From: Colin Paul Adams COLINA DEMON CO UK> Date: 6 apr 1997 Subject: TENJIKU SHOGI: Why did it die? (long) Why did a game as good as Tenjiku Shogi die out (if it ever really lived, that is)? Well, I don't know, but I can make a guess. My guess is it died out because Black can get too much of an advantage from the first move. White's best defence to 1. P - 9k appears to be: 1. HF - 13F But Black can then win material by: 2. BGn x 13f, P - 8f; 3. VGn - 14g, VGn - 3j; 4. VGn x 10c, VGn x 7n; 5. VGn x 9b (check!). Black's material gain will be a Horned Falcon and a Free King for a Bishop General (see section 17.4 in my book). Now I argue in my book that this doesn't invalidate playing the game at evens (I have yet to lose a game with white, for instance) - but if you were to play a lot (as I guess the inventor(s) did), then it would probably soon become to much. I didn't make it clear in my book, but this was the chief reason for my arguing for a different move for the Lion Hawk (= Lion + Bishop). In my book, I simply said that it improves the game. Perhaps I should have been more explicit and said in what way (actually I intended to do so, but forgot to at the last minute ). The point is, that my version of the Lion Hawk is stronger than the traditional move - AND THEREFORE BLACK'S MATERIAL ADVANTAGE IS OF LESSER IMPACT. To put it another way, the side that is behind in most (all?) board games wants to complicate matters, whereas the side that is ahead wants to simplify matters - the latter is most easily achieved by swapping off material so as to REDUCE THE WEAKER SIDE'S ATTACKING POWER. Now adopting my version of the Lion Hawk gives an increase to the attacking power (of both sides, but specifically, white - the weaker side). Therefore Black's material advantage is of less significance and the game becomes more viable for white. Until last night, I assumed that this extra attacking power of the Lion Hawk would not become manifest until the middle game and the end game, and that it made no difference in the opening (I said something to this effect in my book in the section on the Lion Hawk). However, last night I was playing white (on the internet against Ben Good), and when the position at move 5. above arose, I sat down to think if I could improve upon the line I gave for white in my book, namely: 5. G x 9b; 6. LHk x 7n, P x 13f; with 7. P - 8k to come. I came up with: 5. LHk x 9b - 10c; a move that is only possible with my version of the Lion Hawk. The effect of the move is twofold: a) The path of the Fire Demon is opened up to 8e, so white will get a lead in development. And ... b) the development of the Lion Hawk is improved (it stands better at 10c than at 8c, as its diagonal is open). b) is the point. With the traditional move for the Lion Hawk, you could play LHk x 9b, achieving point a), but the Lion Hawk would now be less developed than to start with, hence my selection of G x 9b in the book. To show White's potential after LHk x 9b - 10c, the following is a plausible continuation: 6. LHk x 7n, P x 13f; 7. P - 8k, FiD - 8e; 8. GGn - 9l, FiD - 13j x! 12k; 9. FiD - 5i (FiD x 10e followed by RGn x FiD was threatened). Now White's Fire Demon is better placed than Black's, so he has a small lead in development (Black is still ahead though). P.S. How many people on this list actually play Tenjiku Shogi? Please email me if you do. -- Colin Paul Adams Preston, Lancashire, England colin colina demon co uk