The International Shogi Forum is the best event to spend several full days dedicated to shogi. If you managed to qualify for your country, you can take part to or attend some of the many organized events : team and individual amateurs tournament, quick games between the best pros, a computer shogi tournament or simul handicap games against pros. Chess boards are available as well.
Usually, meeting some shogi professionals is only possible during visits of professional players in western countries. If you want to see more pros at once, you can give a look at Shogi Sekai monthly issues. But if you want to see all of them in the same time and at the same place, then book a flight to Tokyo, Japan, and wait for the opening ceremony of the International Shogi Forum !
Of course, it is a bit exaggerated : all pros are not there of course, but so many attend this ceremony that give up trying to count them all ! And try to meet them instead ! That is what I do this evening :-) And I have the chance to talk with the shogi legend Harada sensei and many other famous names.
In the afternoon, Gert Schnider from Austria plays a rook handicap game against Teruichi Aono, 9 Dan, a strong professional of the A class of the Junisen. Aono came several times in Europe in the early eighties. During his first visit, he teached in Paris the rules of shogi to Viktor Korchnoi. From a spectator point of view, Gert plays very well the middle game and wins convincingly. He will say after the game that it is his first rook handicap game against a pro. Gert shows that he is well prepared for this event !
With Teruichi Aono - Hideyuki Takano and his wife
This day is the first of the two days individual and team tournament. Everybody is going to compete for the first places. The winner will be regarded as one of the best amateurs. But don't forget that the top Japanese amateurs do not participate, and the level of the tournament is much lower than the amateur Ryu-O sen or the amateur Meijin sen ! Takahiro Hayashi, 6 Dan amateur and winner of the first ISF tournament doesn't play neither. Anyway, this event is the best opportunity for the world of shogi to gather the best amateurs from outside Japan. The final results will motivate all nations to become stronger and to do their best for the next ISFs :-)
Among the top four of the previous tournament, only Larry Kaufman plays again this time. Larry only lost in the final to Takahiro Hayashi and surely remembers the excitement in the 1999 final where he missed the chance to be the overall winner. Larry and all the other participants will do their best to win the new trophy !
This time, the amateur tournament is divided into two parts : an individual tournament and a team tournament. The team competition is played as a typical Japanese tournament with groups of four teams and a knock out tournament with the best two teams of each group. The top board of each team plays in the individual tournament after the elimination of his team. This rule allows all nations to play all rounds and to compete until the very end of the final fifth round ! This is a good improvement over the previous ISF.
An important organizational point is that the pairings are done on a random basis. One consequence is that the two highest ranked players in the individual tournament play together as soon as the first round. This will have an influence on the very top final places ;-( The score of this first game is given page 169 of the december 2002 issue of Shogi Sekai. The commentator writes that I miss an important defensive move. With the P*8c drop, I can protect my weak side, prevent Gert's rook promotion and stay in the game. At this point of the game, I don't find this defensive drop and Gert gets a decisive attack and wins.
If you give a look at the first round pairings and at the final table, you will see that the other two players finishing equal firsts in the individual tournament play together in this first round as well !!
In the team competition, after the second round, each top board player of teams with two losses joins us in the individual tournament : USA and The Netherlands. And after the third round, top board of Germany and Great-Britain joins us as well. Well-known names in the west are added in the individual tournament table and this tournament becomes stronger.
At the end of the first day, Mirnik, Yoshida and Kolomiets are first in the individual tournament with 3 wins. In the team competition, only one European team qualifies for the semifinals : Sweden. Japan, China and Brazil are the other qualified teams.
During the games, you can attend a first quick game between Masataka Goda and Yasumitsu Sato. Another quick game will take place tomorrow.
Tokyo by night - Mayumi Tanada and Tarin Clanuwat
This second day sees the realization of hopes or fears. Let's see what happens.
As in 1999, the playing conditions are perfect : the spectators can look at the games without disturbing the players. One can take a photograph or make a drawing of your game without that you notice it :-) To get an example, read below the comments of the final round game !
A scorekeeper does the furigoma and writes down all the moves for you, as in the professional games ! During the analysis, if you need an advice, you can ask the scorekeeper his comments about the game or a key move. He is in the shorekei and is stronger than us. I use this help during the analysis of one of my games.
In the team competition, the fourth round sees the elimination of Sweden and Brazil. These teams are declared equal third in the team competition. Finally, we are fourteen in the individual tournament just before the final round.
For the pairings of the leading players, Kiyoshi Onogi asks us to join him, each player is going to choose a token with a number to know the name of his final opponent ! Boris Mirnik leads the tournament alone with a perfect score of 4 points. Boris is the current European champion and he is clearly in good shape this tournament. Five players share the second place with 3 points. This is the last chance for us to catch up with Boris and to hope to take part in a decisive playoff game !
Boris is the first to take a token. Gert and I both wish to play against Boris. We all three regularly play together in European tournaments. We often play close games. In this summer European championship, I meet Gert in the semifinals. A win gives me a place in the final but I lose to Boris who becomes European champion for the second time. So, this is our last chance this year to try to win against him.
Boris Mirnik vs Éric Cheymol - Shusaku Nakahara's drawing of the game
A German team photograph
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And I have the chance to choose the good token. Boris is usually very cool in shogi tournaments. But this time, I notice that Boris is a little nervous. This game is important for him : this year, he has already won the French open championship, the German championship, the European championship !! And a final game victory will conclude the grand slam !
If I win this game, I can share the first place with Boris, even if a loss in the first round definitely prevents me from having a good sum of opponents scores. If Boris wins this game, I can be the first to congratulate him for this tournament victory :-) I have the chance to be sente and I am more relaxed than him. Boris always plays fourth file rook, I choose to exchange bishops as soon as the bishop diagonal opens. This strategy works very well and I manage to take the advantage in the middle game.
The shogi ban of my last game after 14.P1f
A German team photograph
During the game, a Japanese artist makes a drawing of our game ! He stays a couple of time nearby us for his drawing and I don't notice him at all ! I get the surprise the day after when he offers a copy of his drawing to Boris and me. His name is Shusaku Nakahara, he is a member of an association that says something like "Don't take any photograph, draw instead" !
Shusaku Nakahara with his drawing of the game
In the same time, a quick game is played between Toshiyuki Moriuchi and Yoshiharu Habu. I can not stand up and see the game myself as the final game against Boris is important as well ! I hope to give a look at it later but my game lasts too long !
After this final round, four players share the first place with 4 points. The rules of the tournament say that in case of a tie, a playoff game takes place. So we all expect a final interesting game to declare the winner of the Second International Shogi Tournament ! Unfortunately, no final suspense will happen as the organizing committee chooses to use the some of opponents score as the tie break system. So finally, the pairing system by drawing lots has a big influence in the final ranks ;-( Gert Schnider, from Austria, emerges as the winner. Boris Mirnik, from Germany, is declared second despite his lead in the tournament until the very end. Larry Kaufman, from the USA and Éric Cheymol, from France are equal third. As soon as the annnouncement of the final results, many journalists look for the winner, asking for photographs and interviews ! Gert will have his photograph printed in many shogi newspapers !
All the paticipants
A German team photograph
The prize giving ceremony is conducted by Tatsuya Futakami, 9 Dan and chairman of the Japanese Shogi Association. Gert Schnider gets a 5 Dan diploma, becoming the first European player with such a high grade. Boris Mirnik receives a 4 Dan diploma for his performance in the tournament. Larry Kaufman and I receive a third place diploma. In the team competition, Japan emerges as the winner team and China as the runner up team. Captains of Brazil and Sweden reveive a third place diploma. All players in the individual or team tournament get beautiful pieces or boards for their participation.
In the evening, I am invited for a traditional visit to Toshio Miyata's shogi club :-) Third trip in Japan, third visit in Toshio's club ! Visit this place as well and you will be able to meet other friendly players. Be careful with the clock or you will have to run after a good diner with the club mates in order to catch the last subway !
With Toshio Miyata - Toshio's Shogi club
For the final day of this trip, all players can attend a chess simul ! This is the second time that Joël Lautier plays simul chess games in Tokyo against Yoshiharu Habu, Toshiyuki Moriuchi and Yasumitsu Sato. The simul is organized by Jacques Pineau, the chess trainer of Yoshiharu and Toshiyuki, and takes place in a reception room on the first floor of a NEC company building.
Joël plays carefully in his game against Yoshiharu. He already has analyzed the chess style of the shogi champion when Yoshiharu participated in may in the second NAO chess masters. After the simul, Joël declares that he has planned to play a slow game to prevent Yoshiharu from using his chess skills in the middle game and to be able to take the lead in the endgame. This plan works perfectly and Joël's endgame knowledge is enough to win the game.
But the surprise comes from another board : Toshiyuki Moriuchi, the Meijin title holder, finds an amazing defensive move against Joël's attack. His imagination works perfectly and only a lack of chess practice and a lack of time prevent him from converting his game to a win. Joël's chess experience helps him to save the game and Joël offers the draw a few moves later.
A simul view - Shusaku Nakahara's drawing of the simul
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In the chess game against Yasumitsu, Joël gets the better in the middle game and converts a better pieces development in a convincing win. During the games, the artist Shusaku Nakahara makes drawings of the players. These are really good.
This chess match ends with Joël Lautier's victory with 2.5 points out of 3. Joël declares his satisfaction about this match : the shogi champions played very well with the chess pieces and only a lack of experience prevented them from getting more points. Next time, Joël will play more carefully as the shogi champions skills in chess are raising fastly ! During the party following the chess simul, Joël shows the result of his work in the Japanese language by reading his speech in Japanese almost without an accent !
Yoshiharu Habu - Joël Lautier
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Toshiyuki Moriuchi - Yasumitsu Sato
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The International Shogi Forum is definitely the best place to meet amateur players from all over the world. This is the best chance as well to see so many shogi professionals in the same place. But when you take part in a tournament, you can not pay enough attention to the other events than the one in which you took part !
If you want to read other detailed reports, give a look at the best shogi magazine and newspaper. A first report about this event is published in the december 2002 issue of Shogi Sekai, in pages 156 to 170. Another one is published in the 6 november issue of the weekly newspaper Shukan Shogi, in pages 4 and 5.
See you in the next ISF !