From: Reijer Grimbergen ETL GO JP> Date: 8 may 1998 Subject: This week in Shukan Shogi (no. 736, May 6th 1998) A short week due to the national holidays here and two games with comments in Shukan Shogi this week. I am lucky that a paper deadline is postponed... Before giving the two games with comments, here is the other Shogi news: 1) Fujii beat Tanigawa to reach the challenger final of the Kisei tournament. It is the first time the very talented Fujii is this close to becoming a challenger for a major title match. In the final he will meet Goda, who has much more experience in challenger games (and losing most of them :-) ). 2) In the ryu-o tournament the members of the challenger tournament are slowly becoming clear. Suzuki Daisuke beat Toyokawa in the semi-final of the third group to secure his plays in the challenger tournament (the second time for him). He is playing very well in the Ryu-O, because he also secured his fourth consecutive promotion to a higher group. Yashiki beat Hiura in the second chance round of group 1, so he kept his hopes of a ryu-o title alive. He has to play Moriuchi next and the winner of that game also qualifies for the challenger knock-out. That's all as far as the other games where concerned. Here are the second game of the Meijin-sen and the third game of the Zen Nihon Pro Tournament with some comments: Black: Sato, Challenger White: Tanigawa, Meijin 56th Meijin-sen, Game 2, April 24th and 25th 1998 1.P7g-7f 1/1 0/0 2.P8c-8d 0/1 8/8 3.S7i-6h 2/3 0/8 4.P3c-3d 0/3 2/10 5.P6g-6f 0/3 0/10 6.S7a-6b 0/3 5/15 7.P5g-5f 1/4 0/15 8.P6c-6d 0/4 18/33 9.G6i-7h 22/26 0/33 10.S6b-6c 0/26 3/36 11.S3i-4h 0/26 0/36 12.S3a-4b 0/26 8/44 13.P2g-2f 8/34 0/44 14.P4c-4d 0/34 17/61 15.P2f-2e 27/61 0/61 It is interesting that there is already a little trap in this quiet position. If black does not play 15.P2e here, but 15.K6i instead, white can choose 16.S4c G5h R4b P2e B3c S7g K6b B7i and now instead of R2b he can play G5b and P4e next, which takes the initiative. 16.B2b-3c 0/61 7/68 A careful beginning of this game for both players. After this move it is clear that we are heading for a Yodofuribisha opening. This was not too much of a surprise, since Tanigawa plays this regularly. It was expected that Sato had prepared against this strategy. 17.S6h-7g 1/62 0/68 18.S4b-4c 0/62 10/78 19.B8h-7i 1/63 0/78 20.R8b-2b 0/63 6/84 Now black is one move quicker with this than in the variation above, so white has to choose the more defensive R2b to avoid a break-through on the second file. 21.K5i-6i 4/67 0/84 22.K5a-6b 0/67 10/94 23.G4i-5h 2/69 0/94 24.P7c-7d 0/69 12/106 25.G5h-6g 23/92 0/106 26.G4a-5b 0/92 4/110 27.B7i-6h 45/137 0/110 28.P9c-9d 0/137 34/144 29.P9g-9f 1/138 0/144 30.K6b-7a 0/138 57/201 31.K6i-7i 19/157 0/201 32.S6c-7b 0/157 15/216 It is a bit of a waste to retreat this silver now, but after 32.N7c this move is no longer possible, because the head of the knight becomes to weak. 33.K7i-8h 58/215 0/216 The sealed move. The question here is whether black should play the anaguma or not. 34.P4d-4e 0/215 31/247 35.L9i-9h?! 84/299 0/247 After long thought, Sato chooses to develop his king position into an anaguma. This decision backfires, but there is not much else black can do. 36.N8a-7c 0/299 29/276 37.K8h-9i 0/299 0/276 38.P6d-6e 0/299 1/277 39.P6fx6e 7/306 0/277 40.N7cx6e 0/306 1/278 41.S7g-6f 0/306 0/278 No choice. After 41.S8h P*6f black is in big trouble. After the played move he will never be able to make a proper anaguma castle. Tanigawa seems to have the advantage here. All Sato can do is wait for what Tanigawa is going to do next. 42.S7b-7c 0/306 23/301 43.S4h-5i 7/313 0/301 44.G6a-7b 0/313 6/307 45.S5i-5h 4/317 0/307 46.P*6d 0/317 8/315 47.G7h-8h 0/317 0/315 48.P8d-8e 0/317 20/335 49.S5h-6i 1/318 0/335 50.S4c-5d 0/318 1/336 51.S6i-7h 1/319 0/336 52.K7a-8b 0/319 0/336 53.P3g-3f 2/321 0/336 54.G5b-6b 0/321 3/339 55.P1g-1f 7/328 0/339 56.P1c-1d 0/328 8/347 57.N2i-3g 15/343 0/347 58.R2b-4b 0/343 18/365 59.B6h-7i 16/359 0/365 60.R4b-4a 0/359 24/389 61.R2h-2i 12/371 0/389 62.B3c-2b? 0/371 11/400 Sometimes Tanigawa's aggresive playing style gets the better of him. In this position he feels that he is better and does not want to settle for sennichite, even though he is white. Instead, he forces the issue and makes a big mistake. The tactical justification of 62.B2b is 63.P2d Px2d Rx2d B1c. Of course, in a game for the meijin title such a simple trap is not the real reason behind this move. What Tanigawa is really aiming for is 63.P2d Px2d Bx2d B4d B7i P*2f followed by N3c and R2a and white has a winning position. However, Tanigawa overlooks a simple countermove. Tanigawa should have played 62.L1b here. Then if 63.R5i P1e P5e S6c Px1e Lx1e P*1f Lx1f Lx1f P*1e and after picking up the lance, white has the severe L*8c. 63.P2e-2d 6/377 0/400 64.P2cx2d 0/377 1/401 65.P3f-3e! 9/386 0/401 This simple move was overlooked by Tanigawa. Sato now grabs back the initiative. 66.P4e-4f 0/386 53/454 67.P4gx4f 24/410 0/454 68.R4a-4c 0/410 6/460 69.R2ix2d 4/414 0/460 70.P*2c 0/414 0/460 71.R2d-2i 3/417 0/460 72.P3dx3e 0/417 2/462 73.N3g-4e 1/418 0/462 74.P*4g 0/418 10/472 75.P*3c! 8/426 0/472 The decider. White can no longer avoid the promotion of the black rook, a move he invited with 62.B2b. 76.N2ax3c 0/426 1/473 77.R2ix2c+ 2/428 0/473 78.P*2a 0/428 0/473 79.P*6c 13/441 0/473 80.G6bx6c 0/441 4/477 81.+R2c-3b 1/442 0/477 82.N3cx4e 0/442 0/477 83.P4fx4e 2/444 0/477 84.R4c-3c 0/444 8/485 85.+R3bx2a 6/450 0/485 86.R3c-2c 0/450 0/485 87.N*5e 6/456 0/485 88.R2c-2i+ 0/456 5/490 89.P*6i 7/463 0/490 90.G6c-6b 0/463 8/498 91.P*3c 11/474 0/498 92.P4g-4h+?! 0/474 6/504 This quickens the end. Better is 92.P8f P3b+ Px8g+ Gx8g +R2h B6h Bx5e Px5e +Rx2a +Px2a S6c, but after R*3a it still looks like white will be losing. 92.P4h+ is too far from the king and black's attack is quicker. 93.P3c-3b+ 2/476 0/504 94.+P4h-5h 0/476 0/504 95.+P3bx2b 3/479 0/504 96.+P5hx6i 0/479 1/505 97.B7ix3e 7/486 0/505 98.+P6i-7i 0/486 0/505 99.P*6c 1/487 0/505 100.+P7ix7h 0/487 8/513 101.G8hx7h 0/487 0/513 102.G6b-5b 0/487 0/513 103.+R2a-6a 10/497 0/513 104.P8e-8f 0/497 4/517 105.+R6ax5b 2/499 0/517 106.P8fx8g+ 0/499 0/517 107.B3ex5c+ 0/499 0/517 Resigns 0/499 0/517 Time: 08:19:00 08:37:00 The first win in the meijin match for Sato, which will give him a lot of confidence for the games to come. We might see a very interesting match from here. ============================================================================= Black: Moriuchi, 8-dan White: Habu, 4-K 16th Zen Nihon Pro Tournament, Game 3, May 1st 1998 1.P2g-2f 0/0 0/0 2.P8c-8d 0/0 1/1 3.P7g-7f 0/0 0/1 4.G4a-3b 0/0 0/1 5.G6i-7h 0/0 0/1 6.P8d-8e 0/0 0/1 7.B8h-7g 0/0 0/1 8.P3c-3d 0/0 2/3 9.S7i-8h 0/0 0/3 10.B2bx7g+ 0/0 1/4 11.S8hx7g 0/0 0/4 The opening is a little surprise. Moriuchi is not known to be an expert in the Bishop Exchange. 12.S3a-4b 0/0 0/4 13.S3i-3h 0/0 0/4 14.S7a-7b 0/0 0/4 15.P9g-9f 0/0 0/4 16.S4b-3c 0/0 2/6 17.P4g-4f 0/0 0/6 18.P6c-6d 0/0 1/7 19.S3h-4g 0/0 0/7 20.S7b-6c 0/0 0/7 21.K5i-6h 0/0 0/7 22.K5a-4b 0/0 1/8 23.G4i-5h 2/2 0/8 24.S6c-5d 0/2 3/11 25.P1g-1f 0/2 0/11 26.P1c-1d 0/2 13/24 27.P3g-3f 0/2 0/24 28.G6a-5b 0/2 3/27 29.K6h-7i 1/3 0/27 30.K4b-3a 0/3 9/36 31.P9f-9e 18/21 0/36 The first discussion point of the game. The general opinion was that Moriuchi had prepared this. It is unclear whether this pawn push is strong or just a waste of time. In this game it works well for black. 32.P7c-7d 0/21 2/38 33.S4g-5f 3/24 0/38 34.N8a-7c 0/24 4/42 35.N2i-3g 16/40 0/42 36.S3c-4d 0/40 23/65 37.P2f-2e 13/53 0/65 38.S4d-5e?! 0/53 15/80 Habu judges that a waiting game is not good for him and starts an aggresive attack with the defending silver. In general this is asking for trouble and this game is no different. 39.P2e-2d 38/91 0/80 40.P2cx2d 0/91 0/80 41.S5fx5e 0/91 0/80 42.S5dx5e 0/91 0/80 43.R2hx2d 0/91 0/80 44.P*2c 0/91 3/83 45.R2d-2e 0/91 0/83 46.S5ex4f 0/91 1/84 47.N3g-4e 0/91 0/84 48.P8e-8f 0/91 3/87 49.P8gx8f 4/95 0/87 50.P*8g 0/95 38/125 51.G7hx8g 13/108 0/125 52.N7c-6e 0/108 0/125 53.S7g-6f 11/119 0/125 54.B*4i 0/119 2/127 55.G5h-6h 15/134 0/127 56.S*5i 0/134 1/128 57.B*7c! 1/135 0/128 Strong move by Moriuchi. The normal 57.G7h gives white to many chances to attack. It seems that the black king is now stripped from his defense, but Moriuchi has judged correctly that the freedom of the undefended king makes it hard to attack in this position. 58.S5ix6h= 0/135 20/148 59.K7ix6h 0/135 0/148 60.R8b-8c 0/135 1/149 61.B7cx6d+ 7/142 0/149 62.N6ex5g+ 0/142 7/156 63.S6fx5g 0/142 0/156 64.S4fx5g+ 0/142 0/156 65.K6hx5g 0/142 0/156 66.P*6f 0/142 0/156 67.S*5f 15/157 0/156 68.S*7h 0/157 5/161 69.+B6dx7d? 14/171 0/161 Hard to see, but Moriuchi misses his chance to win here. After 69.K4h! 70.G*3h K4g or 70.G*5h K3g, the king has forced a bad drop of white's final piece in hand, which also blocks the white rook. This is one of the rare positions where the strength of the king as an attacking piece becomes clear. 70.P6fx6g+ 0/171 3/164 71.K5g-4f 0/171 0/164 72.R8c-8b 0/171 0/164 73.S*7c 0/171 0/164 74.G*8c! 0/171 4/168 Habu seizes the opportunity to get back in the game. After 74.R9b N*8d black wins easily. 75.S7cx8b= 4/175 0/168 76.G8cx7d 0/175 0/168 77.R*7a?! 2/177 0/168 Following the wrong plan. Black will never take the gold on 7d and the rook will be in a bad spot on 7a. Better is 77.R*6a for reasons that will become clear soon. 78.K3a-2b 0/177 0/168 79.S*4a 0/177 0/168 After 79.Rx7d+ +P6f white wins. 80.G5b-4b 0/177 1/169 81.N4ex5c+? 1/178 0/169 The losing move. Black had to play 81.Sx3b+ Gx3b N*3c. Then it is unclear who will win the close endgame. 82.B*6d 0/178 3/172 Painful. Black loses the knight on 5c. 83.N*5e 1/179 0/172 84.B6dx5c 0/179 2/174 And even worse, the rook on 7a is now attacked. That is why 77.R*6a would have been better. Of course, Habu does not make a mistake in the endgame. 85.S4ax3b+ 0/179 0/174 86.G4bx3b 0/179 0/174 87.N5ex4c+ 0/179 0/174 88.N*5d 0/179 3/177 89.K4f-4e 0/179 0/177 90.B5cx7a 0/179 0/177 91.+N4cx3b 0/179 0/177 92.K2bx3b 0/179 0/177 93.S8bx7a= 0/179 0/177 94.S*4c 0/179 1/178 95.R2ex2c+ 0/179 0/178 96.K3bx2c 0/179 0/178 97.B*4a 0/179 0/178 98.N*3b 0/179 0/178 99.P*2d 0/179 0/178 100.K2cx2d 0/179 0/178 101.P*2e 0/179 0/178 102.K2dx2e 0/179 0/178 103.B4ax7d+ 0/179 0/178 104.B4i-2g+ 0/179 0/178 105.K4e-5e 0/179 0/178 106.R*6f 0/179 0/178 107.G*4e 0/179 0/178 108.+B2g-3g 0/179 0/178 109.P*4f 0/179 0/178 110.+B3gx4f 0/179 0/178 111.G4ex4f 0/179 0/178 112.S4c-4d 0/179 0/178 Resigns 0/179 0/178 Time: 02:59:00 02:58:00 A very painful match for Moriuchi. He had chances to win in every game, but in the end it was a comfortable 3-0 victory for Habu. Twenty years of rivalry (both players are not even 30!) has not given Moriuchi the answer to Habu's shogi. -- Reijer Grimbergen Complex Game Lab Electrotechnical Laboratory 1-1-4 Umezono, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 305 JAPAN E-mail: grimberg etl go jp URL: http://www.etl.go.jp/etl/suiron/~grimberg/ Tel: +81-(0)298-54-3316 Fax: +81-(0)298-54-5918