From: Reijer Grimbergen fu is saga-u ac jp> Date: 02 oct 2003 Subject: This week in Shukan Shogi (no. 1011 and 1012, September 17th and 24th 2003) In this Shukan Shogi report the fifth game of the Oi match between Tanigawa and Habu and the second game of the Oza match between Habu and Watanabe. Not a good week for Habu as he lost both games. In the Oi this ended the match as Tanigawa defended his title with a convincing 4-1 victory. In the Oza things are looking less bleak for Habu, as the match is still even at one all, but the way he lost is reason for concern: without any chance in only 69 moves. First, here is the fifth game of the Oi match with comments: [Black "Habu Yoshiharu, Challenger"] [White "Tanigawa Koji, Oi"] [Event "44th Oi-sen, Game 5"] [Date "September 8th and 9th 2003"] 1.P7g-7f 00:00:00 00:00:00 2.P3c-3d 00:00:00 00:03:00 3.P2g-2f 00:01:00 00:03:00 4.G4a-3b 00:01:00 00:08:00 5.G6i-7h 00:04:00 00:08:00 6.P1c-1d 00:04:00 00:42:00 Already a position that has never been played before. This is no surprise, as white basically gives up another move. That this is not necessarily bad was shown by Yamasaki against Tanigawa in their Ryu-O challenger tournament on August 11th. That game started with 1.P7f P3d P2f P1d and became a Kakugawari game after P2e Bx8h+ Sx8h. In the Kakugawari P1d is a valid move, and the difference is that because of the loss of a move, white is no longer forced to enter the Kakugawari with the pawn on 8e. With the pawn on 8d, white gets more attacking chances and Yamasaki exploited this difference very well, even though he missed a win in the late endgame. 7.S3i-4h? 00:50:00 00:42:00 If Habu would have played 7.P2e, Tanigawa planned to reply with 8.Bx8h+ Sx8h and play for a development like in his game with Yamasaki. Habu of course knew this game and decided to play 7.S4h instead. Not good, as he admitted after the game. After 7.S4h, black can no longer avoid the exchange of pawns on the 8th file, which is an important opening advantage for white. 8.P8c-8d 00:50:00 01:01:00 9.P6g-6f 00:54:00 01:01:00 10.P8d-8e 00:54:00 02:03:00 11.B8h-7g 00:55:00 02:03:00 12.S7a-6b 00:55:00 02:03:00 13.G4i-5h 01:05:00 02:03:00 14.P5c-5d 01:05:00 02:04:00 15.S7i-8h 01:37:00 02:04:00 16.B2b-3c 01:37:00 02:07:00 17.K5i-6i 01:50:00 02:07:00 18.S3a-2b 01:50:00 02:09:00 19.G5h-6g 01:58:00 02:09:00 20.B3c-4b 01:58:00 02:15:00 21.B7g-5i 01:58:00 02:15:00 22.P8e-8f 01:58:00 02:19:00 23.P8gx8f 01:58:00 02:19:00 24.B4bx8f 01:58:00 02:19:00 25.N8i-7g 01:58:00 02:19:00 26.B8f-4b 01:58:00 02:35:00 27.P*8g 02:03:00 02:35:00 28.K5a-4a 02:03:00 02:44:00 29.P5g-5f 02:06:00 02:44:00 30.S2b-3c 02:06:00 02:59:00 31.S4h-5g 02:14:00 02:59:00 32.P7c-7d 02:14:00 03:05:00 33.P3g-3f 02:26:00 03:05:00 34.B4b-6d 02:26:00 03:12:00 35.R2h-1h 04:34:00 03:12:00 36.S3c-4d 04:34:00 03:22:00 37.S5g-4f 04:38:00 03:22:00 38.S6b-5c 04:38:00 03:37:00 39.K6i-7i 04:42:00 03:37:00 40.K4a-3a 04:42:00 03:42:00 41.K7i-8i 04:47:00 03:42:00 42.P9c-9d 04:47:00 03:44:00 43.P1g-1f 04:56:00 03:44:00 44.S5c-4b 04:56:00 03:58:00 45.N2i-3g 05:03:00 03:58:00 White got more out of the opening than he could have hoped. Tanigawa is in complete control of the position. 45.N3g is a risky move, but Habu saw no other alternative. 46.R8b-5b? 05:03:00 04:23:00 Too deep. The obvious 46.P3e would have been better. Then 47.Px3e P*3f N2e P2d R3h Px2e Px2e P5e Rx3f Px5f Gx5f P7e Px7e P*7f N6e N*7g is almost forced and gives white an overwhelming position. For example, K7i Bx4f Rx4f (Px4f S*4g) S*4e and white wins because either a rook or a gold in hand leads to mate in one. Therefore, after N*7g black must play Sx7g Px7g+ Gx7g but then S*5h with attack on the bishop and the threat of Sx4g= next is pretty decisive. 47.N3g-4e 05:07:00 04:23:00 48.R5b-5a 05:07:00 04:40:00 49.B5i-4h 05:41:00 04:40:00 50.P5d-5e 05:41:00 05:36:00 51.P6f-6e 06:00:00 05:36:00 52.B6d-7c 06:00:00 05:39:00 53.P5fx5e 06:19:00 05:39:00 54.S4dx5e 06:19:00 05:39:00 55.S4fx5e 06:20:00 05:39:00 56.R5ax5e 06:20:00 05:52:00 57.N7g-8e 06:21:00 05:52:00 58.B7c-9e 06:21:00 06:04:00 59.S*5f 06:23:00 06:04:00 60.R5e-5a 06:23:00 06:08:00 61.P*5c 06:25:00 06:08:00 62.S*4d 06:25:00 06:17:00 63.P4g-4f 06:46:00 06:17:00 64.P*5e 06:46:00 06:31:00 65.S5f-4g 06:46:00 06:31:00 66.B9e-6b 06:46:00 06:31:00 67.P6e-6d 07:26:00 06:31:00 68.G6a-7b? 07:26:00 06:50:00 Here Tanigawa misses another chance to win quickly. Better was the simple 68.Px6d. For example, 69.P7e P*8d Px7d Px8e P*6c B7a B8d P*7b Bx5a+ Sx5a R*8c B*9b Rx8e+ B9c R3h N*8b and it is hard to defend against the double attack Bx7d next. Tanigawa said after the game that he did not like P*7b and N*8b but admitted that it might have been better than the variation played in the game. 69.P2f-2e 07:26:00 06:50:00 70.P6cx6d 07:26:00 06:50:00 71.P1f-1e 07:31:00 06:50:00 72.P1dx1e 07:31:00 07:00:00 73.B4hx1e! 07:31:00 07:00:00 The start of the black counter attack. 74.Lx1e fails to 75.Rx1e P*1c P2d Px2d P*1b. 74.P*1g 07:31:00 07:03:00 75.R1hx1g 07:32:00 07:03:00 76.P*1d 07:32:00 07:03:00 77.B1ex4b+? 07:41:00 07:03:00 A little but too much. 77.B4h was correct. 78.K3ax4b 07:41:00 07:03:00 79.P5c-5b+ 07:41:00 07:03:00 80.K4bx5b 07:41:00 07:07:00 81.P*5d 07:41:00 07:07:00 82.K5b-6c 07:41:00 07:08:00 83.S*5c 07:41:00 07:08:00 84.K6cx5d! 07:41:00 07:08:00 A nice king maneuver by Tanigawa. The king looks awkward on 5d, but it is actually protected quite well and black has no good way to attack it. White no gets plenty of time to get his own attack going. During the game, Habu also thought that he was losing after this, but it seems that things are not so clear yet. 85.S5cx6b+ 07:41:00 07:08:00 86.G7bx6b 07:41:00 07:08:00 87.B*8b 07:41:00 07:08:00 88.P*8d 07:41:00 07:09:00 89.B8bx9a+ 07:42:00 07:09:00 90.P8dx8e 07:42:00 07:09:00 91.L*8d 07:46:00 07:09:00 92.N8a-9c 07:46:00 07:27:00 93.+B9a-9b 07:47:00 07:27:00 94.B*3i 07:47:00 07:27:00 95.+B9bx9c 07:47:00 07:27:00 96.S4dx4e 07:47:00 07:29:00 97.R1g-2g 07:50:00 07:29:00 98.N*6f 07:50:00 07:31:00 99.G6gx6f 07:51:00 07:31:00 100.B3ix6f+ 07:51:00 07:31:00 101.P*6g 07:51:00 07:31:00 102.+B6f-5g 07:51:00 07:33:00 103.N*6i 07:52:00 07:33:00 104.+B5g-4h 07:52:00 07:33:00 105.L8d-8c+ 07:52:00 07:33:00 106.+B4hx9c 07:52:00 07:34:00 107.+L8cx9c 07:52:00 07:34:00 108.P8e-8f 07:52:00 07:34:00 109.P4fx4e 07:53:00 07:34:00 110.N*9e 07:53:00 07:34:00 111.B*8d 07:55:00 07:34:00 112.S*7c 07:55:00 07:35:00 113.B8dx7c+ 07:55:00 07:35:00 114.G6bx7c 07:55:00 07:35:00 115.S*6b 07:55:00 07:35:00 116.P8fx8g+ 07:55:00 07:39:00 117.S6bx5a=? 07:57:00 07:39:00 This move ends the Oi match. It is unclear if the position after 84.K5d is better for black than both players thought or if Tanigawa made a mistake in the moves after that, but Habu had a chance to win the game here. If he would have played 117.Sx5b+ instead, he might have taken kept his chances of taking the Oi title from Tanigawa alive. The point is that after 118.+Px8h Kx8h B*5i (threatens mate with P*8g next) R*5b S*5c N*6f white has to play K6e because K6c S*5d is a simple mate. If the silver on 5a is not promoted, white can play K6c with attack on the rook and there is no mate. After K6e, the defending knight on 6i enters the attack with N5g! and after Kx7f P*7g K7e S*7f white is no longer threatening mate and black wins easily. Most professionals would prefer non-promoting the silver over promoting as it seems to take away more moves from the white king. However, in this case the defense of the rook is more important. 118.+P8gx8h 07:57:00 07:40:00 119.G7hx8h 07:57:00 07:40:00 120.B*6h 07:57:00 07:40:00 121.K8i-7h 07:59:00 07:40:00 122.B*5i 07:59:00 07:42:00 123.R*5b 07:59:00 07:42:00 124.S*5c 07:59:00 07:46:00 125.P6g-6f 07:59:00 07:46:00 126.P*8g 07:59:00 07:46:00 Resigns 07:59:00 07:46:00 No defense and no attack (N*4f K6c and black again suffers from the undefended rook). Habu might have had some chances in this game, but it was Tanigawa who dictated the pace from the start. His reward is another Oi title and a new anti-Habu record: it is the first time that Habu has lost in title matches for two straight years. Here is the second game of the Oza match with comments: [Black "Watanabe Akira, Challenger"] [White "Habu Yoshiharu, Oza"] [Event "51 Oza-sen, Game 2"] [Date "September 12th 2003"] 1.P2g-2f 00:01:00 00:00:00 2.P3c-3d 00:01:00 00:02:00 3.P7g-7f 00:01:00 00:02:00 4.P8c-8d 00:01:00 00:02:00 5.P2f-2e 00:02:00 00:02:00 6.P8d-8e 00:02:00 00:03:00 7.G6i-7h 00:03:00 00:03:00 8.G4a-3b 00:03:00 00:05:00 9.P2e-2d 00:04:00 00:05:00 10.P2cx2d 00:04:00 00:05:00 11.R2hx2d 00:04:00 00:05:00 12.P8e-8f 00:04:00 00:07:00 13.P8gx8f 00:05:00 00:07:00 14.R8bx8f 00:05:00 00:08:00 15.R2dx3d 00:06:00 00:08:00 16.B2b-3c 00:06:00 00:12:00 17.R3d-3f 00:10:00 00:12:00 18.K5a-4a 00:10:00 00:15:00 19.K5i-5h 00:16:00 00:15:00 20.S3a-2b 00:16:00 00:22:00 21.P*8g 00:17:00 00:22:00 22.R8f-8e 00:17:00 00:37:00 After beating Watanabe in the R8e-Yokofudori in the first game, Habu now plays the opening himself. Again this is a small psychological battle. If Habu would win this game, he would show that he can beat Watanabe in his specialty on both sides of the board. It would then be very hard for Watanabe to come up with a good game plan for game three. 23.B8hx3c+ 00:25:00 00:37:00 24.N2ax3c 00:25:00 00:37:00 25.N8i-7g 00:25:00 00:37:00 26.R8e-2e 00:25:00 01:10:00 Unusual. More often played is 26.R8b or 26.R8d. 26.R2e is considered risky, but Habu has a new move he wanted to try. 27.P*2f 00:26:00 01:10:00 28.R2e-2d 00:26:00 01:10:00 29.R3f-5f 00:35:00 01:10:00 30.B*4e? 00:35:00 01:27:00 This is Habu's opening preparation. The idea is to attack instead of to defend the pawn on 5c. If white just defends here with 30.K5b, in the worst case black can gather all his forces on 5c by N6e and B*3e to force a breakthrough. Habu's idea is to allow the rook promotion and promote the bishop on 2g himself. Unfortunately, the idea has a major flaw. 31.N7g-6e! 01:35:00 01:27:00 Watanabe took 60 minutes for his reply, but this was time well spent. White must now defend against Nx5c=, but that is not easy. For example, 32.G6b is answered by 33.Nx5c+ Bx5f +Nx6b Sx6b Px5f Rx2f B*3e and black has a big advantage. 32.G6a-5a 01:35:00 02:04:00 In the press room, alternatives like 32.K3a were also analyzed, but these also seem to lead to good play for black. 33.R5fx5c+ 01:45:00 02:04:00 34.P*5b 01:45:00 02:09:00 35.+R5c-5e 01:50:00 02:09:00 Watanabe will have been very happy with his position here. He has managed to promote his rook, he is two pawns up and the possibility of a counter attack with P*5f is impossible as white has dropped the pawn on 5b. 36.S7a-6b? 01:50:00 02:09:00 The white position goes from bad to worse. It is important for white to get the knight on 6e (P6d followed by Px6e) to get some material compensation. However, 36.S6b allows a drop of the bishop on 8b, leading to another promotion of a major piece and the capture of the lance. Habu's only chance was to play 36.G6b and for a while nobody could find a good continuation for black. Finally, the variation 37.P3f P6d N3g B1b B*1e R4d +Rx4d Px4d N2e was found, which seems very good for black (Nx2e is mate in one after R*5a). 37.P3g-3f 02:09:00 02:09:00 38.P6c-6d 02:09:00 02:21:00 39.N2i-3g 02:15:00 02:21:00 40.B4e-6c 02:15:00 02:28:00 41.+R5e-3e 02:19:00 02:28:00 42.R2d-1d 02:19:00 02:41:00 43.B*8b 02:21:00 02:41:00 44.P6dx6e 02:21:00 02:41:00 45.S3i-3h 02:26:00 02:41:00 46.P7c-7d 02:26:00 03:16:00 47.B8bx9a+ 02:32:00 03:16:00 48.N8a-7c 02:32:00 03:16:00 49.P2f-2e 02:39:00 03:16:00 50.R1d-5d 02:39:00 03:17:00 51.P2e-2d 02:40:00 03:17:00 52.P*2c 02:40:00 03:18:00 53.L*3d! 02:40:00 03:18:00 With a promoted rook and bishop and no compensation for white, it is clear that black is winning. Still, the end of the game looks quite far away. With 53.L*3d Watanabe shows what a gifted player he is. Not even giving Habu a glimmer of hope to use his magical powers, he ends the game with a textbook attack. 54.P2cx2d 02:40:00 03:19:00 55.P*2c 02:43:00 03:19:00 56.G3bx2c 02:43:00 03:26:00 57.L3dx3c+ 02:43:00 03:26:00 58.G2cx3c 02:43:00 03:26:00 59.N*5e! 02:43:00 03:26:00 Game over. 60.B6c-7b 02:43:00 03:26:00 61.+B9a-8b 02:43:00 03:26:00 62.B7b-9d 02:43:00 03:26:00 63.P*2c 02:43:00 03:26:00 64.G3cx2c 02:43:00 03:26:00 65.N5ex4c+ 02:43:00 03:26:00 66.G2c-3d 02:43:00 03:27:00 67.+B8bx7c 02:43:00 03:27:00 68.S6bx7c 02:43:00 03:28:00 69.N*3c 02:44:00 03:28:00 Resigns 02:44:00 03:28:00 No defense after 70.Gx3c +Rx3c or 70.Sx3c (or K3a) +Rx3d. A complete victory for Watanabe, who had a hard time hiding his delight after the game. His first win against Habu and his first win in a title match. Not only that, he completely crushed Habu in this game. This must give the challenger a big confidence boost and Habu will have something to think about for the rest of the match. In other shogi news: ==================== * The Ryu-O match will be a replay of this year's Meijin match as Moriuchi beat Nakahara in the best-of-three final to become Ryu-O challenger for the first time. Nakahara came very close to his first match encounter with Habu, but in the end had to succumb in the decisive third game. It seems like Habu is not in brilliant form these days, so Moriuchi might smell blood. Still, Habu has some time to prepare for the match as the first game will be played on October 21st and 22nd. * In the B2 Junisen class, round four was played. Namekata, Izumi and Horiguchi won their games to extend their unbeaten record. Namekata and Horiguchi are considered favorites to promote, but Kimura is waiting for a mistake by the leaders at 3-1. * In the C1 Junisen class also the fourth round was played. Yashiki made an important step towards promotion with a victory against promotion rival Watanabe. Only Yashiki, Toyokawa and Nakata Isao have four wins after four games, which means that Yashiki can almost certainly afford to drop one game and still promote. However, there are still many sharks in the water and the competition has not even advanced halfway. Still, looking at Yashiki's remaining opponents, things look pretty good. Reijer -- Reijer Grimbergen Department of Information Science Saga University 1 Honjo-machi, Saga-shi, 840-8502 Japan E-mail: grimbergen fu is saga-u ac jp URL: http://www.fu.is.saga-u.ac.jp/~grimberg/ Tel: +81-(0)952-28-8821 Fax: +81-(0)952-28-8650