From: Larry Kaufman COMCAST NET> Date: 24 feb 2003 Subject: US tour by top Japanese Amateur This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --Boundary_(ID_EDdt5xIHT/yUMQxzIpRerg) Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT This weekend we had two shogi sessions of the D.C. shogi club with the Japanese Amateur "Grand Champion", Mr. Toru Shimizugami. He is touring the US, having already visited NY (where he won all his games, but I'll leave it to a New Yorker to report on that) and is enroute to Chicago. Despite giving the handicaps that are normal for a six Dan (I played with only first move, everyone else took bishop or more), he won all his games in D.C. (six official plus some quick games). He is probably the strongest amateur ever to play shogi in the U.S., since his "Shogi Club 24" rating is around 2500, on a par with the average pro. In my three games with him (two official and one quick), I missed chances for a large advantage in all three games, as he graciously pointed out afterwards. He also gave us some useful instruction at the end of the session. He may perhaps end up as the top rated player on the Pan-Atlantic list when these games are rated; if so it will be well deserv ed. Larry Kaufman for D.C. Shogi Club --Boundary_(ID_EDdt5xIHT/yUMQxzIpRerg) Content-type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
     This weekend we had two shogi sessions of the D.C. shogi club with the Japanese Amateur "Grand Champion", Mr. Toru Shimizugami.  He is touring the US, having already visited NY (where he won all his games, but I'll leave it to a New Yorker to report on that) and is enroute to Chicago.  Despite giving the handicaps that are normal for a six Dan (I played with only first move, everyone else took bishop or more), he won all his games in D.C. (six official plus some quick games).  He is probably the strongest amateur ever to play shogi in the U.S., since his "Shogi Club 24" rating is around 2500, on a par with the average pro.  In my three games with him (two official and one quick), I missed chances for a large advantage in all three games, as he graciously pointed out afterwards.  He also gave us some useful instruction at the end of the session.  He may perhaps end up as the top rated player on the Pan-Atlantic list when these games are rated; if so it will be well deserved. 
 
     Larry Kaufman for D.C. Shogi Club
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