From: Reijer Grimbergen ETL GO JP> Date: 29 jan 1999 Subject: This week in Shukan Shogi (no. 773, January 27th 1999) A ton of news in this week's Shukan Shogi. The opener is of course the second game in the Osho title match between Habu and Morishita. The first game was not very exciting, but the second game was a great fight. Unclear until the very end, with both players in byoyomi for 47 moves and with Morishita missing a golden opportunity to get 2-0 up in the match. In the end it was Habu who took this vital game and leveled the score at 1-1. Here is the game, play and enjoy: Black: Morishita, Challenger White: Habu, Osho 48th Osho-sen, Game 2, January 20th and 21st 1999 1.P7g-7f 0/0 0/0 2.P8c-8d 0/0 5/5 3.S7i-6h 4/4 0/5 4.P3c-3d 0/4 3/8 5.P6g-6f 2/6 0/8 6.S7a-6b 0/6 2/10 7.P5g-5f 1/7 0/10 8.P5c-5d 0/7 6/16 9.S3i-4h 2/9 0/16 10.S3a-4b 0/9 3/19 11.G4i-5h 3/12 0/19 12.G4a-3b 0/12 4/23 13.G6i-7h 3/15 0/23 14.K5a-4a 0/15 2/25 A Yagura game. This is a small surprise. After losing the first game, most commentators expected that Habu would play Furibisha or Yokofudori. Morishita is a specialist in the Yagura, and it still seems that black has the biggest chance to get a better position from this opening. Habu ignores these considerations and plays the Yagura anyway, despite the fact that it is crucial for him to win this game. 15.K5i-6i 1/16 0/25 16.G6a-5b 0/16 12/37 17.S6h-7g 9/25 0/37 18.S4b-3c 0/25 10/47 19.B8h-7i 1/26 0/47 20.B2b-3a 0/26 0/47 21.P3g-3f 2/28 0/47 22.P4c-4d 0/28 0/47 23.G5h-6g 20/48 0/47 24.P7c-7d 0/48 19/66 25.S4h-3g 11/59 0/66 26.B3a-6d 0/59 19/85 27.B7i-6h 7/66 0/85 28.G5b-4c 0/66 3/88 29.K6i-7i 0/66 0/88 30.K4a-3a 0/66 1/89 31.K7i-8h 3/69 0/89 32.P9c-9d 0/69 87/176 33.P2g-2f 34/103 0/176 34.K3a-2b 0/103 12/188 35.P1g-1f 8/111 0/188 36.S6b-5c 0/111 2/190 37.P1f-1e 17/128 0/190 38.P9d-9e 0/128 6/196 39.L1i-1g 39/167 0/196 40.B6d-7c 0/167 61/257 41.R2h-1h 27/194 0/257 The sealed move. Morishita had studied this position at home. It looks like a perfectly normal Yagura position, but it is slightly different from the normal way of playing. The difficulty of the Yagura is that such miniscule differences can have important consequences. This game is an illustration. 42.S3c-2d 0/194 7/264 43.P4g-4f 6/200 0/264 44.N8a-9c 0/200 21/285 45.S7g-8f 41/241 0/285 46.N9c-8e 0/241 1/286 47.P2f-2e 18/259 0/286 48.S2d-3c 0/259 14/300 No choice. After 48.Sx2e P7e black gets a pawn in hand that will be dropped on 2f to capture the silver. 49.S3g-2f 0/259 0/300 This position looks very strong for black. Morishita's opening preparation seems to have paid off. 50.P5d-5e 0/259 10/310 51.P5fx5e 2/261 0/310 52.B7cx5e 0/261 0/310 53.P3f-3e 27/288 0/310 54.P3dx3e 0/288 2/312 55.S2fx3e 0/288 0/312 56.P*3d 0/288 16/328 57.S3e-2f 0/288 0/328 58.S5c-5d 0/288 2/330 59.P1e-1d 54/342 0/330 Black is the side to start attacking first. Habu has not been able to show that he has found something good for the white Yagura. Still, the game is only just starting. 60.P1cx1d 0/342 0/330 61.P*1c 0/342 0/330 62.L1ax1c 0/342 6/336 63.P*1e 0/342 0/336 64.P1dx1e 0/342 0/336 65.S2fx1e 0/342 0/336 66.L1cx1e 0/342 15/351 67.L1gx1e 0/342 0/351 68.P*5f! 0/342 0/351 Habu starts to set up a counter attack. 69.L1e-1b+ 19/361 0/351 70.K2b-3a 0/361 2/353 71.L*5i 11/372 0/353 72.B5e-6d 0/372 21/374 73.P*1c 26/398 0/374 Black's position seems overwhelming with the break-through on the first file. However, black can not use the knight on 2a anywhere, so it is not easy to continue the attack. Morishita: "P1c was very painful, but the attack had run out of steam...". It seems like both players have equal chances here. 74.P7d-7e?! 0/398 44/418 Starts the counter attack, but Morishita feared 74.P9f Px9f P*9g Lx9g P*9h more. If then P*5e Sx5e P6e B7c the position is unclear, but it is hard for black to find good moves. Habu: "That would indeed have been better". 75.S8fx7e 27/425 0/418 76.P*7g 0/425 6/424 77.N8ix7g 1/426 0/424 78.N8ex7g+ 0/426 0/424 79.G6gx7g 6/432 0/424 80.B6dx7e 0/432 10/434 81.P7fx7e 0/432 0/434 82.N*8e 0/432 0/434 83.B*7c 6/438 0/434 Morishita: "Isn't this entering with the bishop winning...?". 84.N8ex7g+ 0/438 7/441 85.K8hx7g 0/438 0/441 86.R8b-7b! 0/438 4/445 Morishita underestimated this move. He concluded that after 86.R7a B6b+ black would be much better. However, after R7b, white can drive the bishop back, which results in a very complicated endgame position. 87.B7c-5a+ 19/457 0/445 88.R7b-7a 0/457 9/454 89.P*5b 12/469 0/454 90.S3c-4b 0/469 6/460 91.+B5ax8d 1/470 0/460 92.P*7f 0/470 1/461 93.K7gx7f 1/471 0/461 94.G*7c 0/471 2/463 95.N*8c 2/473 0/463 96.R7a-7b 0/473 6/469 97.+B8dx7c 0/473 0/469 98.R7bx7c 0/473 0/469 99.G*8d! 0/473 0/469 100.R7c-7b 0/473 0/469 101.N8cx9a+ 0/473 0/469 102.S*6d 0/473 3/472 103.N*6g! 0/473 0/472 The moves 99.G*8d and 103.N*6g use the pieces in hand to slow down white's attack. With this, Morishita creates the time to activate his pieces on the first and second file. 104.B*4g 0/473 3/475 105.+L1bx2a 1/474 0/475 106.K3a-4a 0/474 0/475 107.P1c-1b+ 1/475 0/475 108.B4gx2i+ 0/475 0/475 109.R1h-1c+ 1/476 0/475 110.P5f-5g+ 0/476 0/475 111.+P1b-2b 1/477 0/475 112.G3b-3c 0/477 0/475 113.L5ix5g 0/477 0/475 114.P*8c 0/477 0/475 115.+L2a-3a 1/478 0/475 116.K4ax5b 0/478 0/475 117.L*7d 0/478 0/475 118.S6d-6e 0/478 4/479 Morishita has shown his great defensive skills. Habu can not find a good way to continue the attack and uses all of his remaining time on this silver sacrifice. It is not good enough, but there is nothing else. 119.P6fx6e 0/478 0/479 120.+B2ix6e 0/478 0/479 121.K7f-8f 0/478 0/479 122.P8cx8d 0/478 0/479 123.L7dx7b+ 0/478 0/479 124.S*8e 0/478 0/479 125.K8f-7g 0/478 0/479 126.S8e-7f 0/478 0/479 127.K7g-8h 0/478 0/479 128.+B6e-6f 0/478 0/479 129.N*7g 1/479 0/479 130.S7fx7g= 0/479 0/479 131.B6hx7g 0/479 0/479 132.N*7f 0/479 0/479 133.K8h-9h 0/479 0/479 134.G*8h 0/479 0/479 This looks like mate, but it is not. If this is not mate, 134.+Bx7g seems like a good alternative. However, after 135.P*5c Kx5c S*6b K6d S7c= K6e S*7d K6f R*5f white is mated. 135.G7hx8h 0/479 0/479 136.N7fx8h+ 0/479 0/479 137.K9hx8h 0/479 0/479 138.N*7f 0/479 0/479 139.K8h-7i 0/479 0/479 140.+B6fx5g 0/479 0/479 141.P*6h 0/479 0/479 142.N7fx6h+ 0/479 0/479 143.B7gx6h 0/479 0/479 Also good seems 143.K8h. Then 144.+Nx6g N*6d K5c R*5b Kx6d S*5e K7e G*8f K6e Sx5d K5f S*4e! K4g +R1g is one of the many difficult variations, but black seems to be winning. 144.L*7f 0/479 0/479 145.N*7h 0/479 0/479 146.+B5gx6g 0/479 0/479 147.P*5c 0/479 0/479 148.K5bx5c 0/479 0/479 149.S*6b 0/479 0/479 150.K5c-6d 0/479 0/479 151.S6b-7c= 0/479 0/479 152.K6d-6e 0/479 0/479 153.P*6f? 0/479 0/479 It is Morishita who makes the decisive mistake. If 153.S*7d K5e P*5f then he would have won: 1) +Bx5f N*4g! +Bx4g G*6f is mate, and 2) Kx5f P*5g K4f +R1f N*3f R*4h is winning. Black needs exactly two pawns to pull this off, so the pawn drop on 6f is the decisive mistake. 154.+B6gx6f 0/479 0/479 155.N*7g 0/479 0/479 156.L7fx7g+ 0/479 0/479 157.B6hx7g 0/479 0/479 158.N*6g 0/479 0/479 159.K7i-6i 0/479 0/479 160.+B6fx7g 0/479 0/479 161.S*6f 0/479 0/479 162.+B7gx6f 0/479 0/479 163.N7hx6f 0/479 0/479 164.N*5g 0/479 0/479 165.K6i-5h 0/479 0/479 166.B*6i 0/479 0/479 167.K5h-4h 0/479 0/479 168.S*4g 0/479 0/479 169.K4h-3g 0/479 0/479 170.S4g-3f+ 0/479 0/479 171.K3g-2h 0/479 0/479 172.G*2g 0/479 0/479 173.K2h-3i 0/479 0/479 174.+S3f-3g 0/479 0/479 175.R*6h 0/479 0/479 176.P*5h 0/479 0/479 Resigns 0/479 0/479 Time: 07:59:00 07:59:00 A great game where in the final position there are only five pieces that have not moved: the pawns on 2c, 6c, 8g and 9g and the lance on 9i. Habu wins these gruelling games too often to call this a lucky win. Will Morishita be able to recover from this missed opportunity and take back the lead in game 3? Other Shogi news: ================= 1) There is no stopping Tanigawa in the A-class Junisen this season. He surprised Nakahara with some elegant middle game play and then quickly crushed his famous opponent. Interesting detail: in professional shogi there is a difference between the "higher seat" and the king without the dot, which both go to the senior player. In this game Tanigawa took the higher seat, but Nakahara had the king without the dot. Result of long negotations between two Lifetime Meijins? :-) Tanigawa is now 6-0 and even though Moriuchi is still close with 5-1, Tanigawa in this form will not lose against Kato and Shima, his opponent's in the last two rounds. A rematch with Sato seems very likely. On the other hand, Nakahara now has a painful 2-5 score and his relegation worries are far from over, especially with his final game being against Moriuchi. Of course, Shima needs a miracle to avoid relegation, so Nakahara is probably safe for another year. 2) In B1 Tanaka is the one that is unstoppable. He beat Takahashi in a shrewd way. He allowed Takahashi a position that looked very good, but when Takahashi become a little to confident and played an attacking move too early, Tanaka launched a hidden but devastating attack. Tanaka is now 8-1 and needs to win only one of his two remaining games to be sure of returning to the A-class. Furthermore, if Minami loses one of his two final games, Tanaka is also certain of promotion. The question is therefore: who will join Tanaka? Goda is still the most likely candidate after beating rival Kobayashi. Goda has his chances in his own hands with a 7-2 score, but because of his bad position in the class (just promoted from B2 last year), he still has to worry about Minami and Aono, who both have 6-3 scores. Furthermore, Goda still has to play Nakamura and Takahashi, which is not an easy schedule. 3) In B2 veteran Naito is proving that his relegation from B1 last year was a mistake that should be corrected quickly. He beat Tsukada very convincingly, scoring his eight straight victory. He needs only one more win from to games to promote back to B1 after a year's absence. There are only two players battling for the second spot in B1: Ryu-O Fujii and newly promoted Sensaki. They beat Urano and Ouchi respectively to stay one game behind leader Naito at 7-1. Fujii has a tough schedule with games against Nakagawa and Tomioka, so it is hard to predict who will accompany Naito to B1. 4) In C2 round 9 did not make things much clearer at the top. Undefeated Katsumata played the opening casually against Ito No and was punished with a painful loss. He still has his promotion chances in his own hands, but if he had won, he would have been the only player to be certain of promotion with only one win from two games. Although his schedule in the last two rounds does not look too difficult (Mori and Oshima), he can no longer afford to lose. This also goes for the other four promotion candidates: Kimura, Namekata, Sugimoto and Sato Shinya. Namekata took a major step towards promotion by winning the game against Sugimoto. Kimura is the only other undefeated player after winning against Matsumoto with some fancy endgame play. Rookie Sato is having a very strong C2 Junisen debut and will probably keep promotion chances until the very end. In the next round there are two big games: Kimura-Sugimoto and Namekata-Sato. If Kimura wins he will be certain of promotion. Furthermore, if Kimura wins, Namekata can also clinch promotion by beating Sato. Will it be settled after the next round or will things get even more complicated? More next week, Reijer -- Reijer Grimbergen Complex Games 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