From: Larry Kaufman <lkaufman <at> COMCAST <dot> NET>
Date: 30 apr 2002
Subject: U.S. Championship results

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     The 2002 U.S. Shogi Championship was held April 27-28 in Los Angeles, with 34 amateur participants plus four professionals who played teaching games and joined the team competition.  The event was a knockout, with prelim sections sorting players into A and B groups.  In the B group, when there was a rank difference of two or more ranks the weaker player could request a handicap, but only two players chose to do so, perhaps because the range of strength in that group was fairly small.
     Players came from five of the six recognized shogi clubs in the U.S. (Ohio was not represented, but San Francisco has now become a full-fledged member of our community), plus three from places with no club.  There were 10 players from the Los Angeles area, six from the San Francisco area, six from the NY area, five from the Chicago area, four from the D.C. area, and 1 each from Arizona, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.  All but four of the 34 players were Dan holders, and even the kyu players were all not too far from shodan level.  Four players were 5 Dan, and eight were 4 Dan.
     The winner and 2002 U.S. Champion is Makoto Kawato, age 29, of San Francisco.  He came to the U.S. a year and a half ago, thus fulfilling the 1 year U.S. residence requirement for the championship.  In Japan he once placed second in the tournament of club champions of western Japan, which indicates at least strong 5 Dan level.  His play was very impressive to all, and he is a worthy champion.
     I placed second, as seems to be my destiny in major national and international events (I've lost count of how many times I finished second).  I defeated two strong 4 Dans to reach the final, but Kawato outplayed me, although the pros did point out that he made a mistake that could have allowed me to turn the tables in byoyomi.  I thus earned the unrestricted spot on the U.S. team going to Japan this fall, since only U.S. citizens are eligible.
     Third place went to young (age 18 I think) Takushi Asada 5 Dan of Los Angeles, who was the favorite as last year's champion and in view of his astronomical 5 Dan rank on the internet "Shogi Dojo", a rank which often means the holder is a pro.  But Kuwato proved the stronger in their encounter.
     Four place was a newcomer to our events, Mr. Nishio 4 Dan of Chicago.  He is a young man who seems to be quite a strong 4 Dan, and perhaps he may promote in the future.
     Regarding the competion for the other two spots on the U.S. team going to Japan, the 1-3 Dan spot went to Mac Ito 3 Dan of Los Angeles, who earned it by upsetting E. Kimijima 5 Dan.  Mr. Ito was one of the two Japanese born players in the tournament to hold U.S. citizenship, and is well known for his organizational help and his frequent service as interpreter.  I imagine he will be called upon for his linguistic help when we go to Japan.
     A playoff was held to decide who will be first alternate for the top two spots in case one of us can't attend.  Fassil Bekele 3 Dan of Arizona defeated Mike Lamb 1 Dan of Maryland for this position.
     As for the kyu spot, regrettably only one kyu player with U.S. citizenship attended, and so won the trip by default.  Alex Trotter of NY (officially 3 kyu, but he registered as 1 kyu for the event) is the lucky winner.  Alex played well here, and in my opinion in view of his frequent play and improving results is deserving of the kyu spot on the team.
     I think the reason that we had so few U.S. citizens (and especially kyu players) in the event is that most of the U.S. born shogi players live in the eastern half of the country and so could not justify the cost/time to travel to Calilfornia.
     The "B" group was won by Mr. M. Okubo of Los Angeles, who registered as 1 Dan but may have been stronger, as he defeated Mark Ohno 4 Dan in the final.  Third place was "Frosty" Yamamura 4 Dan of L.A., and fourth was Mr. Kitagami  3 Dan of L.A.
     The team competition consisted of six five player teams, one from each of the five participating clubs (with borrowed players on occasion) plus a pro team (with the fifth board taken by kyu player to help even things out a bit).  Players playing against the pros played at the normal handicap they would have taken in the informal simul games.  However, since the team games were quick play (30" per move) games, the handicaps were insufficient and the pro team won anyway.  Los Angeles placed second.  All the amateur teams were closely matched.  I lost a close game ( no handicap) to Ms. Nakai, ladies' Meijin in our match with the pros.
     There was also a demonstration commented game between pros Namekata and Nozuki, with both players blindfolded.  Neither player made any obvious errors, but a subtle error caused Mr. Nozuki's position to collapse and he was mated without Mr. Namekata's anaguma even getting disturbed.
     In informal play with the pros, I managed a win against Mr. Namekata at bishop, and my son Raymond 2 Dan won against Mr. Nozuki at rook and lance.  Mr. Ono was the other pro in attendance, who served as overall referee and resolved discussions regarding time limits and handicaps.
     Next year the championship should be in Chicago, and the following year in San Francisco for the first time.
     Much thanks to the Los Angeles club for the organizing of the event, and to the pros for making it especially enjoyable.  Although I would much prefer a Swiss system, as it permits everyone to play to the end and is much less subject to luck than a KO, at least with the pros present the eliminated players get a chance to learn by playing them.

     Larry Kaufman, 5 Dan and USSF Chairman

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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The 2002 U.S. Shogi
Championship was held April 27-28 in Los Angeles, with 34 amateur participants
plus four professionals who played teaching games and joined the team
competition.&nbsp; The event was a knockout, with prelim sections sorting
players into A and B groups.&nbsp; In the B group, when there was a rank
difference of two or more ranks the weaker player could request a handicap, but
only two players chose to do so, perhaps because the range of strength in that
group was fairly small.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Players came from five of
the six recognized shogi clubs in the U.S. (Ohio was not represented, but San
Francisco has now become a full-fledged member of our community), plus three
from places with no club.&nbsp; There were 10 players from the Los Angeles area,
six from the San Francisco area, six from the NY area, five from the Chicago
area, four from the D.C. area, and 1 each from Arizona, Wisconsin, and North
Carolina.&nbsp; All but four of the 34 players were Dan holders, and even the
kyu players were all not too far from shodan level.&nbsp; Four players were 5
Dan, and eight were 4 Dan.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The winner and 2002 U.S.
Champion is Makoto Kawato, age 29, of San Francisco.&nbsp; He came to the U.S. a
year and a half ago, thus fulfilling the 1 year U.S. residence requirement for
the championship.&nbsp; In Japan he once placed second in the tournament of club
champions of western Japan, which indicates at least strong 5 Dan level.&nbsp;
His play was very impressive to all, and he is a worthy champion.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I placed second, as seems
to be my destiny in major national and international events (I've lost count of
how many times I finished second).&nbsp; I defeated two strong 4 Dans to reach
the final, but Kawato outplayed me, although the pros did point out that he made
a mistake that could have allowed me to turn the tables in byoyomi.&nbsp; I thus
earned the unrestricted spot on the U.S. team going to Japan this fall, since
only U.S. citizens are eligible.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Third place went to young
(age 18 I think) Takushi Asada 5 Dan of Los Angeles, who was the favorite as
last year's champion and in view of his astronomical 5 Dan rank on the internet
"Shogi Dojo", a rank which often means the holder is a pro.&nbsp; But Kuwato
proved the stronger in their encounter.&nbsp; </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Four place was a newcomer
to our events, Mr. Nishio 4 Dan of Chicago.&nbsp; He is a young man who seems to
be quite a strong 4 Dan, and perhaps he may promote in the future.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Regarding the competion
for the other two spots on the U.S. team going to Japan, the 1-3 Dan spot went
to Mac Ito 3 Dan of Los Angeles, who earned it by upsetting E. Kimijima 5
Dan.&nbsp; Mr. Ito was one of the two Japanese born players in the tournament to
hold U.S. citizenship, and is well known for his organizational help and his
frequent service as interpreter.&nbsp; I imagine he will be called upon for his
linguistic help&nbsp;when we go to Japan.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A playoff was held to
decide who will be first alternate for the top two spots in case one of us can't
attend.&nbsp; Fassil Bekele 3 Dan of Arizona defeated Mike Lamb 1 Dan of
Maryland for this position.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As for the kyu spot,
regrettably only one kyu player with U.S. citizenship attended, and so won the
trip by default.&nbsp; Alex Trotter of NY (officially 3 kyu, but he registered
as 1 kyu for the event) is the lucky winner.&nbsp; Alex played well here, and in
my opinion in view of his frequent play and improving results is deserving of
the kyu spot on the team.&nbsp; </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I think the reason that we
had so few U.S. citizens (and especially kyu players) in the event is that most
of the U.S. born shogi players live in the eastern half of the country and so
could not justify the cost/time to travel to Calilfornia.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The "B" group was won by
Mr. M. Okubo of Los Angeles, who registered as 1 Dan but may have been stronger,
as he defeated Mark Ohno 4 Dan in the final.&nbsp; Third place was "Frosty"
Yamamura 4 Dan of L.A., and fourth was Mr. Kitagami&nbsp; 3 Dan of
L.A.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The team competition
consisted of six five player teams, one from each of the five participating
clubs (with borrowed players on occasion) plus a pro team (with the fifth board
taken by kyu player to help even things out a bit).&nbsp; Players playing
against the pros played at the normal handicap they would have taken in the
informal simul games.&nbsp; However, since the team games were quick play (30"
per move) games, the handicaps were insufficient and the pro team won
anyway.&nbsp; Los Angeles placed second.&nbsp; All the amateur teams were
closely matched.&nbsp; I lost a close game ( no handicap) to Ms. Nakai, ladies'
Meijin in our match with the pros.&nbsp; </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There was also a
demonstration commented game between pros Namekata and Nozuki, with both players
blindfolded.&nbsp; Neither player made any obvious errors, but a subtle error
caused Mr. Nozuki's position to collapse and he was mated without Mr. Namekata's
anaguma even getting disturbed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In informal play with the
pros, I managed a win against Mr. Namekata at bishop, and my son Raymond 2 Dan
won against Mr. Nozuki at rook and lance.&nbsp; Mr. Ono was the other pro in
attendance, who served as overall referee and resolved discussions regarding
time limits and handicaps.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Next year the championship
should be in Chicago, and the following year in San Francisco for the first
time.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Much thanks to the Los
Angeles club for the organizing of the event, and to the pros for making it
especially enjoyable.&nbsp; Although I would much prefer a Swiss system, as it
permits everyone to play to the end and is much less subject to luck than a KO,
at least with the pros present the eliminated players get a chance to learn by
playing them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Larry Kaufman, 5 Dan and
USSF Chairman</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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