From: Reijer Grimbergen yz yamagata-u ac jp> Date: 26 aug 2004 Subject: Re: Professional shogi game time management Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Save up to 80% on Inkjet & Toner Supplies. 100% Satisfaction=20 Guarantee. Free Shipping on orders over $49. www.inksoutlet.com http://click.topica.com/= caacAsfa2i6YsbnuqMaa/Inksoutlet ------------------------------------------------------------------- I have often wondered the same thing and even though I have no definite=20 answer, I think the following plays a role: 1) Unlike chess players, shogi professionals do not trust their=20 preparation. I have often heard and read that shogi professionals need=20 the deep concentration over the board to really understand a position. 2) Shogi openings are much more subtle than chess openings. An edge pawn= =20 pushed or not, changing the order of certain moves, entering the castle=20 in a different way can all have an important impact on the position. 3) Despite the common belief that in shogi you can always fight,=20 professional games are most often decided in the opening and early=20 middle game (especially title match games). Top players often state that= =20 the endgame is just "going through the motions", because it is already=20 clear who the winner is. I have no data on this, but from translating=20 comments to title match games I have the feeling that most mistakes in=20 the endgame are a chance for one player to make it more difficult for an= =20 opponent who is clearly ahead. Despite this, I am still amazed that the first day of a title match game= =20 can end with a Kakugawari position that has been played hundreds of=20 times before. Reijer David J Bush wrote: > Thanks to Reijer's excellent posts, I have seen records of many pro > games, including how many minutes each move took. Nearly all the > professional players I can recall seem to have little reluctance to > enter or approach byo-yomi well before the end of the game. Taking > over an hour for a single move is not at all uncommon. What > surprises me the most is the time the pros take to reach positions > which have occurred before, sometimes in games they had played! >=20 > Certainly, shogi is a deeper game than chess, and any comparison > of time management would have to take this into account. But I > wonder if any top shogi player will ever adopt a different strategy, > budgeting more time for the later stages of the game. Arguably it > was this approach which Anatoly Karpov used with great success when > he was generally regarded as world chess champion. >=20 > I suppose what really matters is, does the quality of play tend to > deteriorate in the endgame of match games? Is this something that > a player could improve by taking less time in the early stages? >=20 > What do you think? >=20 > David >=20 > Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor: > ------------------------------------------------------------------- > Buy Stocks and Index Funds for just $4 No Account or=20 > Investment Minimums and No Inactivity Fees Automatically=20 > invest weekly or monthly and build your future. > http://click.topica.com/caacvgga2i6YsbnuQr1f/Sharebuilder > ------------------------------------------------------------------- >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 --=20 Reijer Grimbergen Department of Informatics, Yamagata University Jonan 4-3-16, Yonezawa, 992-8510 Japan Tel: +81-(0)238-26-3740 FAX: +81-(0)238-26-3299 http://gamelab.yz.yamagata-u.ac.jp/ Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Stories from the Civil Rights Movement. Extraordinary stories,=20 ordinary people. Share your memories today! http://click.topica.com/= caacvgla2i6YsbnuqMaf/AARP ------------------------------------------------------------------- --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: = shogi-l shogi net EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a2i6Ys.= bnuqMa.= c2hvZ2kt Or send an email to: shogi-unsubscribe topica com For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit: http://www.topica.com/?p=3DTEXFOOTER --^----------------------------------------------------------------