From: Reijer Grimbergen yz yamagata-u ac jp> Date: 29 oct 2004 Subject: This week in Shukan Shogi (no. 1065-1067, October 6th, 13rd and 20th Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Like music? Get a CD Player here http://click.topica.com/= caacNowa2i6YsbnuqMaa/PermissionData ------------------------------------------------------------------- In this report the final two games of the Oza match between Habu and=20 Moriuchi. In the third game Moriuchi seemed to be setting himself up for= =20 a comeback with a fine victory, but in the fourth game Habu won to take=20 his 13th consecutive Oza title, a feat only matched by Oyama=92s 13=20 consecutive Meijin titles. Here are the games with comments: [Black "Moriuchi Toshuyuki, Challenger"] [White "Habu Yoshiharu, Oza"] [Event "52nd Oza-sen, Game 3"] [Date "October 5th 2004"] 1.P7g-7f 00:00:00 00:00:00 2.P3c-3d 00:00:00 00:01:00 3.P6g-6f 00:00:00 00:01:00 4.B2b-3c 00:00:00 00:06:00 5.S7i-7h 00:04:00 00:06:00 6.R8b-2b 00:04:00 00:14:00 7.S7h-6g 00:05:00 00:14:00 8.P2c-2d 00:05:00 00:15:00 9.S3i-4h 00:10:00 00:15:00 10.S3a-4b 00:10:00 00:19:00 11.P3g-3f 00:10:00 00:19:00 12.K5a-6b 00:10:00 00:21:00 13.S4h-3g 00:10:00 00:21:00 14.S7a-7b 00:10:00 00:32:00 15.B8h-7g 00:14:00 00:32:00 16.K6b-7a 00:14:00 00:35:00 17.R2h-8h 00:14:00 00:35:00 This is the 66th official encounter between Habu and Moriuchi (Habu=20 leads 35-30), but this is the first Ai-Furibisha opening they have=20 played. Not really surprising, as both players are Ibisha players by=20 nature and for Ai-Furibisha both players must be really willing to play=20 Furibisha. 18.G4a-5b 00:14:00 00:44:00 19.P8g-8f 00:20:00 00:44:00 20.P5c-5d 00:20:00 00:53:00 21.P8f-8e 00:31:00 00:53:00 22.S4b-5c 00:31:00 00:53:00 23.P6f-6e!? 01:05:00 00:53:00 For a long time the Ai-Furibisha has been more or less unexplored=20 territory, but in the past couple of years the opening preparation in=20 this opening has also become very important. However, 23.P6e was a=20 surprise. Opening the bishop diagonal with the king still on 5i looks=20 very bold. Not a move one would expect for someone who is one loss away=20 from being swept. Normal would be 23.G3h, but then white can strengthen=20 his castle with 24.P6d and 25.G5b-6c and the game will continue at a=20 slow pace. 23.P6e does not allow white the comfort of a waiting game. 24.P2d-2e 01:05:00 01:49:00 Habu responds to challenge and allows black a promoted bishop, using=20 this time to set up an attack against the still poorly protected king. 25.G4i-3h 01:16:00 01:49:00 26.B3cx7g+ 01:16:00 01:50:00 27.N8ix7g 01:16:00 01:50:00 28.S5c-4d 01:16:00 01:50:00 29.B*3a 01:54:00 01:50:00 30.R2b-2d 01:54:00 02:06:00 31.B3a-7e+ 01:57:00 02:06:00 32.P3d-3e 01:57:00 02:06:00 33.P3fx3e 02:50:00 02:06:00 34.P2e-2f 02:50:00 02:08:00 35.P2gx2f 03:05:00 02:08:00 36.S4dx3e 03:05:00 02:08:00 37.K5i-6h 03:05:00 02:08:00 38.B*4i?! 03:05:00 03:02:00 This gives white also a promoted bishop, but it turns out that he can=20 not keep it. Whether this move is the cause of the white problems or if=20 things went wrong earlier is not clear at this point. 39.G3h-3i 03:21:00 03:02:00 40.B4i-2g+ 03:21:00 03:02:00 41.P8e-8d 03:22:00 03:02:00 42.P8cx8d 03:22:00 03:02:00 43.P*3f! 03:36:00 03:02:00 Suddenly white is in big trouble. The move he wants to play is 44.Sx2f,=20 but then P*2h +Bx3g Nx3g Sx3g+ B*3e forks rook and king. Instead of=20 +Bx3g, the move Sx3g+ is better but after Px2g +Sx3f there is a big=20 difference in material and black seems to have the upper hand. 44.S3e-4d 03:36:00 03:16:00 No choice. The other alternative 44.Sx3f fails to 45.Sx3f +Bx3f S*2e. 45.+B7ex8d! 03:53:00 03:16:00 Good move. 45.Rx8d P*8c R8i is almost automatic, because the black rook=20 is better on 8i than on 8h. However, in this case 45.+Bx8d is the best=20 move since 46.P*8c fails to +Bx8c Sx8c Rx8c+ P*8b +R8h which is very=20 good for black. 46.P*8b 03:53:00 03:44:00 No choice again. Blocking the escape route of the king is a very painful= =20 move and ultimately decisive. 47.K6h-7i 04:10:00 03:44:00 48.+B2gx3g 04:10:00 04:24:00 49.N2ix3g 04:10:00 04:24:00 50.R2dx2f 04:10:00 04:24:00 51.G3i-2h! 04:31:00 04:24:00 Allowing the rook promotion would make this a very long battle, but=20 putting the gold here, only protected by the rook on 8h is not an easy=20 move to play. Accurate calculation is vital, but Moriuchi has no problem= =20 with this. After the game he said that here he felt sure he would be=20 winning this game. 52.S*8f 04:31:00 04:28:00 53.+B8d-6f 04:40:00 04:28:00 54.S8f-8g+ 04:40:00 04:28:00 55.R8h-6h 04:48:00 04:28:00 And white has run out of decent moves. Habu tries everything to make=20 something happen, but to no avail. 56.P*2g 04:48:00 04:31:00 57.G2h-3h 04:48:00 04:31:00 58.P*3e 04:48:00 04:31:00 59.P*8h 04:51:00 04:31:00 60.+S8gx7g 04:51:00 04:33:00 61.+B6fx7g 04:51:00 04:33:00 62.P3ex3f 04:51:00 04:33:00 63.N3g-4e 04:58:00 04:33:00 64.P2g-2h+ 04:58:00 04:33:00 65.S*5c 04:58:00 04:33:00 66.+P2hx3h 04:58:00 04:34:00 67.S5cx4d+ 04:58:00 04:34:00 68.N*8e 04:58:00 04:35:00 69.+B7g-6f 04:58:00 04:35:00 70.R2f-2i+ 04:58:00 04:36:00 71.+S4dx5d 04:58:00 04:36:00 72.+P3h-4i 04:58:00 04:42:00 73.B*3e 04:58:00 04:42:00 74.G*6b 04:58:00 04:42:00 75.K7i-7h 04:58:00 04:42:00 76.+P4i-5i 04:58:00 04:43:00 77.G6i-7i 04:58:00 04:43:00 78.+R2ix1i 04:58:00 04:47:00 79.S*8f 04:58:00 04:47:00 Finally, the professionals in the press room agreed that Moriuchi=92s=20 assessment after 51.G2h was correct. Black is winning. 80.L*3d 04:58:00 04:48:00 81.B3ex6b+ 04:58:00 04:48:00 82.G6ax6b 04:58:00 04:48:00 83.G*5c 04:58:00 04:48:00 84.B*2f 04:58:00 04:52:00 85.G5cx6b 04:58:00 04:52:00 86.G5bx6b 04:58:00 04:52:00 87.P*2g 04:59:00 04:52:00 88.B2fx1g+ 04:59:00 04:53:00 89.S8fx8e 04:59:00 04:53:00 90.+B1g-3e 04:59:00 04:56:00 91.G*4f 04:59:00 04:56:00 92.+B3ex4e 04:59:00 04:56:00 93.G4fx4e 04:59:00 04:56:00 94.N*8f 04:59:00 04:56:00 95.K7h-8g 04:59:00 04:56:00 96.+P5i-5h 04:59:00 04:56:00 97.B*2f 04:59:00 04:56:00 98.G*5b 04:59:00 04:57:00 99.G4ex3d 04:59:00 04:57:00 100.+P5hx6h 04:59:00 04:58:00 101.G3dx4c 04:59:00 04:58:00 Resigns 04:59:00 04:59:00 This is not a mating threat, but neither is 102.+Px6g or 102.+Rx7i, so=20 after both moves black wins with 103.Gx5b. Finally, 102.Gx4c +Sx4c=20 leaves white without defense. A good game by Moriuchi, who played his=20 best shogi with his back against the wall. With this win he ends a five=20 game losing streak in title match games and snaps a six game winning=20 streak in title match games by Habu. He is still in big trouble, but=20 winning the next game would really shift the momentum in his favor. [Black "Habu Yoshiharu, Oza"] [White "Moriuchi Toshiyuki, Challenger"] [Event "52nd Oza-sen, Game 4"] [Date "October 13th 2004"] 1.P7g-7f 00:00:00 00:00:00 2.P3c-3d 00:00:00 00:00:00 3.P2g-2f 00:02:00 00:00:00 4.P8c-8d 00:02:00 00:01:00 5.P2f-2e 00:02:00 00:01:00 6.P8d-8e 00:02:00 00:01:00 7.G6i-7h 00:04:00 00:01:00 8.G4a-3b 00:04:00 00:01:00 9.P2e-2d 00:06:00 00:01:00 10.P2cx2d 00:06:00 00:01:00 11.R2hx2d 00:06:00 00:01:00 12.P8e-8f 00:06:00 00:01:00 13.P8gx8f 00:08:00 00:01:00 14.R8bx8f 00:08:00 00:01:00 15.R2dx3d 00:09:00 00:01:00 16.B2b-3c 00:09:00 00:01:00 17.R3d-3f 00:13:00 00:01:00 18.S3a-2b 00:13:00 00:01:00 19.P*8g 00:13:00 00:01:00 20.R8f-8e 00:13:00 00:01:00 Both players play a lot of different openings, and the R8e Yokofudori is= =20 very popular, but this was still a small surprise. Moriuchi does not=20 play this opening much with white. This game becomes a long theoretical=20 battle. 21.R3f-2f 00:14:00 00:01:00 22.K5a-4a 00:14:00 00:01:00 23.K5i-5h 00:21:00 00:01:00 24.S7a-6b 00:21:00 00:01:00 25.G4i-3h 00:22:00 00:01:00 26.G6a-5a 00:22:00 00:02:00 27.S3i-4h 00:23:00 00:02:00 28.P7c-7d 00:23:00 00:03:00 29.P3g-3f 00:23:00 00:03:00 30.P*2e 00:23:00 00:54:00 31.R2f-2h 00:37:00 00:54:00 32.P*8f 00:37:00 00:56:00 33.P8gx8f 00:38:00 00:56:00 34.R8ex8f 00:38:00 00:56:00 35.P4g-4f 00:40:00 00:56:00 36.R8fx7f 00:40:00 00:56:00 37.B8hx3c+ 00:41:00 00:56:00 38.N2ax3c 00:41:00 00:56:00 39.S4h-4g 00:41:00 00:56:00 40.P2e-2f 00:41:00 01:15:00 41.P*8h 01:22:00 01:15:00 42.R7f-7e 01:22:00 01:46:00 43.R2hx2f 01:44:00 01:46:00 44.B*4d 01:44:00 01:47:00 45.P3f-3e 02:11:00 01:47:00 46.B4dx8h+ 02:11:00 01:56:00 47.P*7f 02:12:00 01:56:00 48.R7ex7f 02:12:00 01:56:00 49.P*7g 02:12:00 01:56:00 50.+B8hx7h 02:12:00 02:00:00 51.S7ix7h 02:13:00 02:00:00 52.R7f-8f 02:13:00 02:00:00 53.P*8g 02:14:00 02:00:00 54.R8f-8e 02:14:00 02:00:00 55.S4g-3f 02:14:00 02:00:00 56.P*8h 02:14:00 02:15:00 57.P3e-3d 03:06:00 02:15:00 58.P*2c 03:06:00 02:18:00 We are still in known territory. This position was also played in the=20 4th game of 72nd Kisei match between Goda and Habu. Black has a number=20 of options here, for example 59.B*7f R7e Px3c+ Sx3c N*3e or 59.Px3c+=20 Sx3c N*4e or even 59.N3g to attack with an extra knight after Px8i+, but= =20 none of these options seem to be bad for white. 59.N2i-3g 03:34:00 02:18:00 60.P8hx8i+ 03:34:00 02:34:00 61.S7hx8i 03:34:00 02:34:00 62.R8ex8g+ 03:34:00 03:23:00 63.R2f-2i 03:34:00 03:23:00 Still the same as what happened in the Kisei game between Goda and Habu.= =20 In that game, Habu was happy with the retreat of the rook to 2i and went= =20 on to win with white. However, the general opinion was that black had a=20 good position after 63.R2i. This is exactly the reason why Fujii=20 expected black to play differently. If your opponent voluntarily plays a= =20 position that is known to be bad, it is clear that he must have=20 something nasty up his sleeve. This fear of running into a trap almost=20 always makes the player who supposedly has the better position try=20 something else. Not in this game, Habu shows great composure by waiting=20 for Moriuchi to show what he has got. 64.N*2f? 03:34:00 03:51:00 Moriuchi is exposed as the emperor without clothes. After the game he=20 admitted he was bluffing, expecting Habu to change the moves. When this=20 did not happen, he started to feel more and more uncomfortable and this=20 forced him into changing the moves himself. Unfortunately for him,=20 64.N*2f is an important, probably decisive, mistake. In the Kisei game,=20 white played 64.N*5d, which was considered good at the time, but=20 Moriuchi said he had no confidence in this move. However, white had an=20 alternative here that was better than 64.N*2f, namely 64.P*8h. This also= =20 was analyzed at the time and the conclusion was that after 65.B*9h +Rx7g= =20 Px3c+ Sx3c B*5e black was better. Moriuchi of course looked at this and=20 also looked at 65.B*9h 66.+R8e 67.S7h and thought that white had no good= =20 continuation. However, the vulgar (and therefore hidden to the=20 professional eye) 68.N*8f next is much more difficult to deal with than=20 it looks. For example, 69.Px3c+ Sx3c N4e Nx9h+ Nx3c+ Gx3c N*4e G3b P*3d=20 N*5d is just one of the variations that ends up in a white advantage.=20 There are many difficult variations here, but the general feeling is=20 that if white can take the bishop on 9h, he has good chances. Moriuchi=20 had to admit that this was the best way to play here, despite the ugly=20 pile-up on the 8th file. 65.G3h-4h 03:37:00 03:51:00 66.G*3h 03:37:00 03:52:00 67.B*6e! 03:59:00 03:52:00 The perfect place for the bishop: attacking the promoted rook, the gold=20 on 3h and the vital attacking point 4c. 68.G3hx4h 03:59:00 04:26:00 After 68.+R8f Gx3h Nx3h+ Bx3h the white attack has completely=20 evaporated. Also, 68.Gx2i Bx8g R*3i Px3c+ Sx3c R*2a P*3a B*4i G*2h S4g=20 stops the white attack. It is important here to make white use the pawn=20 on 3a by giving check with the rook. Without this, white can keep=20 attacking with P*3f after S4g. 69.K5hx4h 03:59:00 04:26:00 70.+R8g-8f 03:59:00 04:26:00 71.G*7f 04:09:00 04:26:00 More or less the end of the game and the match. White has no chance of=20 breaking through anymore. 72.N8a-7c 04:09:00 04:30:00 73.B6e-5f 04:13:00 04:30:00 74.G*2h 04:13:00 04:50:00 75.P3dx3c+ 04:27:00 04:50:00 76.S2bx3c 04:27:00 04:50:00 77.G7fx8f 04:27:00 04:50:00 78.G2hx2i 04:27:00 04:50:00 79.N3g-4e 04:27:00 04:50:00 80.R*3i 04:27:00 04:51:00 81.N4ex3c+ 04:36:00 04:51:00 82.G3bx3c 04:36:00 04:51:00 83.R*2a 04:36:00 04:51:00 84.P*3a 04:36:00 04:51:00 85.S*2b 04:38:00 04:51:00 Resigns 04:38:00 04:59:00 Moriuchi takes 8 minutes to admit defeat. 86.Rx3f+ Rx3a+ K5b Sx3c+=20 followed by closing off the escape route with B*7b or threatening +Sx4c=20 next is more than the white position can take. Also 86.G3b P*3c easily=20 wins for black. More than anything a psychological victory for Habu, but= =20 after losing the Ryu-O, Osho and Meijin titles to Moriuchi, he will be=20 happy to finally win a match. This is his 13th consecutive Oza title,=20 tying the record by Oyama (Meijin from 1959 to 1971). Next year he will=20 have a shot a becoming the only player in shogi history with 14=20 consecutive title victories. In other shogi news: =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D * In the A junisen, three of the five games of round four have been=20 played. Surprisingly, the three leaders are Fujii (who beat Miura), Kubo= =20 (who beat Sato) and Fukaura (who beat Suzuki). Habu and Tanigawa can=20 join them if they beat Takahashi and Maruyama. The meijin challenger=20 race looks tight indeed. * In B1, round 7 was played and this class is even tighter than the A=20 class. There are four players with two losses: Morishita, Abe and=20 Nakagawa at 5-2 and Goda at 4-2. At the bottom Namekata got an important= =20 second victory against Senzaki, and the potential relegation spots are=20 now for Shima and Horiguchi. Both have the ability to make a strong=20 come-back, but they will have to start soon. * In the 5th round of B2, Yashiki suffered a shocking defeat against=20 Tosa, which leaves Tosa as the only player with five wins. He is=20 followed by Kimura, Minami, Naito, Sugimoto and Nozuki. Yashiki=92s hopes= =20 of breaking out of his Junisen jinx by consecutive promotions seems to=20 be almost zero after dropping back to 3-2. * In C1 also the 5th round was played. This class seems indeed to be=20 getting easier, as newly promoted Miyata and Yamasaki scored their 5th=20 win and are on target for consecutive promotions. Promotion favorite=20 Watanabe dropped an important game against Kobayashi Hiroshi and at 3-2=20 has almost no hope this season. Still, he has to play Yamasaki in the=20 next round and the players with 4-1 (Tsukada, Iizuka, Nakata Isao and=20 Okazaki) do not look invincible, so there may still be some room for=20 drama in this class. Reijer --=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: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Are you serious about buying a NEW car or truck soon?=20 Research before stepping on the car lot and save THOUSANDS! 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