From: Takako Noda JA2 SO-NET OR JP> Date: 15 jan 1997 Subject: "QUEST" Masuda's Ishida-ryu (6)* *Sorry, the last posting should have been (5). 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, Waki 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. (TO BE CONTINUED)