From: Reijer Grimbergen yz yamagata-u ac jp> Date: 26 aug 2007 Subject: This week in Shukan Shogi (no. 1191, March 28th 2007) Another double header: the 7th game of the Osho match between Habu and Sato and the 4th game of the Kio match between Moriuchi and Sato. Sato lost both games, burning himself in a dubious opening that will probably not be played again. Here are the games with comments: [Black "Habu Yoshiharu, Osho"] [White "Sato Yasumitsu, Challenger"] [Event "56th Osho-sen, Game 7"] [Date "March 19th and 20th 2007"] 1.P7g-7f 00:00:00 00:00:00 The furigoma for this final game resulted in three pawns and two tokins, giving Habu the black pieces. Especially with white, Sato has been playing some daring opening strategies. This game is no exception. 2.P3c-3d 00:00:00 00:02:00 3.P2g-2f 00:01:00 00:02:00 4.P9c-9d 00:01:00 00:04:00 5.P9g-9f 00:02:00 00:04:00 6.P1c-1d 00:02:00 00:27:00 7.P2f-2e 00:14:00 00:27:00 8.B2bx8h+ 00:14:00 00:27:00 9.S7ix8h 00:14:00 00:27:00 10.S3a-2b 00:14:00 00:27:00 11.S3i-4h 00:14:00 00:27:00 12.S2b-3c 00:14:00 00:27:00 13.K5i-6h 00:22:00 00:27:00 14.R8b-2b!? 00:22:00 00:43:00 In the press room the professionals were taking it easy a little at the start of the game, but this definitely got their attention. White is not defending against the fork B*6e...! The normal way to play here is to 14.R4b first and after the development of some pieces move the rook to 2b. 15.K6h-7h 01:00:00 00:43:00 Habu thinks for 38 minutes, but decides to play it safe here. Black can promote the bishop with 15.B*6e B*7d Bx4c+, but things are not so easy. For example, G4a-5b P7e Gx4c Px7d Px7d or G4b +Bx6a Kx7a G*7e lead to an all-out attacking game where black is not necessarily better. Sato will definitely have prepared this better than Habu. 16.K5a-6b!? 01:00:00 00:53:00 Another daring move. Habu may have moved his king a little bit more to safety, but still Sato doesn't defend against the bishop fork. 17.B*6e 01:16:00 00:53:00 This time Habu bites. 18.P7c-7d 01:16:00 01:07:00 Nice defense. With the king on 6b, it is now even easier to defend against the bishop promotion. 19.B6ex7d 01:28:00 01:07:00 19.Bx4c+ is answered by 20.P6d and the promoted bishop has no squares to go. If black then opens up the bishop's diagonal with 21.P7e Px7e P8f, white can simply exchange bishops with B*3b or B*7f. Therefore, black has no choice but to take the pawn on 7d. Black wins a pawn, but the bishop is on the wrong diagonal and white still has the bishop in hand. Hard to say who is better. 20.S7a-7b 01:28:00 01:26:00 21.B7d-5f 01:31:00 01:26:00 22.G4a-5b 01:31:00 01:34:00 23.P3g-3f 01:43:00 01:34:00 24.P5c-5d 01:43:00 01:36:00 25.P6g-6f 01:44:00 01:36:00 26.B*5e 01:44:00 03:06:00 27.S4h-3g 02:05:00 03:06:00 28.B5ex6f 02:05:00 03:06:00 29.S3g-4f 02:05:00 03:06:00 30.K6b-7a 02:05:00 03:08:00 31.S8h-7g 02:42:00 03:08:00 32.B6f-8d 02:42:00 03:21:00 33.K7h-8h 02:42:00 03:21:00 34.P4c-4d 02:42:00 03:51:00 35.G4i-5h 02:50:00 03:51:00 36.G5b-4c 02:50:00 03:51:00 37.G5h-6h 03:11:00 03:51:00 38.B8d-7c 03:11:00 03:55:00 39.G6i-7h 03:43:00 03:55:00 The sealed move. The first day started with some fireworks, but the game has settled into a strategic battle. 40.P4d-4e 03:43:00 04:00:00 41.B5fx4e 03:43:00 04:00:00 42.S3c-4d 03:43:00 04:00:00 43.B4e-6g 03:43:00 04:00:00 44.P*4e 03:43:00 04:00:00 45.S4f-3g 03:43:00 04:00:00 46.N2a-3c 03:43:00 04:00:00 47.P7f-7e 03:54:00 04:00:00 48.G6a-5b 03:54:00 04:19:00 49.P7e-7d!? 04:03:00 04:19:00 A little psychological trick with major consequences. This is not a move a professional would like to play. Without any support, the pawn on 7d might just be lost. Also, with the pawn on 7d any later drops of lance or knight on 7d are no longer possible. Still, there is a reason why Habu played this move. The tricky part is that Habu played this move quite fast (only 9 minutes thought). If he would have played this move after thinking for a long time, he would have signaled that there is something in this position and Sato would have been warned. As it is, Sato doesn't think much of this move and plays his reply very quickly. 50.B7c-8b? 04:03:00 04:21:00 Shogi at the top level is a very scary game. Sato battled so hard to get back into this match and now throws it all away with one sloppy move, played after only 2 minutes. If he would have taken his time, he wouldn't have missed Habu's hidden attack and might have played something like 50.B8d, which is unclear. 51.P9f-9e 04:27:00 04:21:00 The edge attack was of course expected by Sato, but he had overlooked a crucial move. 52.P9dx9e 04:27:00 04:22:00 53.P*9d! 04:27:00 04:22:00 Sato had only looked at 53.P*9c here, but white can just ignore that move and play 54.P3e, after which white gets a strong counter attack against the rook. The point of 53.P*9d is not that black can play Lx9e next, because this is easily met with P*9b. The real meaning of 53.P*9d is that black can play P9c+ next, which wins a knight. 54.K7a-6b 04:27:00 06:03:00 Sato spent 101 minutes on this move, at least half of which was probably spent on cursing himself and trying to compose himself to put everything into a desperate defense. 54.P8d also doesn't save the knight because of 55.P9c+ Nx9c P8f. 55.P9d-9c+ 04:29:00 06:03:00 56.N8ax9c 04:29:00 06:04:00 57.P*9d 04:29:00 06:04:00 58.S4d-5e 04:29:00 06:04:00 59.P9dx9c+ 04:54:00 06:04:00 60.L9ax9c 04:54:00 06:04:00 61.P3f-3e! 04:54:00 06:04:00 Habu shows no mercy. White had been intending to push the pawn to 3e for a long time, but now black is using that same square for a deciding push. 61.N*8e seems enough, but by playing 61.P3e, black can bring the rook into the attack with R2f followed by R8f. This basically decides the game and Sato's desperate struggles are just for the record. 62.P3dx3e 04:54:00 06:05:00 63.R2h-2f 04:54:00 06:05:00 64.R2b-2a 04:54:00 06:36:00 65.N*8e 05:06:00 06:36:00 66.S5e-6d 05:06:00 06:48:00 67.R2f-8f 05:44:00 06:48:00 68.N3cx2e 05:44:00 07:22:00 69.S3g-2f 05:58:00 07:22:00 70.S6d-6e 05:58:00 07:22:00 71.P7d-7c+ 06:07:00 07:22:00 72.S7bx7c 06:07:00 07:22:00 73.N8ex9c+ 06:07:00 07:22:00 74.B8bx9c 06:07:00 07:22:00 75.R8fx8c+ 06:07:00 07:22:00 76.S7c-8b 06:07:00 07:24:00 77.+R8c-8e 06:10:00 07:24:00 78.P*7f 06:10:00 07:25:00 79.+R8ex6e 06:17:00 07:25:00 80.P7fx7g+ 06:17:00 07:25:00 81.G7hx7g 06:17:00 07:25:00 82.P*7f 06:17:00 07:34:00 83.G7gx7f 06:20:00 07:34:00 84.N*9f 06:20:00 07:45:00 85.L9ix9f 07:05:00 07:45:00 86.P9ex9f 07:05:00 07:45:00 87.N*5f 07:05:00 07:45:00 88.S*5e 07:05:00 07:50:00 89.P*9d 07:11:00 07:50:00 90.B9c-8d 07:11:00 07:50:00 91.S2fx2e 07:19:00 07:50:00 92.S5ex5f 07:19:00 07:58:00 93.+R6ex5f 07:20:00 07:58:00 94.L*5e 07:20:00 07:59:00 95.+R5fx4e 07:28:00 07:59:00 96.L5ex5g+ 07:28:00 07:59:00 97.L*4d 07:36:00 07:59:00 98.G4cx4d 07:36:00 07:59:00 99.+R4ex4d 07:36:00 07:59:00 100.P9f-9g+ 07:36:00 07:59:00 101.N8ix9g 07:37:00 07:59:00 102.N*9f 07:37:00 07:59:00 103.K8h-7g 07:38:00 07:59:00 104.R2a-7a 07:38:00 07:59:00 105.G6hx5g! 07:44:00 07:59:00 Habu may have been kind to his opponent when he said after the game that even though he felt sure he was better, he didn't feel like he was making much progress and only here he felt that he was winning the game. This lance is the piece he needs to finish white off. 106.B8dx5g+ 07:44:00 07:59:00 107.S*5c 07:44:00 07:59:00 108.G5bx5c 07:44:00 07:59:00 Sato decides to allow a mate instead of the horrible 108.K7b (shutting out the rook) Sx5b+. 109.+R4dx5c 07:44:00 07:59:00 110.K6bx5c 07:44:00 07:59:00 111.N*6e 07:44:00 07:59:00 Resigns 07:44:00 07:59:00 Mate after 112.K4b S*4c or 112.K6b S*5c K7b G*7c Sx7c Nx7c+ Kx7c S*7d Kx7d B5f +Bx5f L*7e (there is the lance that black rook on move 106). Quite a devastating loss for Sato, who just like last year loses the Osho match in the final game after a great come-back. Last year he came back from 0-3 to lose in 7 games and this year he came back from 1-3, only to lose again in 7 games. For Habu, the story is completely different. With this victory he claims his 10th Osho title, which means that he is now "Lifetime Osho", an honorary title which until now only Oyama had been awarded. Habu now only needs one more Ryu-O title and one more Meijin title to be "Lifetime Seven Crown", i.e. have the honorary "Lifetime" title for all seven titles. [Black "Moriuchi Toshiyuki, Kio"] [White "Sato Yasumitsu, Challenger"] [Event "32nd Kio-sen, Game 4"] [Date "March 23rd 2007"] 1.P7g-7f 00:00:00 00:00:00 2.P3c-3d 00:00:00 00:00:00 3.P2g-2f 00:00:00 00:00:00 4.P9c-9d 00:00:00 00:00:00 5.P2f-2e 00:01:00 00:00:00 6.P9d-9e 00:01:00 00:00:00 7.S3i-4h 00:02:00 00:00:00 8.B2bx8h+ 00:02:00 00:01:00 9.S7ix8h 00:02:00 00:01:00 10.S3a-2b 00:02:00 00:01:00 11.K5i-6h 00:09:00 00:01:00 12.S2b-3c 00:09:00 00:01:00 13.K6h-7h 00:09:00 00:01:00 14.R8b-2b 00:09:00 00:03:00 15.B*6e 00:21:00 00:03:00 The position is slightly different than in the 7th game of the Osho match that was played a couple of days earlier, but the theme is the same. White doesn't defend against this fork, but things don't seem so easy. 16.B*7d 00:21:00 00:05:00 17.B6ex4c+ 00:21:00 00:05:00 18.G6a-5b 00:21:00 00:05:00 19.+B4cx5b! 00:23:00 00:05:00 The alternative is 19.P7e Gx4c Px7d Px7d and the white position seems to be hard to play with the rook close to the generals (white might have to return with the rook to 8b and play a Yagura!). However, Moriuchi didn't like the loss of tempo and the hole at the head of the king and decided to play 19.+Bx5b instead. 20.G4ax5b 00:23:00 00:13:00 21.G*7e 00:23:00 00:13:00 22.P6c-6d 00:23:00 00:24:00 23.G7ex7d 00:35:00 00:24:00 24.P7cx7d 00:35:00 00:24:00 The equation seems simple: white has a gold in hand to drop and black has an extra pawn, so it is hard to say who is better. However, white has the serious problem that without the gold, his defensive formation is pretty weak. If white can find a way to attack without letting black in, the gold in hand is very powerful, but if not (like in this game) the weakness of the king will be the Achilles' heel. 25.P3g-3f 00:58:00 00:24:00 26.K5a-6b 00:58:00 00:40:00 27.P4g-4f 01:12:00 00:40:00 28.S7a-7b 01:12:00 00:43:00 29.N2i-3g 01:17:00 00:43:00 30.S7b-6c 01:17:00 01:02:00 31.G4i-5h 01:19:00 01:02:00 32.N8a-7c 01:19:00 01:05:00 33.P1g-1f 01:37:00 01:05:00 34.S3c-4d 01:37:00 01:21:00 35.P5g-5f 01:58:00 01:21:00 36.P1c-1d!? 01:58:00 01:46:00 Sato is not happy with his position and tries to confuse the issue. Defending at the edge took Moriuchi completely by surprise. This "come and get me" tactic is often used at the top level. It seems all straightforward: 37.P1e Px1e P*1b Lx1b P2d Px2d B*1a and after R4b Rx2d black is clearly better. However, Sato's plan was to answer 37.P1e with 38.P3e Px3e Sx3e and attack the head of the knight. Despite this, Sato said he also didn't have much confidence in this variation. Still, Moriuchi stops in his tracks and thinks for almost an hour... 37.N3g-4e! 02:56:00 01:46:00 Thinking long in a complicated position often leads to a bad move, but not in this case. Moriuchi said he played this because white was waiting for the edge attack, but this is also a very strong move. Without the knight on 3g, the attack with P3e is meaningless, so now black strongly threatens P1e next. 38.P3d-3e 02:56:00 03:28:00 Sato decides to attack on the third file anyway, but that fact that he thought 101 minutes (of a total of 4 hours) about this move shows that it was not a move he liked to play. "Pushing forward where the knight has just left is strange", Sato admitted. 39.P3fx3e 03:15:00 03:28:00 40.P7d-7e 03:15:00 03:28:00 41.P7fx7e 03:36:00 03:28:00 42.R2b-4b 03:36:00 03:29:00 43.B*3d 03:37:00 03:29:00 Actually, Moriuchi was not so sure about his position here. He didn't want to drop the bishop at this awkward spot, but the post-mortem analysis seemed to show that white could not take advantage of this. 44.S4dx3e 03:37:00 03:30:00 45.R2h-3h! 03:43:00 03:30:00 Now white is in trouble. For example, 45.P*3f is answered by 46.Bx2c+ and now B*2i R3i Bx5f+ is impossible because of Nx5c+. 46.B*4d? 03:43:00 03:52:00 "Now it all went terribly wrong" commented Sato after the game. He had looked at 46.P*3f Bx2c+ G4c, but saw that after P*3c he can't hold his position together. His best option was 46.P*3g Sx3g N6e which looks strong, but can be answered by P6f. Then B*2i P*3i (R3i is now not possible because Bx5f+ is a check) Bx3h+ Px3h R*4i Px6e Rx1i+ S7g and the black position is very solid. "I hadn't thought about this much, but compared to the game P*3g is clearly better" (Sato). 47.B3dx5b+! 03:53:00 03:52:00 48.S6cx5b 03:53:00 03:52:00 49.G*5e! 03:53:00 03:52:00 Game over. Black can promote the rook and the white position collapses. 50.S3ex4f 03:53:00 03:53:00 51.R3h-3a+ 03:55:00 03:53:00 52.S4fx5e 03:55:00 03:57:00 53.+R3ax4b 03:55:00 03:57:00 54.G*5a 03:55:00 03:57:00 55.R*8b 03:57:00 03:57:00 56.P*7b 03:57:00 03:57:00 57.+R4bx5a 03:57:00 03:57:00 58.K6bx5a 03:57:00 03:57:00 59.P5fx5e 03:57:00 03:57:00 60.B*5f 03:57:00 03:59:00 61.R8b-8a+ 03:57:00 03:59:00 62.G*6a 03:57:00 03:59:00 63.P*4f 03:58:00 03:59:00 64.B4dx5e 03:58:00 03:59:00 65.P*5d 03:58:00 03:59:00 Resigns 03:58:00 03:59:00 If 66.Px5d P*5c is just too much and not taking on 5d is also not an option, so Sato resigned. It is very rare that Sato folds so easily, as he is known for his fighting ability in worse positions, but maybe this opening is just a little too daring. So, black wins four games in this Kio match and it is clear that the Furigoma to decide the first player to move will be watched most eagerly by players and followers. -- 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/ --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: shogi-l shogi net EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a2i6Ys.aCGIy8.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=TEXFOOTER --^----------------------------------------------------------------