A Temporary Farewell

Hey,

as what the title has suggested, this blog will be undergoing a hiatus for the moment because there has been lots of new things entering my life. At the moment I won't be focusing too much on my Shogi studies but I'll definitely join the weekly Shogi gatherings in Melbourne and also try to promote Shogi in June.

So what are the reasons for my temporary inactivity in Shogi? Well, I've recently pick up a guitar and I'm learning it from scratch. I've been thinking of learning the guitar for years and just a month ago I've decided to give it a try. I actually love music alot, especially rock music so I was thinking why not learn how to play the guitar so I could play my favourite songs? Learning the guitar is no easy thing for a beginner and it has taken up a tremendous amount of time just to get my fingers used to chords and chords changing. My finger tips are a little sore as I'm typing right now. =)

Another reason for the lack of time is the assignments! Assignments are getting heavier and heavier by the end of this semester and exams are coming up next month! I've gotta study and make preparations for exams.

Lastly, I would like to say is that I finally have a girlfriend. =) Since our relationship has just started so I personally think that it's important to spend more time with her and build up our relationship. She is an understanding person and would willing to sacrifice "our bonding time" so I could focus on my stuff, but I don't want her to do that so that's why I'm using some of my "leisure or free" time with her.

This is not a farewell. After I've managed to master the guitar and get my studies over, I'll be sure to come back with a loud BANG! =)

Hope you guys will continue on with your Shogi journey!

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Quiet blog is quiet

Hey,

I guess it has been a long time since I've made any post. I'm finally back in Melbourne and I'm trying to cope up with my studies. It's been really hectic with all those individual/group assignments that it's really getting on my nerves.

Well, to be honest, not much stuffs have happened to me for the past few months. However I did manage to join the tournament that I've mentioned in my last post.

YEA! THE KL-MEIJIN SEN 2010!!!!!!!

Participants for the tournament are lesser this time, and I happened to meet few of my old rivals. =) Unfortunately I lost during the first round. My opponents too good that he made it into the finals! He said that he is a 2-dan player but I highly doubt it since he can face against a 5-dan amateur player almost at an equal level! Hate to admit it, but I did made a huge blunder which ultimately cost me the game. Ouch.

Next I had an evaluation game against Kenji Kobayashi 9-dan with a rook-handicapped. Sad thing is, I manage to get a win from him but failed. =/ Great news is that he acknowledge my skills at 2-dan amateur, which is a great thing to hear but I'm still highly doubt that I have acquired the level of 2-dan.

Not much Shogi things going on for me recently but I've heard news that there are going to be:
1. A Shogi tournament held in West Malaysia (unconfirmed from the host)
2. Another Shogi promotion from Darren Paul (Ramalam) in Melbourne during June!

I sincerely apologized for the lack of details and information about the Shogi Festival 2010. I didn't happen to have any camera with me at that time. And I would also like to apologize for the lack of updates on my blog. It just seems that there are lesser and lesser interesting Shogi events happened for me that there are nothing to write about. I've been brainstorming for the couple of weeks about what I should write about and I came out with a few. Should I write about:
1. On-going Professional Shogi tournaments with personal analysis and comments?
2. Random analysis and impression of professional Shogi game records?
3. Random pick of amateur games (especially from 81-Dojo) and personal opinion and analysis of their games?
4. Interesting Shogi articles from other foreign bloggers (most notably a Shanghai player)?
5. About my non-Shogi related personal life?

It would be great if anyone could give me any opinion about this. Afterall, this is about my Shogi life and I would definitely love to keep this blog going on and on and on and on till my last breath.

I'm definitely hoping for some advices and would love to update this blog again soon in the future after I've received some comments from you all. =)

Hope you all take care and continue to enjoy Shogi!

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Back in Malaysia!

Hey,

I'm finally back in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but my stay will be until mid-December only.

My purpose of staying in Malaysia this time is to help my family with the Buddhist Event, so I won't be able to go to Japan Club Kuala Lumpur as much as possible. But today I did go to JCKL, so it was really great to see my friends again.

I am here to inform everyone in West Malaysia that this year's Shogi Festival is on again! Here's the details of the event:

Shogi Festival 2010
Date: 28th November 2010 (Sunday)
Time: 10.00am to 5.00pm
Location: 'Japan Club Kuala Lumpur', Fuji Room
Detailed Location: No. 2, Jalan 1/86, Off Jalan Taman Seputeh, 58000, Kuala Lumpur
Extra Info Location: it's just a small walk from Midvalley, roughly about 5 minutes.

Events:
1. Knockout Tournament with adult and child category
2. A talk by Kenji Kobayashi, 9-dan professional Shogi player
3. Strength evaluation by Kenji Kobayashi
4. Free Dinner?

There is a high possibility that I won't be able to participate in this wonderful event, so this is really disappointing for me. =/

Anyways if I manage to take out some free time to join, please wish me good luck if you happen to see me there!

Don't miss this chance to meet professional player who only came once a year and also participate the KL-Meijin-sen and become the next KL Meijin! If you miss this event, you might have a hard time to join this event again!

Good luck to those who are going to join the tournament!

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Japan Festival in Melbourne

Hey,

exams are finally over for me and I can start concentrating on Shogi again! As I've mentioned in the post in AISEP staff blog, we are going to promote Shogi during the Japan Festival and here are some info for those who are interested in coming:

Japan Festival
Collingwood Town Hall
Collingwood, Australia
7th November 2010
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Entry Fee: AU$5.00

So anyone who's interested in Japan Culture are welcomed to visit. Just remember to give us a shoutout whenever you're passing by the Shogi section! =)

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Melbourne Update 2!

Hey,

Sorry I haven't bee updating much. I've been busy with my studies, but I am still studying Shogi as usual. Exams are coming soon and I am actually sad that I am not able to play Shogi during this study period.

Anyways, I just published a lengthy post on this blog so you can read it: http://aisepstaff.blogspot.com/2010/10/post-aisep-2009-story-of-malaysian.html

I seriously can't wait for exams to be over. I was told by Darren (ramalam) that there's going to be a Japan Festival in November in Melbourne, and we are going to promote Shogi there! Unfortunately I don't have the details so I can't pinpoint the date and location of the event.

I will be going back to Malaysia on the 13th November for 3 weeks, so anyone in West Malaysia who's interested in playing Shogi can definitely meet me in Japan Club Kuala Lumpur on Saturday from 3pm to 8pm. The location is: No.2 Jalan 1/86, Off Jalan Taman Seputeh, Taman Seputeh, 58000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, located near Midvalley.

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Shogi in MELBOURNE!

Hey,

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post anything for the last few weeks because I still do not have any internet connections at the moment! (I'm using my university's connection right now)

As everyone have guessed, I am now in Melbourne, currently in my 2nd week of stay and I'm really enjoying the cold winter in the city, although there isn't any snow at all. =/

Thanks to my previous post, I was able to meet up with a few Shogi players in Melbourne and it is really a great honour to join their gathering. =) A great thanks to Darren, who is the organizer of the gathering, for letting me know about the Shogi gathering so I can continue practising my Shogi by playing against Shogi players.

The sad thing about being in Melbourne is that there aren't any Japanese bookstores! (or I haven't been able to locate them) And Kinokuniya is only available in Sydney, which is hours of flight away! Fortunately I was able to find a Japanese gift shop that actually pre-orders magazines from Japan so I was able to subscribe myself copies of 'Shogi Sekai', which is a great thing for me to continue improving my shogi skills!

At the moment there isn't much happenings in Melbourne regarding Shogi for me, but I do hope I could get heavily involved with Shogi-related events in Melbourne in the coming future. I heard that there is a Shogi club in Monash University, so I might try to contact them someday.

If there is anyone who stays in Melbourne and is interested in learning or playing Shogi, please leave your contacts in the comments so we can meet up in Boxhill's train station this sunday!

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

End of Path... The Beginning of a New Journey

Hey,

Tonight's the last night of me staying in Malaysia. I'll be returning back to Brunei temporary for my holidays and finally go to Australia in July to pursue my studies for 2 years in Melbourne.

I can't believe time passed by so quickly over the course of four years during my stay in Malaysia. Looking back at my old posts, I felt a great sense of achievement about my Shogi career - how I've started playing Shogi and tried to get my hands on Shogi equipments, how I've trained myself day and night trying to improve my skills and how I've travel and met great and challenging opponents. It has been a wild and fun ride, and I can't believe I'm still in love with Shogi!

If there's anyone out there asking me what is the only thing that I'm most proud of, I would definitely answered "My Shogi Career".

Although my journey in Malaysia has come to an end, it is only the conclusion of a chapter of my story. My journey, or my story, will still continue when I go to Australia for my studies, ensuring that I will achieve my 'real' dreams.

I want to thank you all fellow readers for accompanying with me in this great journey during my stay in Malaysia. I can't express how much it has been a great support to encourage me to continue my Shogi career. I hope you, the fellow reader, will continue to travel with me in Australia while I strive to achieve my dream in my Shogi career, as a proud Malaysia player.

Thank You All! And I hope to see Shogi players in Australia, if there's any! =)

Sincerely,
Ryou Takehito



Achievements/Profile in Malaysia
1. Shogi Career: 2.5 years (as of June 2010)
2. Rank Improvement: Beginner to 2-dan Amateur (as of June 2010)
3. Met Yoshiharu Habu, Kazuharu Shoshi, Kunio Yonenaga and Daisuke Katagami
4. Represent Malaysia and participate in AISEP 2008 and 2009
5. Promoted Shogi in Taylor's University College
6. Inivited as an Arbiter in the MMU Dragon King Shogi Match (Closed)
7. Invited by Japan Club Kuala Lumpur members to promote Shogi in University Malaysia.
8. Participated the KL-Meijin tournament in 2009. Qualify in the preliminary round but lost in 2nd round of tournament (against 5-dan)
9. Met a lot of Shogi-related friends and acquaintance.
10. Last but not least, met Xinwen, my best friend, who had brought me into the wonderful world of Shogi and had change my life.