From: Sam Sloan <ishipres <at> BEST <dot> COM>
Date: 20 mar 1997
Subject: Re: The Art of Shogi - reply from Tony Hosking

At 06:50 AM 3/20/97 -0500, Tony Haskins wrote:

Perhaps Jonathan Tisdall will introduce some of his GM friends to shogi? ( I
have already
>been in contact with one or two English GMs.)
>

My experience is that you will never be able to convert chess grandmasters
to shogi or, for that matter, to Chinese chess. They have spent too many
years of their lives on regular chess to take up a new game.

You will have a better chance trying to convert lower ranked players. Many
lower rated players sincerely believe that they would be chess grandmasters
or at least masters if only they knew the chess openings. In reality, this
is not true, but you will never convince them of that.

So, the approach is to explain that knowledge of the openings is of almost
no significance in shogi and there are almost no long variations to memorize
(unlike in chess) so by taking up shogi their true nartural genius will come
out.

At least this is the idea which several Westerners I know of had when they
took up shogi.

Larry Kaufman did a magnificant job many years ago of indroducing shogi to
chess grandmasters. It was through Kaufman that I first learned of shogi.
However, none of the grandmasters who were shown shogi by Kaufman ever took
up the game seriously.

Sam Sloan