I saw all the emails from Masui-san, Larry Kaufman, and some non- participants. Here's my 2 pennies. There's lots of criticism from people who chose not to participate at all. That should stop now. Masui-san, I think the tournament was run flawlessly, and the format is nearly perfect! The best way to get rid of the little problem of strong players meeting early is to assign pairing numbers by strength instead of randomly. It's extremely *simple* and a bit more fair, but truthfully, Larry, I believe that, had you beaten Suzuki-san, your pairings might have been *easier* the next couple of rounds, so it all works out in the end. You just have to win, that's all! For losers, like myself, the Dojo takes care of everything! You're still in a serious tournament, even after being eliminated. Just stay up all night and keep playing (and winning). Masui-san, the only problem with the Dojo was that they kept *closing it*, which prevented some people from playing nearly as many games as they would have otherwise. I'll bet Alan Baker would have played 50 instead of 8 games! I also think kamaochi games with pros should count in the Dojo, and I don't think they did count. Egoshi-san is the World Non-Japanese Amateur Shogi Champion - what a mouthful, eh? I very much like that the New Yorkers did not make this the title, but instead allowed for having that really cool logo! Masui-san, please keep up the good work!

Doug Dysart Ohio Shogi Club founder
Great chess, great e-mail: http://www.KasparovChess.com