From: DANERUD MARTIN <martin.danerud <at> TELIA <dot> COM>
Date: 26 may 2000
Subject: A World Shogi Federation and a real World Championship

Dear shogi friends,

Let me first of all point out that the following are my own personal opinions 
and not the opinions of any of the organisations that I represent.

In the European world of sports I think that we have a feeling that the terms
"World Championship" and "World Champion" are sacred. We have a 
basic feeling that the "World Championship" should be a tournament to which
in principle any human being could qualify under fair sports conditions. The "World 
Championship" tournament should then finally consist of the strongest available players. 
All this will justify that the "World Champion" could be defined as the best player
of the world (if it is an individual sport). The "World Championship" and its qualifications 
should also be arranged by a World Organisation, recognized by all.
I have a slight suspicion that those terms are not that sacred in the US and in Japan.
The reason may be that those countries have a lot of "national" and highly 
commersialized sports, where there is simply not a strong enough World Organisation 
that can arrange a real World Championship.
My personal opinion is that that is a pity! Children grow up with dreams. They pretend
to be the "World Champion" who is fighting for the gold medal. And in their naive world,
the "World Champion" is the well recognized strongest player of the world. But when 
they grow up as icehockey or boxing fans for instance, they will have to learn that
money talks, and that everything is a mess.

I know the following:

There are hundreds or maybe a thousand of Japanese shogi players who are better than the
best non-Japanese shogi player.
The best professional shogi players can beat the best non-Japanese players leaving substantial
handicaps. In practice they cannot lose an even game against the best non-Japanese players.
Japan has everything in the world of shogi: millions of players and fans, the history, the culture,
the tradition, the knowledge, the media attention, and the public attention.

Still, I make the following statement:

The international popularisation of shogi is crucial to the future of shogi, in the world as well as
in Japan.
Therefore, a true World Shogi Federation should be founded within five years, and the initiative
should come from Nihon Shogi Renmei or at least from Japan.
The main task of the World Shogi Federation should be to arrange the World Championship
of shogi. Of course, the top professional players should be automatically qualified. Maybe there
should be qualifications for one Japanese amateur and one non-Japanese amateur 
(maybe arranged by the New York Shogi Club!). The World Championship should maybe be 
arranged every four years in order to show its importance compared to national, continental, 
and professional tournaments.

Of course, one of the top professionals will win the World Championship every time, maybe for 
the coming fifty years. BUT, then eventually there will be one small kid, maybe from Russia (!),
who one day simply decides that he will become the World Champion of shogi. And he will fight
for it and he will succeed. After that breakthrough the future of shogi is saved, and it will become
a truly international game.

Dear shogi friends, I have a dream, and I hope to live to see the day when it is made reality.

                                                            

                                                            Best regards,

                                                            Martin Danerud