From: Doug Dysart KASPAROVCHESS COM> Date: 6 nov 2000 Subject: 2000 US Championship - The Dice Report 2000 US Championship - The Dice Report by Doug Dysart, Official USSF Promoter Last weekend (Nov. 4 & 5), the US Shogi Championship was held in Manhattan. Although attendance was lower than usual due to the late notice given out (which was due to its postponement to make room for the 2000 World Shogi Championship), there were over 20 players from around the US who took part. On the line were two tickets to Japan (for the A and B Class winners), as well as cash prizes, books, and computer programs. On hand were two professionals, Mrrs. Ishikawa 6- Dan and Kondo 5-Dan, who held handicap simuls, gave big-board analysis, and commented on players' games. The event began around 9 AM. Both George Fernandez and I overslept and arrived after the first round, costing us our first-round games. This is usually a huge boo-boo, since it meant we had to go 2-0 to qualify for the A class. However, the extra sleep paid off, and we both qualified, and even did pretty well in the KO phase the next day. Sleep is good! Speaking of KO, the tournament had originally been announced as a Swiss tournament, but with a couple of weeks left, the format was switched back to the usual KO system (with a couple small modifications). In a Swiss chess tournament, a late chessplayer can usually receive a first-round bye. I don't know if this would usually be allowed in a shogi tournament, but I think the TDs were probably correct in charging late players with forfeits (it's in the spirit of a knockout tournament anyway). The Saturday qualifiers, typical of New York shogi tournaments (I call it the "World Cup Format"), decided who would advance to the A class (hirate games), and who would enter the B class (komaochi games). There were a few players who were seeded into the A class, like Larry Kaufman (East Coast Meijin), Suzuki-san (US Champion), and Tsuruoka-san from the Midwest (he wasn't able to play Sunday). There weren't many surprises in this phase. As players were eliminated, they sat down with the pros to try their hand at handicap games. Some got slaughtered, like myself, but I saw some others do pretty well. I heard that the event's organizer, Hayashi-san, even played a match with Ishikawa-Sensei, in which they started at a small handicap and made it bigger for each game the pro won. Although Mr. Ishikawa bragged he would beat the amateur 4-Dan all the way through 6-piece handicap game (I imagine this was tongue- in-cheek), the match ended when Mr. Hayashi won a 2-piece game. That evening, the Team Match competition was held. New York had two teams, NY-A and NY-B, with the B-team receiving a Bishop handicap in all games. Then there were the DC and Midwest teams, both of which had a couple New Yorkers to fill in the holes (LA was not represented). For the first time ever, the Midwest team won! I was proud to be a part of this feat, and I think it was surprising that we managed to overcome the New York A-team (one New Yorker said it might be our *last* time, too, but I hope we will surprise him again!). Go underdogs! (*In fairness to New York, though, they had the disadvantage of giving away good players to other teams.) Afterwards, there was plenty of beer to drink, so everyone went to sleep happy. On Sunday, things got serious. In the A Class, Ray Kaufman proved that it was indeed "Showtime!" by earning a first-round upset over the reigning US Champion. George Fernandez survived Yoshinari's attack on his king to advance. Larry Kaufman also advanced, while everyone else lucked out with a bye. In the second round, I had to face Ray Kaufman, who was on quite a hot streak. I got an opening advantage, but then he fired back with an attack that almost mated me. I had just enough foo in hand, though, and I managed to dodge all the tsume-shots to advance to the semi-finals. Ogihara-san had a good game against George; he advanced along with the tournament favorites, Larry and Fujiwara-san. In the semi-finals, I had a good position against Larry Kaufman, but he fired back quickly, and so there were no surprises that round. I also lost to Ogihara-san in the 3rd-Place game, but I made it closer than I thought it would be after a bad opening. In the B Class, Mike Lamb, the king of the shogi houseparty, looked like he would go the distance, after he pulled off some nice wins, including a real nail-biter against Alex Trottier in which both kings were in the middle of a board full of pieces. Hayashi-san was also doing very well, and I saw him using fierce attacks to win. In the end, Mike Lamb lost to Hayashi-san, in which it was surprisingly the slow attacks that were best, not the fast ones (quite unlike Mr. Hayashi's style!), and so the famed shogi organizer took the top prize in the B Class. All that was left then was the grand finale, the A class final between Mrrs. Fujiwara and Kaufman. Fujiwara-san is New York's best player, and basically the strongest 4-Dan in America. I didn't know him very well; I only remembered him as an organizer of the World Championship. Apparently he's as good a player as he is a tournament director, as he went on to win an exciting Yokofudori game against the 5-Dan. As the professionals showed in their own comedic manner (the crowd was rolling!), there were many, many traps for both sides, and Larry even missed a chance to turn the tables. Well, they are pros after all! Congratulation, Fujiwara-san! Below is the chart for the A Class (done by my exquisite memory): 1 Dysart 2D ----------- 2 R Kaufman 2D--- |--1-- |--2-- | 3 Suzuki 4D------ | |--4-- 4 L Kaufman 5D--- | | |--4-- | | 5 Masui 2D------- |--4-- | 6 Matsumura 2D--------- | |--Fujiwara 7 Ogihara 4D----------- | 8 Yoshinari 4D--- |--7-- | |--9-- | | 9 Fernandez 4D--- |--10- 10 Fujiwara 4D--------- | |-10-- 11 Nakano 1D----------- Everyone had a great time, and all players seemed happy with the KO format. The New York club was very generous in giving players books and programs. I had an especially good time talking with my favorite professional, Mr. Kondo 5-Dan. He described what it's like going through the Shorekai and how hard it is to graduate. He tells good stories with a great sense of humor, and he tries hard to speak English, which is a very kind gesture. I also enjoyed watching Mr. Ishikawa's big-board analysis, as he put on a fine show with Mr. Kondo during the last game. I was surprised to meet new American shogi players, Mike Postniak and Alex Trottier (pardon my spelling-butchering - these are guesses), who were both good players. Maybe we'll see more of them in the future. Also, during the event, we had a USSF bored meeting (joke) in which I was made the official promoter of the federation. I will happily take on my "new" duties of spreading the wonders of shoglam to the four corners of the world! Until next time, this is your shogi reporter saying, "Sayonara, and signing off." Doug "Diceman" Dysart Doug Dysart Ohio Shogi Club founder Great chess, great e-mail: http://www.KasparovChess.com