Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Who's the Malaysian guy?

Hey all,

This interview is quoted from this site: http://www.shogi-isps.org/Enews/archives/000049.html


Editor:
What do you think of the Internet in relation to spreading Shogi? You appear to imply that spreading efforts should be focussed on countries where people cannot afford to have computers.

Habu:
In Japan where the atmosphere surrounding the Internet is excellent, the Internet is very effective in spreading Shogi. In the international field human presence should be essential at the initial stage. However, I found an exception in Beijing this year. A Malaysian student participated on his own. In the circumstances where Shogi is totally unknown, he learnt it through the Internet, improved himself and came to the meeting. Thanks to the Internet, an amateur of the Shogi was born. There exists a possibility that Shogi spreads in an unimaginable circumstance.




I am very happy that Mr. Habu mentioned about me in the interview, although he did not say my name. Well, it is true that I did not know about Shogi until I saw Japanese play Shogi in Japan Club Kuala Lumpur. Having the urge to know how Shogi plays, I went home that night and start learning Shogi using the internet. Although I did learn how to play Shogi using the internet, but I rarely play Shogi games against human players. The only games I've played on the internet are against AI (Ham Shogi) and against human players when I was still a beginner (about 15 kyu). I did not play against human players again until after the participation of AISEP (Asian Intercultural Shogi Exchange Program), which I was playing against a Beijing friend for leisure and teaching. I think it has been more than six months since I last played against a human player in the internet.

I personally hate playing Shogi while staring at the monitor because if I concentrate too much it will actually hurt or strain my eyes. However I still use my laptop to play Shogi only for leisure or blitz, which the game will normally only last less than 5 or 10 minutes. It's no wonder why I have never participate in any "internet Shogi tournaments" mainly because it hurts my eyes and the match usually starts in midnight.

Back in Beijing last year, during Mr. Habu's talk, I remember he once said that it is impossible to improve Shogi skills/techniques without the supervision of a teacher/sensei. Even if the player do improve he will never achieve dan-level or become a professional. I think it was during that time that I have made a big resolution to prove that I can improve alot just by self-teaching myself and also without a sensei. America and Europe countries are very lucky to have their own sensei to teach them how to play Shogi but in Malaysia there is not even a single Shogi professional (or maybe he's hiding) so it's hard to find myself a sensei. But I want to prove to the Shogi community that even without a sensei I can get stronger, solely on passion, dedication and hard-work. Becoming 1-dan in a year without a sensei is a great achievement for me, therefore I'm going to continue to work hard to become a Shogi professional one day.

Lastly, a quote from Habu:
Habu: "Exactly, there would be a choas should 'The Shogi Sekai' magazine begin to sell all over the world. (Laugh)"

I have copies of Shogi Sekai since last year and you don't see me going insane. Hmm...


Regards,
Ryou Takehito

4 comments:

Biondy said...

hi there. My name is Biondy. just started playing shogi about 3 days ago.

I wantedto ask whether there is a good English shogi content website?

thank you.

Ryou Takehito said...

Dear Biondy,

I only know some sites:

1. http://shogi.typepad.jp/eweblog/
(For Shogi news updates)
2. http://yamajunnshoginews.blogspot.com/
(he publish old news but I read it for extra knowledge).

I myself don't really know much about English-content Shogi sites. I usually went to Japanese content Shogi websites to learn techniques and openings.

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Anonymous said...

hey, i'm human and you play me !

anyway, congrats that Habu remembered you :)

Ryou Takehito said...

I meant players on the internet.

And thanks.