From: Matt Casters ADVALVAS BE> Date: 18 may 2002 Subject: Re: Habu gives an interview to Joel Lautier Hi Eric, It seems slashdot.org has picked up the story. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/05/18/0336209&mode=nested&tid=127 Giving the fact that the slashdot site gets a few milion hits per day on average, it should be benificial for shogi in general. All the best, Matt -----Original Message----- From: The Shogi Discussion List [mailto:SHOGI-L TECHUNIX TECHNION AC IL]On Behalf Of Eric Cheymol Sent: zaterdag 18 mei 2002 1:29 To: SHOGI-L TECHUNIX TECHNION AC IL Subject: Habu gives an interview to Joel Lautier From the NAO Chess Club web site (http://www.nao-cc.com/) : (Text enclosed by [.. - J.L.] is a comment from Joel Lautier) This interview was conducted by Joel Lautier, with the kind assistance of Mariko Sato for the translation, on the 15th of May 2002 at the NAO Chess Club in Paris. Question 1 : When and how did you learn to play chess ? About ten years ago, I bought a book on chess and learned the game on my own. It was a Shogi player, Mr Murooka [the same person who first introduced me to Shogi! - J.L.], himself a passionate chessplayer, who aroused my interest in this game. And then six years ago, I started playing games on a regular basis with Mr Jacques Pineau [Jacques Pineau is a Frenchman who has been living in Japan for many years, with a chess playing strength of approximately 2250. He is also the president of the Asaka Chess Club, located in the suburbs of Tokyo - J.L.]. We play an average of one or two games a month, and I also read chess magazines to keep up to date. I have learned a bit of theory, but together with Mr Pineau, we have always tried to understand how to think in chess rather than just learn. Question 2 : That is still very little practice for such remarkable progress. What areas of chess do you find most difficult to master? I find that the most difficult is to adapt oneself all the time to the changing rhythm of a chess game. A position may demand either fast and energetic action, or much quieter positional play, or something else still. Having to switch from fast play to a slower one and vice versa is the most unsettling for me. In Shogi, the rhythm of a game is much more stable. The opening is usually rather slow, whereas endgames are always a speed race [what Shogi players call "endgames" are in fact mating attacks! There is no such thing as endings in Shogi, since taken pieces can come back into the game at any moment, thus the game does not tend towards simplification - J.L.]. The rhythm of Shogi never slows down, it only accelerates. Question 3 : Do you find chess more, or less complex than Shogi ? Before I learned how to play chess, I thought the two games had to be very similar. I think now that they are very different. In chess, it's important to have a good position, whereas in Shogi, it's more important to be the first one who delivers checkmate! I couldn't say which of the two is more complex. Question 4 : Do you have ambitions in chess ? Do you plan to become a Grandmaster ? Most of all, I wish to be able to play chess during my free time, and have the chance to play Grandmasters. If you ask me whether I think I can become a Grandmaster, then I honestly don't know. If I keep progressing and I realise that it is within my reach, then I shall try. Question 5 : Who is your favorite chessplayer ? Bobby Fischer. My first chess books were about him and his games are the ones I studied most. Question 6 : Do you think chess could become popular in Japan ? Among developed countries, Japan is perhaps the only one where chess is little known. Nonetheless, the Japanese like very much this kind of games, they have excellent natural abilities for them. However, there is a great lack of information about chess in Japan. If a tournament with the participation of the best players in the world was organized there, it could have a strong impact on the publicity of chess in my country. Question 7 : Do you think chess and Shogi are sports ? Chess is certainly a sport. For Shogi, it is a bit different, since it is part of the Japanese traditional culture, along with the tea ceremony and Ikebana, the Japanese floral art. During the Edo era [from 1603 until 1868 - J.L.], there were only three families who played Shogi, and the Master of the game was called Meijin. However, this title could only be inherited, and it has only been a century since the title of Meijin is contested in a real competition. Question 8 : The world of chess is very prone to conflicts whereas the Shogi world seems much more united and organised. Have you any advice to give FIDE? (Laughs) No, no, I cannot give any advice ! But it is much simpler for the small Shogi federation to remain united, as it only comprises 130 professional players. Moreover, these are all players from one country, which avoids many of the political problems within FIDE. The great size of FIDE makes consensus more difficult, all the more since it is partly made of people who are not chess professionals but have other activities. The Shogi Renmei (the Shogi federation) is composed exclusively of professional players, active and retired, who also handle the whole organisation of tournaments and the contracts with the sponsors. It's actually the case in many other federations in Japan, namely in martial arts. A person who has never been a professional in a given field cannot be part of the federation that regulates it [a very healthy principle to meditate ! -J.L.]. Question 9 : How popular is Shogi in Japan ? Shogi has been very popular in Japan for a long time. Until 30 years ago, the Japanese people used to play in a room that led to the garden, traditionally reserved for this activity. Today, Shogi can be played everywhere! The number of people who know the rules of Shogi can be roughly estimated at ten million, the number of those who play regularly must be around a hundred thousand. Question 10 : Let's talk about women! Do they play Shogi ? Yes, they also play Shogi. There are two separate professional categories for men and women. There are approximately fifty full-time women professional players (there are 130 among men). In professional competitions among men, only one or two women players can take part. This is only the case since seven or eight years ago, before that women could not participate in them. Over that period of time, these women have played about two hundred games against their male colleagues with a success rate of 30%. Last question : Are computers a threat for Shogi ? In mating problems, called Tsume Shogi, the computer is already superior to the best players. In normal games, however, the computer is still far from the professional level. Its level can be compared to a 4-dan among amateurs [approximately 2300 strength in chess elo terms. The first dan among professionals starts after the amateur 6-dan. To get a rough idea, the best Shogi players in the world, including Mr Habu, have a ranking of professional 9-dan - J.L.]. Thank you for answering our questions and good luck ! ---------------- Get the European shogi archives at http://www.shogi.fr.st