From: Reijer Grimbergen yz yamagata-u ac jp> Date: 14 jun 2005 Subject: This week in Shukan Shogi (no. 1099, June 8th 2005) Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor: ------------------------------------------------------------------- FREE Zoobooks Elephants ISSUE and tiger POSTER! Is your child reading? Zoobooks is guaranteed to improve=20 your child=92s reading skills. Click below to sign up now! http://click.topica.com/= caadCUza2i6YsbnuqMaa/Zoobooks ------------------------------------------------------------------- This week in Shukan Shogi the fifth game from the Meijin match between=20 Moriuchi and Habu. After being blown away in the fourth game it was a=20 question of how Habu would respond, but in this fifth game he showed his= =20 class with a strong victory, keeping him alive in this match. Here is=20 the game with comments: [Black "Habu Yoshiharu, Challenger"] [White "Moriuchi Toshiyuki, Meijin"] [Event "63rd Meijin-sen, Game 5"] [Date "June 2nd and 3rd 2005"] 1.P2g-2f 00:00:00 00:00:00 2.P3c-3d 00:00:00 00:04:00 3.P7g-7f 00:01:00 00:04:00 4.P8c-8d 00:01:00 00:04:00 5.P2f-2e 00:03:00 00:04:00 6.P8d-8e 00:03:00 00:04:00 7.G6i-7h 00:11:00 00:04:00 8.G4a-3b 00:11:00 00:04:00 9.P2e-2d 00:13:00 00:04:00 10.P2cx2d 00:13:00 00:04:00 11.R2hx2d 00:13:00 00:04:00 12.P8e-8f 00:13:00 00:06:00 13.P8gx8f 00:15:00 00:06:00 14.R8bx8f 00:15:00 00:06:00 15.R2dx3d 00:26:00 00:06:00 16.B2bx8h+ 00:26:00 00:09:00 17.S7ix8h 00:28:00 00:09:00 18.R8fx7f 00:28:00 00:09:00 A big surprise. The Double Yokofudori is rare at this level. Actually,=20 it is the first time that this opening has been played in a Meijin=20 match. Recently, Miura (8-dan) has been giving it a try, but the general= =20 opinion is that it gives black the easier position. 19.S8h-7g 02:00:00 00:09:00 20.R7f-7d 02:00:00 00:25:00 21.R3dx7d 02:01:00 00:25:00 22.P7cx7d 02:01:00 00:25:00 23.B*4f 02:01:00 00:25:00 24.P*8f 02:01:00 00:36:00 This is what Moriuchi wanted to try, but we will probably never know=20 what his real intentions were. In Habu's opening book series "Habu's=20 Brain", the move 24.P*8f is also given and Habu concludes that after=20 25.P*8h P8g+ Px8g P*8b G3h black has the better position. Black has won=20 a pawn and forced white to drop a pawn on 8b. Also, black can start an=20 edge attack with P9f next. This was written 10 years ago, so there might= =20 be something with this variation that Moriuchi liked. Habu doesn't wait=20 for it... 25.S7gx8f! 02:15:00 00:36:00 If this game is a good indication, this might be better than P*8h. 26.B*7c 02:15:00 02:26:00 27.B4fx7c+ 03:23:00 02:26:00 28.N8ax7c 03:23:00 02:26:00 29.S8f-7g 03:23:00 02:26:00 30.K5a-5b 03:23:00 02:31:00 31.R*8a 03:37:00 02:31:00 32.R*8e 03:37:00 03:58:00 This looks good, as white can move the knight out with tempo. However,=20 Habu has judged correctly that this knight on 8e is going to be a=20 liability. However, after 32.R*8b Rx8b+ Sx8b P*8c S7a R*8a white is even= =20 worse, because black has managed to make a dangling pawn with tempo. 33.R8ax8e+ 03:53:00 03:58:00 34.N7cx8e 03:53:00 03:58:00 35.S7g-8h 03:53:00 03:58:00 36.P*8g 03:53:00 05:24:00 37.S8h-7i 03:59:00 05:24:00 Moriuchi has been using a lot of time here, but there is nothing for=20 white to improve the position. White is attacking, but the knight on 8e=20 has no power. It would have been a different story if the knight would=20 have been on 6e. 38.B*4d 03:59:00 05:30:00 39.P6g-6f! 05:37:00 05:30:00 Seems to open up the king position, but this is an important move,=20 because after Bx6f, black can attack strongly with P*6d. The alternative= =20 39.P*7g is not good because of 40.Nx7g+ Nx7g Bx7g+! Gx7g R*8a which is=20 hard to defend. The bishop sacrifice is easy to overlook, but Habu has=20 seen it. 40.P*2h 05:37:00 06:03:00 41.S3ix2h 05:41:00 06:03:00 42.B4dx6f 05:41:00 06:03:00 43.P*6d 05:43:00 06:03:00 44.B6fx9i+ 05:43:00 06:13:00 45.P6dx6c+ 06:08:00 06:13:00 46.K5bx6c 06:08:00 06:13:00 47.P*6d 06:10:00 06:13:00 48.K6c-5d 06:10:00 06:37:00 No choice. 48.K5b fails to 49.B*6c K4b R*4a, 48.K6b to 49.R*6c K5b Rx6a+= =20 Kx6a P6c+ and 48.Kx6d to 49.B*4f K6c B*9a+ (threatening L*6d) K5b P*6b=20 Sx6b P*6c and black can use the lance at either 6d or cut off the king=20 with L*3f. 48.K5d might be the best move, but the difference in king=20 position shows who is winning here. 49.B*6c 06:39:00 06:37:00 50.K5d-4d 06:39:00 07:29:00 51.R*2d 06:39:00 07:29:00 52.P*3d 06:39:00 07:31:00 53.R2dx2a+ 06:40:00 07:31:00 54.+B9ix8i 06:40:00 07:32:00 55.N*3f 06:57:00 07:32:00 56.K4d-5e 06:57:00 07:33:00 57.+R2ax3b 06:57:00 07:33:00 58.S3ax3b 06:57:00 08:44:00 59.B6cx7d+ 06:57:00 08:44:00 The winning move. 60.+B8ix7h 06:57:00 08:44:00 Moriuchi decided to go out in a blaze of glory. 60.N*4d prolongs the=20 agony, but 61.N*2d or 61.P5f Nx5f G*4f followed by Gx5f win easily for=20 black. 61.S7ix7h 06:57:00 08:44:00 62.G*6h 06:57:00 08:48:00 63.K5i-4h 07:16:00 08:48:00 64.R*5h 07:16:00 08:48:00 65.G4ix5h 07:16:00 08:48:00 66.G6hx5h 07:16:00 08:48:00 67.K4hx5h 07:16:00 08:48:00 68.N*6f 07:16:00 08:48:00 69.K5h-6g 07:16:00 08:48:00 Resigns 07:16:00 08:48:00 Clearly no mate and even if white picks up the promoted bishop on 7d=20 after 70.G*7g Sx7g Nx7g+ Kx7g R*7h K8f Rx7d+, the white king is mated=20 after B*4f and G*5e. A convincing win by Habu to stop the rot after=20 three consecutive losses. With his back against the wall he delivers,=20 but he will need two more of this to take the Meijin title from=20 Moriuchi, who is playing with the black pieces in game 6. --=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: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Erase wrinkles without painful injections with Nexiderm SP. 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