From: Doug Dysart EMAIL UC EDU> Date: 7 dec 1998 Subject: D.C. tournament Hi shogi eccentrics, > The Washington D.C. Shogi Club held its Fall handicap shogi > tournament today (Dec. 6) at Gallery K in Washington. Really? I wish I had known. I can't say I would have necessarily made it, since it would have conflicted with our already scheduled SHOGI PARTY in Cincinnati (Yoshimoto-san is leaving for Japan, so we threw him a party), I think that if people in the Midwest had known, we might have tried to make it. > What the tournament lacked in numbers (only 8 participants) it made > up for in strength (five of the eight players were 4 or 5 Dan). I > emerged the winner with 4 out of 5, losing only to Toru Inoue 5 Dan. IMHO, the USSF should make it a TOP PRIORITY that these things don't happen. Seriously, had there been more notice, there could have been many more people at such an event. In the future, especially, with the Chicago and Ohio shogi clubs having lost their key Japanese players, we will be STARVING for good shogi players to play. True, the Midwest has no American players near the strength of IM Kaufman or Fernandez. If Kaufman-san had invited me to play in DC, I would have been stomped into a little Doug-pie. Still, I would have thouroughly enjoyed it, and I would have gladly payed my entry fee to do so. What I sense here is a lack of communication that exists between American shogi clubs, especially between the East Coast and the Midwest. With a certain someone having left for Italy (I'm not talking about the ladder person), we Americans have no one to prod us on into unity. I would like to see some consensus on this issue. I mean, would it be better to have three DIFFERENT shogi federations in America? As the USSF webmaster, I sincerely hope that all big events such as this one in D.C. would somehow make their way through the grapevine to lil' old me. Maybe then the attendance of such events would be boosted, and all shogi players in the States would benefit. If shogi events can start to boom in the East, then why could they not also become more popular in the Midwest? And maybe this is the most important question of all: if the US Shogi Championship is held in Chicago this coming year, as I have heard, will anyone come? I have never seen anyone east of Columbus going to Chicago for shogi, nor have I ever heard of it. We always go to the East Coast, which is OK, but will it work the other way around? The question of WHERE is important, but bigger still is the question of WHEN? Does anyone remember last year's US Shogi Championship? No, because it wasn't announced until the last second. I respect Kaufman-san for his great successes in American shogi, but sometimes I wonder if he's the only one who gets word of these things. Sorry if I offended anyone, but these issues are vital to the survival of our new organization. When pertaining to the USSF, I have heard very little but hype. Am I missing something, or do we need to get things in better order? I'm far from perfect and as busy as the next person, but I'd be glad to contribute my fair share to the wonderful world of US shogi! One more thing; what's this about: > Washington has had by far the strongest club in the world outside > Japan in recent years, but with the departure of Mr. Inoue and the > earlier departure of M. Kotera 5 Dan and George Fernandez 4 Dan, we > are left with only four players of 4 Dan or better, so it is > possible that Los Angeles now may claim to be the strongest club > outside Japan. ????? Did I hear you right, Kaufman-san? Fernandez-san LEFT? Where to? Why? When? Ouch!! Well, US shogi players seem to be dropping like flies! Cheers, * * Doug Dysart * * *** dougd.conk.com * OHIO * ***** * ***** * * * *** * chess * SHOGI * * * * & * * *********** shogi * CLUB * * * links * * ******* *********************** CHESS INSTRUCTOR