Takodori's Entrance to Shogi World

Boardlive today - 2nd game of 33rd Kio-sen between Kio Sato and Challenger Habu

Today is the day for the 2nd game of 33rd Kio-sen 3-win match between Kio Sato Yasumitsu and Challenger Habu Yoshiharu(2 crowns). The game started at 9:00 am in Japan. Sato became a Sente(black) player. The thinking time per player is 4 hours and less than 60 seconds per move after consuming it. I think it will end early this evening. You can replay and watch the game through the linked page below;

2nd game of 33rd Kio-sen 3-win match

Habu chose Gokigen Nakabisha. Sato's adopted Maruyama Vaccine of trading Bishops at the 7th move.

Yauchi succeeded in defending the title of Joryu Meijini-sen

Yesterday Joryu Meijin Yauchi beat Saida(Joryu 4 dan)in 144 moves in the 3nd game of 34th Joryu Meijin-sen 3-win match. Yauchi succeeded in defending the title with three wins in a row. Yauchi became Gote(while) player this game. Saida chose Shikenbisha while she tried Nakabisha in the previous two games. Yauchi's counterattack on the edge file was strong enough to win the game.

The diagram above is the resignation one when Saida resigned the game at the 144th move. Sente's King would be mated in the following lines;

K-4g G*3f(mate)

K-4i G*4h(mate)

K-3i G*2h K-4i Gx3h(mate, replayeable by clicking the arrow in the right direction under the diagram)

B*5d K-6g B-2g+ N*8c(!) Gx8c G*8a +Bx8a +Nx8a Kx8a R*6a G*7a S*7b(!) Kx7b B*6c K-8b Rx7a+ Kx7a G*7b(mate, replayable by clicking  the arrow in the right direction under the diagram)

Congratulation on Yauchi.

Habu took the 4th game of 57th Osho-sen

Yesterday Habu won the fourth game of 57th Osho-sen 4-wins match with Challenger Kubo 8 dan in 113 moves. Habu was Sente player. The opening strategy of the game was Gote's Gokigen Nakabisha(central Rook). Habu traded Bishops at the seventh move which is called Maruyama Vaccine since Maruyama (9 dan) used to beat Gokigen Nakabihsa with this bishop trade. I think Gote's 28th move of G-4b is questionable since it allowed Sente's forking bishop drop on 3a soon later.

The diagram below is the resignation one. The possible variations after that position would be as followings;

Rx7i+ Gx7i Lx8g+ Kx8g +Rx7i B*7a K-9b R*9c Nx9c G*8b(mate)

B*7a Gx7a Kx7a B*4d G*6b G*5b S-6a B*5a Sx5b B5ax6b+ K-8b +B-7a K-9b G*8b K-9c Gx8a K-9b +B-8b(mate)

B*7a Gx7a Kx7a B*4d G*6b G*5b S-6a B*5a K-8b B5ax6b+ Sx6b Bx6b K-9b S*8b Kx8b G*7b K-9b +B-7a(hisshi = brinkmate)

B*7a Gx7a Kx7a B*4d G*6b G*5b S-6a B*5a K-8b B5ax6b+ Sx6b Bx6b K-9b S*8b +Px5g +B-7a Rx7i+ Gx7i +Rx7i Kx7i +Px6h Sx6h G*7h Kx7h Lx8g Kx8g B*6i L*7h P-8d G*9c Nx9c Sx9c+(mate, replayable by clicking the arrow in the right direction under the diagram)

There would be more variations, but Gote was hopeless in any cases.

Boardlive today - 3rd game of 34th Joryu-Meijini-sen

Joryu Meijin Yauchi vs Saida(Joryu 4 dan) is now on boardlive. You can watch and replay the game through the link below;

Yauchi(Gote) vs Saida

Yauchi took previous two games in a row. This is a 3-win match. It will end in a few hours from now. Yauchi chosen Ibihsa as usual. To which file Saida transferred was in question. Her choice was Shikenbisha in this game.

Boardlive today - 4th game of 57th Osho-sen

Yesterday and today are the days for the 4th game of 57th Osho-sen 4-wins match between Osho Habu and Kubo(8 dan). Habu is Sente(black) player this game since Kubo was so last game. You can watch and replay the game through the link below(Java capable browser is needed).

4th game of 57th Osho-sen 4-wins match

Here are the explanations about the four buttons above the board there.

1st button --- to be refreshed every 30 seconds
2nd button --- to be refreshed every 1 minute
3rd button --- to be refreshed every 3 minutes
4th button --- to be refreshed manually

The color of the buttons shows you which one you are choosing now(The example above is choosing the 1st button). I recommend you to choose the 4th button when you replay the game from the start to the current position and push the 2nd button to watch the live games in the endgame in Byoyomi.

The opening strategy of this game was Gote's Gokigen nakabihsa. Habu traded Bishops at the 7th move which is called Maruyama Vaccine. Kubo re-transferred his Rook to the 2nd file(Mukaibisha).

Although the texts are written in Japanese, you can see many photos and videos frequently uploaded related to this match through the official blog linked below;

57th Osho-sen broadcasting blog

Challenger Habu took the 1st game of 33rd Kio-sen 3-win match

Yesterday Challenger Habu beat Kio Sato in the 1st game of 33rd Kio-sen 3-win match. Habu led the score by 1-0 after the game. Habu became a Sente(Black) player as a result of Furigoma. It was a very thrilling game with the length of 187 moves which was longer than usual. Especially, either King did not go up to the 4th rank which was very rare in such a long game. I think it must be one of the best games in the year 2008.

The diagram above is the resignation one when Sente dropped a Gold on 3c. After the diagram, Gote's King were forced to be mated. The variations would be;

K-1b G*2b(mate)

Kx3c Px3d K-2b P-3c+ K-1a G*2b(mate)

Kx3c Px3d K-2b P-3c+ K-3a +Px3b(mate)

Kx3c Px3d K-4c G*5c(mate)

Kx3c Px3d K-4b P-3c+ K-5a G*5b Kx5b S*5c K-6a G*6b(mate, replayable by clicking the arrow in the right direction)

Kx3c Px3d K-4b P-3c+ K-4a G*4b(mate)

The schedule of the rest games are below;

2nd game --- February 23
3rd game --- March 8
4th game(If either does not win 3 games) --- March 19
5th game(If either does not win 3 games) --- March 28

Boardlive today - 1st game of 33rd Kio-sen between Kio Sato and Challenger Habu

Today is the day for the 1st game of 33rd Kio-sen 3-win match between Kio Sato Yasumitsu and Challenger Habu Yoshiharu(2 crowns). The game started at 9:00 am in Japan. As a result of Furigoma, Habu became a Sente(black) player. The thinking time per player is 4 hours and less than 60 seconds per move after consuming it. I think it will end early this evening. You can replay and watch the game through the linked page below;

1st game of 33rd Kio-sen 3-win match

 

Yauchi took 2nd game again of 34th Joryu Meijini-sen

Yesterday Joryu Meijin Yauchi beat Saida(Joryu 4 dan)in 131 moves in the 2nd game of 34th Joryu Meijin-sen 3-win match. The score is 2-0 led by Yauchi now. Yauchi became Sente(black) player since she was Gote in the first game. Saida adopted Gokigen Nakabisha following to last game. Yauchi traded Bishops at the 7th move which called Maruyama vaccine. Saida built anaguma-gakoi(castle) in the opening. The battle started in the right edge and it scatterd to the left side as it went by. The location of Yauchi's promoted bishop in the centeral are of the board seemed good enough to approach Saida's King in Anaguma since it could go through the saqare on 8a.

The diagram above is the resignation one when Saida resigned the game at the 131st move. There is no mate for Sente(white)'s King and Gote has no defense. After the diagram, some of the possible variations are below;

B*5d K-6g B-2g+ N*8c(!) Gx8c G*8a +Bx8a +Nx8a Kx8a R*6a G*7a S*7b(!) Kx7b B*6c K-6a G*5b (mate)

B*5d K-6g B-2g+ N*8c(!) Gx8c G*8a +Bx8a +Nx8a Kx8a R*6a G*7a S*7b(!) Kx7b B*6c K-8b Rx7a+ Kx7a G*7b(mate, replayable by clicking  the arrow in the right direction under the diagram)

B*5d K-6g B-2g+ N*8c(!) Gx8c G*8a +Bx8a +Nx8a Kx8a R*6a N*7a S*7b(!) Kx7b G*6b K-8b Rx7a+(mate)

S*7b +Nx7b Gx7b N*8c(!) Gx8c G*8a(!) Kx8a R*6a G*7a S*7b(!) Kx7b B*6c K-6a G*5b (mate)

S*7b +Nx7b Gx7b N*8c(!) Gx8c G*8a(!) Kx8a R*6a G*7a S*7b(!) Kx7b B*6c K-8b +Rx7a Kx7a G*7b(mate)

S*7b +Nx7b Gx7b N*8c(!) Gx8c G*8a(!) Kx8a R*6a N*7a S*7b(!) Kx7b G*6b K-8b Rx7a+(mate)

S*7b +Nx7b Gx7b N*8c(!) K-8a G*9a K-8b R*8a(mate)

S*7b +Nx7b Gx7b N*8c(!) K-8b S*9a K-8a G*8b(!) Gx8b G*7a(mate)

S*7b +Nx7b Gx7b N*8c(!) K-8b S*9a K-8c N*7e(mate)

B*5d K-6g S*8a R*5a Bx2g+ N*8c(!) Gx8c +Nx8a  +Bx8a Rx8a+ Kx8a S*7b(!)  Kx7b  B*5d  N*6c  Bx6c+ Kx6c  N*5e  K-5c  G*4c  K-5d  B*6c  Kx5e G*4f(mate)

In any case, Gote was hopeless.

The schedule of the rest games are as below;

3rd game - Fenruary 20 2008

The dates for 4th & 5th games are not fixed yet.

Boardlive today - 2nd game of 34th Joryu Meijini-sen

Joryu Meijin Yauchi vs Saida(Joryu 4 dan) is now on boardlive. You can watch and replay the game through the link below;

Yauchi(Sente) vs Saida

Before the game, Yauchi took the first game. This is a 3-win match. It will end in a few hours from now. Saida built Anaguma gakoi(castle) while Yauchi moved her Rook to her left edge file as if it moved like a subway which is called "Subway Rook".

Kubo won the 3rd game - 57th Osho-sen title match

Yesterday Kubo won the third game of 57th Osho-sen 4-wins match with the defender Osho Habu in 111 moves. Kubo was Sente player. The game went to Sente's Fujii System against Gote's Ibisha Anaguma. Kubo's new idea in this game was to postpone taking a Pawn in the 2nd file until sacrificing a Pawn on 6d and trading Silvers on the 4th file and it seems to have worked well.

The diagram below is the resignation one. The possible variations after that position would be

G-4h +Rx2a Kx2a G*3a(!) Kx3a R*4a K-3b +B-4b(mate, replayable by clicking the arrow in the right direction below the board)

G*3a R*5c G-4h Rx2c+ Gx2c +Rx3a Gx3h +Rx2a Kx2a S*3b Kx3b +B4d-4c K-3a G*3b(mate)

G*3a R*5c G-4h Rx2c+ Gx3h +Rx2e S*3g +Rx3a P*2f K-1g Gx3a N*2c(mate)

G*3a R*5c G-4h Rx2c+ Gx3h +Rx2e S*3g +Rx3a S*2f +Rx2f Sx2f+ Kx3h R*5h K-4i Rx5b+ +Rx2b(!) Gx2b N*2c(mate)

S*3a  R*5c G-4h Rx2c+ Gx2c +Rx3a G*3c +B5b-4c Gx4c S*3b Gx3h +Rx2a(mate)

S*3a  R*5c G-4h Rx2c+ Gx2c +Rx3a G*3c +B5b-4c N*3b +B4dx3c Gx3c +Rx2a Kx2a G*3a(!) Kx3a N*2c(!) Px2c S*4b K-2a S*2b(!) Kx2b +Bx3c K-1c S*2b(mate)

There would be more variations, but Gote was hopeless in any cases.