Masuda-shiki Ishida Ryu : Ishida-style a la Masuda (1) (To be developed into Tateishi-ryu) Haya-Ishida(rapid-attack Ishida Ryu) was long considered to be one of those trapping tactics which can be quite successful only if the opponent is unprepared. Kozo Masuda, who was popular because of his insatiable zeal for creating new theories in shogi, perfected it into a full-fledged strategy which was eventually accepted among fellow professionals. Thus it was called Masuda-shiki Ishida-ryu. The first diagram shows an early phase of the game played by Masuda(black) and Oyama(white), April 20 & 21, 1971, as the second game of Meijin-sen. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +--------------------------------------------+ White in hand: | wL | wN | wS | wG | wK | wG | wS | wN | wL | a +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | wR | | | | | | wB | | b | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ | wP | | wP | wP | wP | wP | | wP | wP | c +-------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | wP | | | d +--------------------------------------------+ | | wP | bP | | | | | | | e +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | f +--------------------------------------------+ | bP | bP | | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | g +--------------------------------------------+ Black in hand: | | bB | bR | | | bK | | | | h +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | | | bL | bN | bS | bG | | bG | bS | bN | bL | i | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ Then followed (from white): S-6b, K-3h, P-6d, K-2h, S-6c, S-3h, K-4b, R-7f, Bx8h, Sx8h, S-3b, G-7h, P-4d, N-7g, G6a-5b, B*9f. The last move, B*9f was the fruit of Masuda's midnight oil, and turned out to be a beauty. As a most likely next move by white, a drop of B at 9d would meet a counterattack of Nx8e, which would be followed by Bx8e, R-8f, yielding a promising outlook for the black player. The actual moves they took were:(from white) B*5d, R-4f, P-7d, Rx4d, K-3a, Px7d, Sx7d, P-8f, P-9d, N-8e, P-9e, B-8g... Masuda won this thrilling game of 207 moves, all told, which marked a milestone of this strategy. That it was adopted successfully in the meijin-sen, which was considered to be the most prestigious event, helped to boost its name. Together with its simplicity in form, it has become one of the most popular openings among amateur players since then. Masuda's quest, however, did not end there. His next mission was to prove that this strategy was also valid when playing white. He again took the same strategy in the following game of meijin-sen, in which he had to play white. The whole shogi world got, understandably, quite excited about this. Masuda's Ishida Ryu : Gote (White) Version (2) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +--------------------------------------------+ Masuda in hand: | wL | wN | wS | wG | wK | wG | wS | wN | wL | a +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | wR | wB | | b | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | | wP | wP | c +-------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | d +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | wP | bP | | e +--------------------------------------------+ | | | bP | | | | | | | f +--------------------------------------------+ | bP | bP | | bP | bP | bP | bP | | bP | g +--------------------------------------------+ Oyama in hand: | | bB | | | | | | bR | | h +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | | | bL | bN | bS | bG | bK | bG | bS | bN | bL | i | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ The third game of Meijin-sen took place on April 30 & May 1, 1971. The diagram above shows Masuda's formation as White. Then follows: (from Black) S-4h, K-6b, P-4f, K-7b, K-6h, K-8b, K-7h, S-7b, S-4g, P-1d, P-2d, Px2d, Rx2d. Masuda's domain looks already partly crushed, but not exactly. He then proceeds as follows: (from White) +B-8h, Sx8h, R-2b, P*2c, R-1b. After exchanging Bs, he shifted his R to 2b, demanding another exchange of the big pieces, Rs. By resorting to this procedure, Masuda virtually stopped Oyama's attack on the second file, just as he had planned. Oyama avoided exchanging Rs, because his territory alone would have had a space for dropping R. So, he had to drop his P on 2c. But with Masuda's R at a safe spot on 1b, Oyama had no further means of attack. He could have dropped B at 2b, but only would have met Masuda's G-3b. Masuda's Ishida-ryu: gote version （3） After Masuda's R-1b followed : R-2f, G-3b, P-3f, Px3f, Sx3f, P*2b, Px2b+, Rx2b, P*2e, S-4b, G-6h, P-5d, P-1f, B*5c. (See Diagram below) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +--------------------------------------------+ White in hand: | wL | wN | | wG | | | | wN | wL | a +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | 2P | | | wK | wS | | | wS | wG | wR | | b | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ | wP | wP | wP | wP | wB | wP | | | | c +-------------------------------------------- | | | | | wP | | | | wP | d +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | bP | | e +--------------------------------------------+ | | | bP | | | bP | bS | bR | bP | f +--------------------------------------------+ | bP | bP | | bP | bP | | | | | g +--------------------------------------------+ Black in hand: | | bS | bK | bG | | | | | | h +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | B, P | | bL | bN | | | | bG | | bN | bL | i | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ Then continued as follows (from Black) : R-2h, B-6d; G-3h, Bx4f; N-3g, P*2c; S-7g, P-4d; S-6f, S-4c; G-4g, B-6d; P-5f, S-3d; P*3e, S-4e; P-5e, Sx3f; Gx3f, P*3h; R-2i, G-4c; P-2d, Px2d; S*6e, B-3a; Px5d, S*4g; G-4f, S-4h-; G-3f, P-6d; S-5f, P-3i+; P*2c, R-3b; R-2h, +P-4i; K-8h, P*3d; Px3d, P*3e; Gx3e, Sx3g-; R-2g, S-4f-; Gx2d, B-1c; G-7h, N*8d; B*7i, Nx7f; K-7g, P*2f; Rx2f, ??? Excuse my long citation. Masuda made a develishly clever move at the end (marked ???), which set the game in his favor. (Would you guess what that was?) Oyama, however, was known to be a tenacious player. He hung on till the 210th move, and finally bowed to Masuda. Masuda-shiki Ishida-ryu was a challenge to a common belief that furi- bisha was a passive strategy. And Masuda certainly made his point. Thus, Masuda's Ishida-ryu had its day, becoming a pet strategy among shogi fans for a certain period, and even to this day we still can see some people like to use it, but not among professionals. Why? The clue lies in the 6th game of the same meijin-sen series. Masuda's Ishida-ryu :gote version---continued (4) 訳者注 Masuda's last move was S-3e, an impressive sacrifice. Translator's note: You might want to ask: who is Ishida? He is a popular figure among shogi fans as "Ishida Kengyo", a blind man who lived in the early Edo era, toward the end of the 17th century. Kengyo represented the top rank of the organization for the blind. The Edo military government established a strict four-tier-hierarchy, with warriors (samurai) at the top, then farmers, followed by manufacturers, and merchants at the bottom. Samurais accounted for about 3,4% of the whole population, while farmers represented 90%, and manufacturers/merchants 5%. However, there were other people outside of this establishment, such as noblemen, Buddhist priests, physicians, scholars, etc. While these people were privileged outsiders, there were other kind, the discriminated, to whom the blind belonged. The blind formed for themselves a guild-like organization which had four ranks; kengyo, betto, kohto, and zato. These ranks were further broken down to 73 niches, and it was possible to buy one's way up the ladder. One had to obtain a certain amount of shares to climb up. The similar system is still to be found in the sumo world, whose tradition started in the edo era, in which a wrestler has to procure a certain amount of shares to become a stable-master. The point is, the number of shares is limited and one needs more than just money to hold shares. The major trade of the blind was acupuncture and massage, which may have made them comparable to physicians to the local people. The edo government spared some fund for the blind, which kengyos put to use by becoming money-lenders (usurers) whose clients were mainly the Hatamoto and Daimyo, the government . Some notable kengyos were: a great scholar, Hanawa Kengyo, who was a philological genius, and a great-grandfather of the famous politician, Katsu Kaishu, who bought his sons a status of samurai. Masuda's Ishida-ryu: the 6th game (5) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +--------------------------------------------+ White in hand: | wL | wN | | | | wG | | wN | wL | a +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | B | | | wR | wG | | | wK | wS | | | b | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ | wP | | wP | wS | wP | wP | | wP | wP | c +-------------------------------------------- | | | | wP | | | wP | | | d +--------------------------------------------+ | | wP | bP | | | | | | | e +--------------------------------------------+ | | | bR | | | | | | | f +--------------------------------------------+ | bP | bP | | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | bP | g +--------------------------------------------+ Black in hand: | | bS | bG | | | | bS | bK | | h +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | B | | bL | bN | | | | bG | | bN | bL | i | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ The diagram above is from the 6th game of the meijin-sen (held on 3 & 4 June, 1971), where Oyama, the White player, just moved his Gold to 7b, a wary positioning. After this, too, Oyama made every effort not to let out any loose ends, from which the furi-bisha side could open hostilities. After the Diagram: (from Black) P-9f, P-9d; S-7g, K-3a; P-1f, P-1d; S-6f, S-3c; S-5e, P-5d; S-4f, G-4b; N-7g, K-3b; P-5f, S-4d; P-2f, G-7a; P-3f, G-6a; The two moves, G-7a and G-6a from above, speak loudly that the player is Oyama. So far, Oyama seems to have effectively blocked Masuda's attack. Then after this: (from Black) P-6f, R-8d, B*6g. The elaborate procedure follows after this, which makes us admire Masuda's talent, but the Bishop drop in his own territory cannot be a very good idea, because in this case, it was only to pry open the deadlock on his part. Even if we can't say which side is leading at this stage, or make a judgement as to the quality of the whole game, it is clear that Masuda's typical dynamism failed to surface in this game. So, this game tells us that Black is likely to walk into a deadlock when White plays very cautiously. Sennichite, or a stalemate, is what Black wouldn't welcome, so gradually, this strategy got less and less popular when playing black. Rather, it got to be a white player's tactic. For your imformation, out of the recent ten thousand-odd professional games, only four were played with this strategy by black players, while 20 were played by white players. I have to add that the White's winning rate was not very good. Next I will present what could be called a model game for a black player against white's Masuda-shiki. It was a final match of the TV Haya-zashi Championship Tournament, played by Yoshiharu Habu and Kenji Waki. I might add that although Masuda used it in Meijin-sen, a very long game, the strategy is now more frequently used in a match like Haya-zashi, because the strategy is better fit for a quick game. Haya-zashi is a very quick game, in which each move has to be made within 30 seconds. Masuda's Ishida-ryu : a model game (6) The diagram below is from the final match of Haya-zashi Tournament, played by Waki(b) and Habu(w), on 20 Feb., 1993. The last move was bS-7h, by Waki. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +--------------------------------------------+ Habu in hand: | wL | wN | wS | wG | | wG | | wN | wL | a +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | B | | | | wK | | | | | wS | | b | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | | wP | wP | c +-------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | wR | | | d +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | wP | | | e +--------------------------------------------+ | bP | | bP | | | bP | | | | f +--------------------------------------------+ | | bP | | bP | bP | bS | bP | bP | bP | g +--------------------------------------------+ Waki in hand: | | | bS | bK | | | | bR | | h +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | B | | bL | bN | | bG | | bG | | bN | bL | i | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ After this: (from White) P-9d; P-6f, G-3b; S-6g, K-8b; K-7h, S-7b; P-2f, P-1d; P-1f, S-3c; G4i-5h, S-4d; P-2e, S-5e; G6i-6h, N-3c; P-6e, The very beginning of the game was bP-7f, wP-3d, bP-9f, which could have been a Masuda-shiki black-version. We can see Waki has taken extra precautions in building up his formation. He postponed pushing a Pawn up to 2e, in order to prepare for White's B*1d or P-2d. In preparation for any possible attack, he gave security of the king's head top priority. At his P-6e, it is obvious Waki achieved a strategic victory. After the above: (from White) G-3a; R-2f, P-8d; P-8f, S-8c; P-5f, S-4d; S-6f, P-5d; G6h-6g, G-7b; R-2h, S-5c; G5h-6h, P-7d; P-5e, P-6d; B*5f, R-4d; Bx2c+, G-4b; +B-5f, The white player was cornered into a state where he no longer had any effective moves to make. When he made one, it only gave his opponent an opportunity to promote his Bishop freely. But, alas, he made a fatal error toward the end and it was Habu who won the game. Still, the problem remains with a white player who resorts to this strategy. After all, Waki showed flawless moves to cope with white Masuda-shiki, to a certain point. To sum it up, if you play black i-bisha against Masuda's Ishida-ryu, what you should keep in mind is to avoid giving any possible openings for attack, and to secure a footing and develop it steadily into a tight fortress. It is likely that each side has a Bishop in hand, but the furi-bisha side is more liable to have an open space for its drop. Therefore, the white player should be reluctant to deploy the same tactic as yours, i.e., building a thick wall to protect one's own territory. Hence, the Masuda-shiki gradually lost its popularity because of its weakness against dilatory tactics, especially when playing black. Also when playing white, black players sometimes let their opponents build up an authentic Ishida-ryu, thereby they could attack by bo-Kin (climbing Gold) tactic, which turned out to be quite effective to get the better of White. Masuda's Ishida-ryu (7) There is one way that I can recommend which should forestall White's Masuda-shiki. P-7f, P-3d; P-2f, P-3e; K-6h. (See Diagram below) To place your King on 6h should do the trick, though it seldom appears in official game records. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +--------------------------------------------+ White in hand: | wL | wN | wS | wG | wK | wG | wS | wN | wL | a +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | wR | | | | | | wB | | b | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | wP | | wP | wP | c +-------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | d +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | wP | | | e +--------------------------------------------+ | | | bP | | | | | bP | | f +--------------------------------------------+ | bP | bP | | bP | bP | bP | bP | | bP | g +--------------------------------------------+ Black in hand: | | bB | | bK | | | | bR | | h +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | | | bL | bN | bS | bG | | bG | bS | bN | bL | i | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ If, from the diagram, (w)R-3b, then Bx2b+, Sx2b, B*6e! A favorable prospect for Black. And this was exactly what plagued those amateur Masuda-shiki players. The more they investigated, the more unfavorable variations for the system they found, thus leading the way to its exit. For those ranging Rook players who love to attack, Masuda's Ishida-ryu must have, at first, looked like an answer to a prayer (and presumably, it would have appealed to those furi-bisha lovers who were inimical of the static Rook anaguma). So, it must have been more than frustrating for them to see the system dissected and pushed aside. However, another system came on the scene, which dispersed those frustrating clouds over furi-bisha lovers' heads. Tateishi-ryu 4th file Rook was its name. And it was invented by an amateur, one Mr. Tateishi. Fourth file Rook, not the third file, you ask? Don't be rash. It was a strategy imbued with Masuda's conception of the third file Rook. Tateishi-ryu was eventually taken up by the professionals, which was quite exceptional, since the flow is usually the other way around, from the pro world to the amateur. When this system got known in the professinal world, the first who actually used it for their games were Keiji Mori(9-dan) and Kenji Kobayashi(8-dan). Let me present one masterful game played by Kenji Kobayashi(b) and Koji Tanigawa(w). Masuda's Ishida-ryu (8) The diagram below(Diagram 1) is from the final match of TV Haya-zashi Tournament, played by Kenji Kobayashi(b) and Koji Tanigawa(w), Feb. 4, 1995. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +--------------------------------------------+ White in hand: | wL | wN | | wG | | wG | wS | wN | wL | a +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | wR | | | | | wK | wB | | b | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ | wP | | wP | wP | wS | wP | | wP | | c +-------------------------------------------- | | | | | wP | | wP | | wP | d +--------------------------------------------+ | | wP | bP | bP | | | | | | e +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | bP | f +--------------------------------------------+ | bP | bP | | | bP | bP | bP | bP | | g +--------------------------------------------+ Black in hand: | | bB | | bR | | | bS | bK | | h +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | | | bL | bN | bS | bG | | bG | | bN | bL | i | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ Diagram 1 b:Kobayashi, w:Tanigawa; Up to bP-6e It began just like a normal fourth file Rook, but pushing the Pawns quickly up to a mid-position along the 6th and 7th files was the very idea of Tateishi-ryu, which demands an exchange of Bishops. The idea of welcoming the Bishop exchange , unlike the usual furi-bisha, is at one with Masuda-shiki. >From the Diagram 1: (from white) S3a-4b; G-7h, P-3e; P-9f, P-9d; Bx2b+, Kx2b; N-7g, G-3b; R-6f, P-4d; R-7f (Diagram 2) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +--------------------------------------------+ White in hand: | wL | wN | | wG | | | | wN | wL | a +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | B | | | wR | | | | wS | wG | wK | | b | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ | | | wP | wP | wS | | | wP | | c +-------------------------------------------- | wP | | | | wP | wP | | | wP | d +--------------------------------------------+ | | wP | bP | bP | | | wP | | | e +--------------------------------------------+ | bP | | bR | | | | | | bP | f +--------------------------------------------+ | | bP | bN | | bP | bP | bP | bP | | g +--------------------------------------------+ Black in hand: | | | bG | | | | bS | bK | | h +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | B | | bL | | bS | | | bG | | bN | bL | i | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ Diagram 2 Standard Formation of Tateishi-ryu, up to bR-7f. While Masuda-shiki shifts its Rook from 7h to 7f, Tateishi-ryu positions the Rook on the same spot via 6h-6f-7f. Advantages of the Tateishi-ryu are: 1) The vanguard position on the 6th file, which eliminates White's S-6c, an effective defence. 2) Forcing White's R-8d in defence of the 7th file, which yields another chance of a R-exchange by dropping B on 6f, or 5g (which was the case in this game). 3) The left Silver's position being on 7i, instead of 8h, which makes the further use of the piece easiler. >From Diagram 2: (from white) R-8d; P-5f, S-4c; B*5g, G-5b; S-6h, G5b-4b; S-6g, P-4e; Bx3e, S5c-4d; B-5g, P-5e; Px5e, Sx5e; P-7d, Rx7d; Rx7d, Px7d; R*5a, P*5f; B-8d, S5e-4d; P-6d, P-4f; Px4f, P-8f; Px8f, Px6d; Rx8a+ Kobayashi kept his cool throughout this very difficult game and finally gained the victory. He is well known for his Super Shiken-Bisha, and now he is also equipped himself with what he calls Super Tateishi-Ryu. It is to note that he played every single game in the '95 Haya-Zashi Tournament with this newly developed system and got himself the championship. However, an effective antidote is known to exist. Masuda's Ishida-ryu (9) The diagram is from a C2 Jun-i Sen in '95 played by Hiroshi Okazaki(4 dan) and Takeshi Kawakami(4 dan), on August 29. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 +--------------------------------------------+ White in hand: | wL | wN | | wG | | | | | wL | a +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | B | | | wK | wS | | | | wG | | | b | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ | | wP | wP | wP | wP | wS | wN | wP | wP | c +-------------------------------------------- | wP | | | | | | wR | | | d +--------------------------------------------+ | | | | bP | | wP | wP | bP | | e +--------------------------------------------+ | bP | | bP | | bP | | | bR | | f +--------------------------------------------+ | | bP | bN | bS | bS | bP | bP | | bP | g +--------------------------------------------+ Black in hand: | | bK | bG | | | | | | | h +------------------+ +--------------------------------------------+ | B | | bL | | | | | bG | | bN | bL | i | | +--------------------------------------------+ +------------------+ Diagram: (b)Okazaki vs (w)Kawakami, up to (b)R-2f >From the Diagram: (from white) S-5b; P-1f, P-5d; P-1e, P-8d; S5g-6f, P-1d; Px1d, Lx1d; P*1e, Lx1e; Lx1e, P*1d; P-5e, Px1e; Px5d, P*5c; Px5c+, Sx5c; B*2a Tateishi-ryu was a darling system for those who were fed up with the Ibisha Anaguma, as if it were elixir of shogi, for a limited time. But not anymore. Why? The answer is the right Gold of the Ibisha, which just stays there, as in the Diagram above. In response to White's P-3f, Black can safely answer with Px3f. Even if White then drops B at 4d so that his R can proceed to 3f, there will be no space for its promotion. With nothing to worry about in his territory, Black can then apply pressure toward the White's King-head. Fearing that he might be suffocated into a slow death, Kawakami made rather desperate moves along the first file, which only handed Okazaki an opportunity to lead the game in his favor and eventually to a victory. Moves afterwards: (from white) Nx2e; Rx2e, B*1f; Bx3b+, Bx2e; +B-4c, L*5b; +Bx3d, Bx3d; R*3a, R*6i; N*7e, Rx4i+; L*8c, K-9c; Lx8a+, The standard formation of the Tateishi-ryu now seldom appears in professional games, for the furi-bisha player does not push up his Pawn to 4e, unless he makes sure that the opponent shifts the right Gold to 5h. The system may have baffled ibisha players at first, but they no longer appear to be caught off base these days. Rather, the system itself seems to be fully analysed and dealt with. Another factor which made the Tateishi style less popular is that furi-bisha lovers of today are not intimidated by the ibisha-anaguma like they used to. Instead, they regard the once dreaded water-tight formation as something vulnerable enough to be broken down through the far right attack. Now it looks like the system is in danger of getting obsolete. The current records of ibisha anaguma vs furi-bisha games show that furi-bisha players invariably attack along the far right file. This must be correlated with the recent trend of the rising furi-bisha popularity. It can be recapitulated that furi-bisha players of today just stick to the very basics, and don't resort to a surprise attack. The advent of the Tateishi-ryu gave another choice for the fourth-file Rook players to keep the left Silver in its original position, at 3a, so that they can move the Pawn to 4e for the Tateishi formation when possible. However, those attack-oriented furi-bisha, like the third-file Rook Ishida-ryu, the fifth-file Rook, or the opposing Rook (mukai-bisha), seem to be dormant at the moment. Both Masuda-shiki and Tateishi-ryu are regarded nowadays just as a possible strategy in quick games. (END OF THE CHAPTER "MASUDA-SHIKI ISHIDA-RYU") Takako Noda