From: Reijer Grimbergen ETL GO JP> Date: 10 sep 1996 Subject: This week in Shukan Shogi (no. 652, September 11th 1996) It really looks like Habu is his old self again. This was evidenced by the way he beat Shima in the first game of the Oza title match: coming from behind to get a "gyakuten" in the endgame. The game must have been a real blow to Shima, because he played really well. He had white and chose the Double Yagura, even though lately this opening has not been very rewarding for white. However, a new move that was actually a very old move (joining pawn attack) gave him the advantage which he carried into the endgame. Time was also in his favour with 34 minutes left in winning position, while Habu had only 2 minutes. But then suddenly Shima got mesmerized by the Habu Magic. He spent 12 minutes on a gold drop that became a "hostage piece" (a piece that could be taken by black at any time), but his real mistake came a couple of moves later, when he interposed by a pawn instead of a silver that gave Habu the chance to build a mate. ~Habu did not hesitate and used his final minute to check that mating variations. The second game is played today. Let's see if Shima has recovered.... In the Ryu-O the second game of the best-of-three challenger match between Tanigawa and Sato was played. Tanigawa showed again that he is on his way back to top form. He controlled the game from a fourth file rook opening and when the endgame became complex after a slight mistake, he showed why he is considered the second strongest player in this stage of the game. Picking the right way to defend he destroyed all of Sato's hope for a gyakuten and took the match in straight games. Yet another Habu-Tanigawa match coming up! If I counted correctly it will be their 11th title match and their third in the Ryu-O. Tanigawa will certainly feel bad about losing 4-0 in this year's Osho match, and I hope he can give Habu more of a fight this time. In the A-junisen two games were played: Morishita-Kato and Nakahara-Shima. The former game was a copy of last year's final game with Kato playing the Bishop Exchange Bogin. The first 44 moves of the game were an exact copy, but after that Morishita chose another path. This resulted in an unclear middle game where Kato made the first and last mistake. He picked up a knight he could not use and lost valuable time that made Morishita's attack too strong. The game between Nakahara and Shima was too close to call until the very end. With pieces all over the board in almost random formation, it was finally Shima who made the decisive mistake in byoyomi. An attempt to stop an entering king by Nakahara failed to an unusual interposing check that could have been avoided. Morishita and Nakahara are now 2-1 and still in competition. Kato drops back to 1-2 and has to be careful. Shima is now 0-3 and really has to get his game together to avoid relegation. In B1 a full round was played, the fifth. Since B1 has 13 players, one player has a bye every round. This time Tamura at 2-2 did not play. The big game of the round was Tanaka-Takahashi. Tanaka started with three straight victories, followed by Takahashi at 3-1. This game was to decide who would take the lead in the promotion race. Takahashi played the opening very well and got a lead, but in the endgame he let Tanaka off the hook and lost. Tanaka is now 4-0 and well on his way to return to the A class. Even if he loses a game he will still be in the top position. Other interesting results in the B1 was that newly promoted Inoue and Urano both won. Inoue is now 3-2 and Urano is even at 3-1, so both still have a good shot at promotion. Former A class Tsukada lost again and is now at 0-5. He has had an abysmal season so far with 9 losses and only 1 win. Of the professionals active in the Junisen classes, this is the second worst record. Only Sakurai with 0-8 has done worse than Tsukada. In C2 the delayed game between Fukaura and N.Ito was played. Surprisingly, Ito won, virtually icing Fukaura's chances for promotion for yet another year. He is now 1-2, while Ito seems to have gotten a bounce from his recent marriage and is now at 2-1. In the ladies Oi match Shimizu showed that even though Ishibashi is a great talent, Shimizu is still too strong for her. Admittedly, it is not easy to play against your sensei at such a tender age (Ishibashi is only 15 years old and a pupil of Shimizu). Shimizu won the first game of the best-of-five Ladies' Oi and even though there is still something to fight for, I do not think Ishibashi can do it now. Still, the "new wave" in women's professional Shogi with Ishibashi (15), Yauchi (16), Usui (16) and Kimura (18) will challenge Shimizu, Nakai and Saita soon. Yauchi, Usui and Kimura also play in the ("men's") Shoreikai with Kimura ranked highest at 4-kyu. Reijer -- Reijer Grimbergen Electrotechnical Laboratory Palcious Tsukuba 302 1-1-4 Umezono 1-24-8 Ninomiya Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken 305 JAPAN 305 JAPAN E-mail: grimberg etl go jp Tel: 0298-59-1606 WWW: http://www.etl.go.jp:8080/etl/suiron/~grimberg Tel: +81-(0)298-54-5080 extension: 67431 Fax: +81-(0)298-58-5918