaning 13 divided by 15. Practically, I think strategic exchange of a Rook for a Bishop more often happens in shogi than chess. Do you know why such difference exists despite the fact the move of both Bishops and Rooks are basically the same? I think the answer is like this. #1, A shogi Bishop can go anywhere on the board after promotion while a chess Bishop can go on the same color squares which means only half of the board. #2, Pawn move difference between the two games causes this imbalance. In chess, a Pawn moves diagonally when it captures something. This interesting feature makes it possible pawn chains can often shut out the same-color square Bishop in chess. However, a shogi Pawn still moves one square forward even when it takes something. So there is virtually no concept of "Pawn chain" in shogi. A shogi Bishop cannot be blocked by "Pawn Chains" since a shogi Pawn cannot protect another pawn located diagonally forward, and these are why a shogi bishop can generally enjoy its long range diagonal more easily than a chess Bishop. So again, don't underestimate the relative value of a shogi Bishop. It's one of the major pieces as well as a Rook.

Supplemental information. If you like to review the relative value of each piece, HIDETCHI's video of How to play Shogi #10 is pretty handy. Please see the video from 3:29. The recognitions between 9th dan Tanigawa and 9th dan Sato are slightly different, but it will give you an important guide in terms of material in shogi. You can plan a good trade for you with this knowledge in your play.

 

Shogi Boardlive Schedule for Week 10

Here is a web-casting board-live schedule for week 10. 

Monday March 3, to started at 10:00am(JST)
Joryu 6th dan Shimizu Ichiyo vs Shoreikai 1st kyu Kato Momoko
Final of challenger deciding knockout of the 7th Mymavi Joshi Open
Liveboard - http://mynavi-open.jp/result/7/mynavi201403030101.html
Official site(in Japanese)　- http://mynavi-open.jp/index.html
Official Blog(in Japanese but lots of photos related to the game to be uploaded) - http://mynavi-open.jp/weblog/
Niconico Live - http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv170826500

There are many other webcasting boardlives available to watch on an iPhone/iPad or Android terminal almost every weekday which is a pay service. Go to either of these two links if you are interested;
iPhone/iPad - https://itunes.apple.com/app/id389456852
Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... free&hl=en