I'm Glad I'm Not You

This article is translated from this link:
https://www.facebook.com/shogi.jsa/posts/437990166600028:0

Toshiyuki Moriuchi

When a great talent is located nearby, he can comprehend his own talent. In the masterpiece of both film and stage play “Amadeus”, Antonio Salieri is suffering due to jealousy of Mozart’s musical talent. However, jealousy could be excessively stronger since music masterpieces are usually created by a single person.

On the contrary, the game record of Shogi can’t be created by a single person. The Kifu can only be developed when an opponent exists to trade Shogi pieces. The more talented your opponent is, the more strength you’ll be able to draw out within yourself.

Yoshiharu Habu’s achievements were clearly ahead of Toshiyuki Moriuchi. Instead of giving up, Moriuchi chose to chase after Habu’s shadow, narrowing down the difference even by 1 millimeter.

Moriuchi gained his first title as Meijin in 2002.Habu acquired the title of Ryu-Ou (Dragon King) during his teenage years in 1989, which is 13 years before Moriuchi’s first title.

Despite having fierce matches with Habu in the title match, he was able to acquire the Meijin title five terms before Habu. Chronologically by attainement of the title “Lifetime Meijin”: 15th Meijin Yasuharu Oyama, 16th Meijin Makoto Nakahara, 17th Meijin Koji Tanigawa, 18th Meijin, Toshiyuki Moriuchi and 19th Meijin Yoshiharu Habu. Although Moriuchi is not as popular as Habu in the history of Shogi, however Moriuchi’s name was first recorded before Habu’s name.

Photo Courtesy of 日本将棋連盟

Article by: 日本将棋連盟 (Japan Shogi Association)
Translated by: Ryou Takehito
Proofread by: Karolina Styczyńska

Shogi meet in Brunei

Hey all,

Recently I've been in contact with the founder of Brunei Go Association (many great thanks to Chin Sin Voon!) in Brunei to let me use some part of the room during their regular meet.

As such, starting since last week (9 April 2016), there will be a regular Shogi meet. For those who resides in Brunei who are interested to learn or play Shogi we will have the meet at this location:

Details:
Day: Every Saturday
Time: 8pm till 10pm
Location: Capital Residential Suite (behind Pusat Belia)

I personally will be there to either study Shogi or teach so please feel free to come and join us!

We also have Go (weiqi), and I'll also showcase Dobutsu Shogi for newcomers and curious players!

Brunei players, hope to meet you all soon! =)

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Welcome Back?

Hey all,

It was been a long time, hasn't it? Checking back at this blog, it has almost been 3 years since my last post. So here comes the important question: have I given up on Shogi?

I'm sure most of you all might not believe me, but Shogi has always been on my mind. As much as I hate saying this, other things have occupied in my life that I couldn't dedicate much of my time in Shogi. Ever since my graduation in Melbourne, I've returned back to my hometown in Brunei Darussalam to pursue my career. Meanwhile, I've also taken up a new hobby in learning piano and other various activities.

Despite all these, it certainly has not stopped me from playing Shogi with computer AI and practicing tsume Shogi from time to time. Still, sometimes I just feel sad that there are no strong Shogi players that I can have a game or two in Brunei.

Now that I'm pretty much stable in my career and my life, I would like to once again be active in Shogi, a mind game that I greatly respect and adore when I first learned about it.

Reflecting on my performance and skills, I came to a realization that I'm more of an all-rounder player. I guess it's time for me to start focusing on one type of playstyle and start polishing my skills. And to that, I will start dedicating my time to study central rook Joseki (nakabisha).

Why Nakabisha? I've always been highly interested in specializing in Nakabisha when I first started Shogi, but never really had the chance to spend enough time on it.

It will definitely be a great challenge, but I'm sure I'll enjoy every moment of learning it. Afterall, I really love Shogi.

Thanks for reading, and although I won't be updating too regularly, but my love for Shogi will never waver.

See you guys around and I'll try to update more often!

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Conclusion?

Hey all,

How's everybody? I hope everyone's Shogi has improve alot since my last post! Haha!

Anyways, last Sunday I was promoting Shogi with Darren in Boxhill during the Japan Festival and it was amazing! I definitely have fun to meet interested people and old friends and I absolutely have fun teaching people how to play Shogi! =) Too bad I wasn't able to take any photos to show you guys, but it's definitely a blast spending the whole day promoting Shogi! Promoting Shogi this time has got me thinking about how I should approach to make newcomers get more interested in Shogi. I tried various approach, and I hope I'll be able to convince them to play more Shogi!

Is there anyone in Melbourne who's interested to learn Shogi, or just have a few casual Shogi games? Darren, the main promoter of Shogi in Melbourne, will be holding regular Shogi lessons on Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm in the city so if you're interested please let me know and I'll pass his contacts to you! This is definitely a great opportunity for people staying in Melbourne to learn more about Shogi if you're interested in it! PLEASE make sure to leave down your e-mail in my comment and I'll drop his contact to you!

Lastly, you might be wondering why this post title is named "Conclusion?". That is because I will be graduating soon, and won't be staying in Melbourne anymore. I've already bought my air ticket back to Brunei, and I will be leaving on 17th July 2013. It has already been three years since I'm in Melbourne, and I'm happy to say that I've meet a lot of wonderful people and friends through Shogi. Shogi has definitely make my stay in Melbourne delightful.

I was able to meet Darren, a friendly and wonderful person, who's been trying so hard to find ways to promote Shogi in Melbourne. It's always nice to see him whenever we meet up for Shogi.
I was able to promote Shogi in Melbourne, and see that alot of people are interested in learning how to play Shogi.
Finally, I was able to make new friends thanks to Shogi (and Darren too).

Exams are coming in less than a month and it really saddens me that I will be leaving Melbourne in less than 2 months.Shamefully, I haven't been improving much in Shogi (in fact I've gotten worst!), but my Shogi journey in Melbourne has definitely been an enjoyable one. And it's going to be the closing curtain for my Shogi journey in Melbourne.

I'm really thankful to those whom I've met through Shogi in Melbourne, and I really enjoy playing and talking about Shogi with you all. Thank you all very much (especially Darren!) and hope that one day when I travel back to Melbourne again I'll be able to meet you all wonderful people once again!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MELBOURNIANS!

 ありがとうございます！

Regards,
Ryou Takehito



PS: Any Shogi players in Brunei? Want to hang out and play Shogi with me? If yes, please contact me! I'll be more than happy to meet you have a casual Shogi game together! =)

Japan Festival in Melbourne

Hey all,

We will be promoting Shogi on the 19th May 2013 in Boxhill, Melbourne, Australia. So if you're staying in Victoria, and would love to experience or learn how to play Shogi, please visit us!

There are no further details on the location and time, but I will update this info as soon as I get more information from the main promoter, Darren.

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Kunio Yonenaga

Hey,

Consolation to the president of Japan Shogi Association (JSA), and one of the greatest Shogi player of all time, Kunio Yonenaga.

http://www.shogi.or.jp/player/kishi/yonenaga.html

May his soul rest in peace. Hope the future Shogi players will take some time to look over his kifu and be amazed at his magnificent gameplay and great Shogi sense.

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

A New and Fresh Start!

Hey all,

Wow. I can't believe it's been more than a year since I've updated my blog! It feels really ashamed that I haven't put any efforts into updating it!

Eventhough I've been hiatus for a long time, all this time I'm still paying attention to Shogi news, play Shogi games in my phone and even practice few tsume problems. Although it still saddens me that I might not have the strength of 2-dan anymore (unless someone's willing to spark the fire in me once again. lol).

To be honest, I'm going to graduate soon and my life will be move into the working society once I graduated.  Now that I have a serious love relationship, it's really time for me to think about working hard in my career and create a beautiful family with my girlfriend. lol.

Anyways enough about my personal life. Now let's talk about Shogi. Before I begin, I would like to thank all the readers out there for supporting me and have some faith with me. Now that I'm approaching my "working life", I'm sad and depressed that I had to forsake the dream of becoming a professional (although I am still seriously considering of becoming a teaching professional in my later life. lol). If I were single, I would definitely move to Japan after my studies in Melbourne and try to aim for the top. But as a Chinese (I'm not Japanese, mind you! lol), it is in my nature to be responsible to take care of my family (including potential future family members.). Also as a man, I cannot bear the thought of abandoning my family so I can pursue my dreams in Japan. There are always sacrifices in having a relationship, and I'm sure I won't regret this decision.

To be frank with everyone, I did not create this blog to be famous. The main reason why I created this blog is because I want to express my love and experiences in Shogi. The posts are also created to serve as a self-reflecting journal, so that if one day I looked back at all my past blog entries I would reminisce the good old times and also how I could further improve my skills. The secondary purpose of this blog is to share my experiences with everyone in the world. I want people to feel the joy and love that I've felt from Shogi and hope that others could start playing Shogi to enjoy it. As a normal person, I want to show people the proof that you can improve your skills in Shogi if you worked hard, like I did. I sometimes would get comments from people that I'm a prodigy or I'm a genius that's why I'm so good at Shogi. I was never good at chess (or any other variations) in my whole life! I'm not exactly a bright student either in my studies too (average about 65%). I want people to see that the sole reason why I got strong in Shogi is because of effort, time, hard-work and passion that I've put into learning Shogi and as a result I improved my skills. If a normal average person like me can become  a Dan player, I believe you can do it too. It wasn't an exaggeration that I used to spend at least 8 hours per day every single day reading Japanese Shogi books, which I don't understand most of the Japanese words (although I only knew how to read the kifus. lol).  Anyways, I am still trying my best to improve my skills (as I really love playing against tough opponents), but not for the sake of becoming a professional. I just want to improve my skills as much as I could.

Shogi definitely has a major impact in my life that I really hope I could return the favor. Therefore, in this post, I would like to discuss that from this post onward, future blog posts will not be solely focusing on my Shogi experiences. I will start interviewing people about their Shogi experiences and how it had impacted their life. I would also review Shogi books (if I have the chance to complete them in a short time), and I 'might' post about my afterthoughts of current professional games. However, I will not post about latest Shogi news as I believe Takodori (http://shogi.typepad.jp/eweblog/) and Yamajunn (http://yamajunnshoginews.blogspot.com.au/) has covered up the news very well. I usually read latest news from their blogs and I certainly do not want to take all their credit and post their news in my blog. I am highly interested in sharing my Shogi friends' experiences, especially Shogi promoters, so that in the future people could easily look for their contact information. I really think that they should take credit for spending alot of time and effort to promote Shogi in their country (or state) and yet does not gain the recognition they deserve.

Here's a summary of the topic I will covered in future blog posts:

1. Personal Shogi experiences

2. Advertisement of Shogi events (depending on where I'm currently located)

3. Interviews of Shogi players (especially promoters, or inspiring players)

4. Shogi book reviews and thoughts

5. Shogi improvement suggestions for beginners (won't be posting much about this)

6. Personal views and thoughts about interesting Shogi articles

7. Personal thoughts about current professional games (not sure I will be doing this or not)

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again in the next post!

Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!

Regards,

Ryou Takehito

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.

Goodbye Malaysia... soon

Hey,

As mention in my previous post, I was invited to MMU to be their arbiter. The overall experience was fun, and Nemonemo was being helpful during that time. Anyways more details can be read here: http://quintomyap.blogspot.com/2010/04/3-april-mmu-dragon-king-shogi-match.html

I'm sure some of my 'Shogi friends' have heard me talking, but I am going to graduate soon in Malaysia by the end of May and I'm going to Australia to pursue further studies for a year. It's saddening to say this, but after I have graduated in Australia, I am planning to go back to my hometown, Negara Brunei Darussalam and start my working career. This means that I am only going to stay in Malaysia till the end of May and will not come back again. All I can say is that my three years of Shogi experience in Malaysia have been fruitful, and priceless. Of course I am still pursuing my dream of becoming a professional Shogi player while I'm in Brunei, but I have already planned my path after I've left Malaysia. Here's my plan.

1. July 2011 - going back to Brunei to work.

2. Around 2015 - 2016 - if my Shogi strength is still weak, I am going to quit my job, go to Japan and become a teaching pro.

3. After becoming a teaching pro, if my strength improves, I will try to go for professional license.

Basically that's my plan for the future, although short. Hahahaha. Again, I would like to stress that I am not planning to study in Japan, but if I manage to become a teaching professional, I will MOST likely go to Japan and work. The main reason why I'm staying in Brunei to work is because I have promise my family to support them. But after few years later, which my little sister has graduated from her university and start working, then I won't have to support my family anymore and FULLY concentrate on pursuing my dreams. I really wanted to stay in Malaysia and work, but supporting family comes first for me.

Anyways, to all the Malaysian Shogi players out there, thanks for watching or taking care of me all these times. Your kindness have been really grateful to me. Thanks. Nevertheless I'll still work hard in Shogi as usual! Gambatte!

Regards,

Ryou Takehito

It's been a long long time

Hey,

how is everyone? It has sure been a long time since I've last updated this blog, haven't I? Truth to be told, I was kind of demotivated of updating this blog, especially when I'm busy and every update will always take about three to four hours! I kid you not! Each and everytime I update my blog, I would spent about 3 or 4 hours just to plan, type and edit my post! Even if it were a short post, it would take at least an hour! I guess probably the time factor of updating the blog has really demotivated me, especially during busy times.

So any new updates on my side? One of the good news is that I managed to beat a 5-dan amateur and officially became a 2-dan amateur player. Although I'm still a new 2-dan player, I'm still kinda weak so I hope I can make myself a solid 2-dan player on my casual games.

Aside from achieving 2-dan, I was invited by Quintom Yap to his university MMU in Melaka to be an arbiter for his organized Dragon King Tournament, although it's a closed. Looking at all the preparations and the schedules prepared by him, I am greatly impressed at the effort that he has put into it so I'm giving a big shoutout to him! Nevertheless I am looking forward to visit his university on the 2nd of April.

What about me? What have I done? Recently I realised that I am slowly losing the fire in my soul regarding about Shogi. Of course everyday I would read up new Shogi strategies and replay new kifus played by pro kishi, but it seems that something is missing. Maybe my mindset about having a "fun game" in Shogi is wrong, these days even if I lose I won't feel a thing. Maybe I should have a mindset of "not losing" that could kindle the fire in my soul, just like when I started Shogi. Just like what would the Singaporeans would do, maybe I really should be more "kiasu"and hope to strive victorious in all the games. Anyways I really think the mindset of "having fun"should really go if I really want to improve a lot more from today onwards. Geez, I'm not really sure what I'm talking anymore. Hahaha. Anyways I can ensure you that my love for Shogi will still be there, as always.

I would really like to thank all those who have spend time reading my blog. I'll try my best to update alot more from now on. Thanks.

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Happy 2010!

Hey,

Happy new year to all of you! If all of you have been suspecting, I have not retired from the world of Shogi! I just happened to be busy with some house chores and family so I couldn't really find the time to blog. Before I begin talking about this year's resolutions, let's look at at my previous new year resolutions and see if I have any accomplishments or not.

2009 New Year Resolutions:
1. Achieved 2-Dan amateur within this year!
2. Read up at least 3 psychology books.
3. Write at least 3 stories this year.

Okay, it seems that I did not achieve 2-dan amateur last year, but I promised I am going to become a 2-dan player soon. Last year I have an evaluation game with Kenji Kobayashi pro 9-dan and he evaluated my strength as 2-dan, but I felt strongly that I do not possess that strength yet. I've been trying to solve a 1-dan, 2-dan and 3-dan tsumeshogi problems with more than 15 moves (I will show the picture of the book in the next post) and I was able to solve every questions with a little ease and without a hint.

I did read up a psychology book last year, but failed to read 3 books because due to some "unnecessary" circumstances I was forced to work on my college 'group' assignments all alone, thus taking up a lot more of my time.

Although the stories are in bits and pieces, I did not write any story at all (which by the way are my other hobbies in case you're wondering.) Therefore I did not accomplished any of my new year resolutions. *sigh* What a bummer.

But looking back at the year 2009, I felt that I've made a lot of accomplishments.
1. I've successfully went to Japan, which has always been my dream country of visit ever since I was a child.
2. I've meet a lot of helpful Shogi players in Japan who have supported me in various ways, especially to Mr. Ishimaru, Yuki Kasai, Mr. Kunio Yonenaga, Nakamura Taichi, Mr. Yoshiharu Habu, Ryoya Tone, Yoh Hosokawa (thanks for all the help!), Kazuki Enomoto and others. Thanks for all your support and help during my stay in Japan!
3. I've met new Malaysian Shogi players, ESPECIALLY notably to Mr. Yeoh, who has given me some help and courage.
4. Made new Japanese friends in Japan Club Kuala Lumpur, who have been very friendly to me.
5. And other bits and pieces of accomplishments which I can't seem to remember. Hahaha.

Now onto my 2010 NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS!
1. Achieve 2-dan (or 3-dan) amateur in Shogi
2. Write up at least a story
3. Meet more Shogi players.

Lastly an important announcement to all Malaysia Shogi players!

It seems that there are more and more Malaysians playing Shogi so I have been thinking about setting up a 'mini' tournament in West Malaysia (only). It will going to be a friendly tournament so if you're new to Shogi it's all okay! If any Malaysians are interested in making this tournament a reality, please leave down your name (or web-name) and e-mail in my comment and if I felt that there are enough number of players, I AM GLAD to set up a mini tournament for all Malaysians out there.

To summarise it:
1. I need to know how many players are going to join the tournament by commenting on this post. If I felt that there are enough players to join the tournament, I will set it up. Please leave down your name (or web-name) and e-mail in the comments!
2. The purpose of this tournament is just to meet up all the Malaysian players, make friends and have fun. Although it is a tournament, you don't have to be strong or serious in the match. Therefore if you're new to Shogi, you're welcome too!
3. After I've decided to set up the tournament, EVERYONE should be participating in a discussion on how we can set up the tournament. Afterall, I'm only a student so obviously I can't set up everything by myself.
4. HOWEVER the the tournament MUST be set-up before May (with 31st April being the last day) so everyone must give me your answer as early as possible!

Therefore I am asking every Malaysian Shogi players to lend me hands and show me the enthusiasm of creating this mini-tournament! This will be a great opportunity to know that there are Shogi players in Malaysia!

I'm looking forward to great results!

Regards,
Ryou Takehito

To move, or not to move?

Hey,

Starting this week, I am going to post the kifu of all the games that I've played in Japan Club Kuala Lumpur and going to give deep analysis of all my games so I can see my own improvements or how I can make my game better. However there is just one problem.

Blogspot does not allow me to upload swf files. which is essential for me to post my game. But in Typepad.com I will be able to upload the games' kifus with ease. Now here's my question: should I continue blogging with Blogspot or Typepad?

I certainly do not want to lose all my memories and comments in Blogspot, but I also do not want to waste alot of time just to upload a kifu.

For now I'm uploading a simple flash, but I do hope I will be able to upload a better version in the near future. So for now please advise that should I choose Blogspot or Typepad.



Regards,
Ryou Takehito

Mini Shogi Interview

Hey,

A lot of people read my blog, and I believe that everyone is curious about my Shogi play style, right? This is a small interview about myself to let players know (especially my opponents who have played against me like Paul Luk, Xinwen, Erwann and so on) so that they can get to know a little better of me, especially due to the fact that I'm always changing my strategy and play style. Here goes!

1. Static or Ranging Rook player?
I have always strive to be a flexible player, excel in both static and ranging rook Joseki, but according to my post in http://ryoushogisekai.blogspot.com/2009/03/as-1-dan-shogi-player.html, it seems that I am suppose to choose. After eight months have passed, I think I still prefer to be both a static and ranging rook player so expect me to play all sorts of Joseki against you!

2. Lucky Item during a serious match?
This one is easy. It's the fan given by Kazuharu Shoshi-sensei. I will always bring it with me whenever I'm going to get serious in Shogi matches/games.


3. Favourite Shogi players of all times?
This is a difficult question! I actually admire a lot of professional players like Moriuchi-sensei, Akira Watanabe, Koji Tanigawa, Sato Yasumitsu, Kubo-sensei, Fujii Takeshi and so on, but if I have to choose one I guess most probably is Yoshiharu Habu-sensei. Afterall, it was Habu-sensei's games that have motivate me to get serious in Shogi.

4. Favourite Static Rook player of all times?
Definitely Yoshiharu Habu-sensei!

5. Favourite Ranging Rook player of all times?
Toshiaki Kubo! The best of the best ranging rook player out there! I really love his games alot, especially his Central Rook Opening (Nakabisha) games!

6. Favourite Amateur player of all times?
I'm giving a huge shoutout to Hidetchi, Manabu Terao and Yuki Kasai for giving alot alot ALOT of contribution to the society by promoting Shogi. The effort and passion that they have showed really touched and impressed my heart. Although I've never seen Hidetchi's and Manabu Terao's games, but I believe that they're excellent players with high skill levels.

7. Most spent time on Joseki?
The time that I have spent the most on studying Joseki is Yagura Joseki, especially the Morishita System.

8. Most spent time on Joseki (ranging rook)?
The time spent mostly on studying is the Fourth File Ranging Rook (Shikenbisha) because I was studying Ibisha Anaguma last time (http://ryoushogisekai.blogspot.com/2009/09/am-i-ready.html), which covers the Fujii System, and I also read a little about it from Kenji Kobayashi's book.
9. Favourite Joseki of all times (playing)?
Another difficult question for me as I played all sorts of Joseki. Most probably the Kakugawari (Bishop Exchange). It's true that I spent a lot of time reading Yagura Joseki (without the Bishop Exchange), but I really hate playing it as I believe it has a great disadvantages for Sente (or black player), but I'm still investing my time reading it anyway!

10. Favourite Ranging Rook Joseki of all times (playing)?
This is another difficult question. I personally like playing Central Rook Opening because it's interesting, but I hate the fact that I can't make a complete Mino Castle (gold at 5h) because the Rook is blocking it and the left side of my castle is a little empty! I have been playing a lot of Opposing Rook recently but still I like Central Rook Opening because it is tough, challenging and exciting for me to play!

11. Favourite Static Rook Joseki of all times (watching)?
I really enjoy Yodofudori (side pawn kicker) games as it is complex and exciting. I saw too many Yagura games and starting to feel a little drowsy about it but I'm still excited to watch a Yagura game.

12. Favourite Ranging Rook Joseki of all times (watching)?
Gokigen Nakabisha! Fast paced game and truly exciting! One of my most favourite game is between Habu-sensei and Kubo-sensei in the 57th Osho-sen game 2: http://www.teu.ac.jp/gamelab/SHOGI/NEXUSBOARD/57osho2Jav.html

13. Favourite Castle of all times?
Errrrr.... another tough one. I spent most of my time making a Yagura castle, but I really hate this castle as almost everyone knows how to exploit it, but then again I still think I like Yagura castle the most. =P

14. Most hated Joseki of all times?
Central Rook Opening (Nakabisha). The reason why I hate playing against a Nakabisha is because the Japanese old man in Japan Club always play Nakabisha against me, and I found that it usually ends up as a tough match for me to beat him, which is a little annoying to me. (http://ryoushogisekai.blogspot.com/2009/04/killing-two-birds-with-one-stone.html) To pay back my respect, I fight fire with fire and played a double Nakabisha against him, which I gained victory. However during our last double Nakabisha game, which is just a few weeks ago, I faced a total defeat against him. I think that's when it change my mind about playing Nakabisha and decided to try using a special ranging rook strategy Opposing Rook. I guess I can't beat a true Nakabisha player. =)

15. Most hated castle of all times?
I used to be afraid of Anaguma, but now that I've learned Ibisha Anaguma, countering it is no longer a problem for me, even during a handicapped game when my opponent is building an Anaguma while I'm playing without a Rook and a Bishop and still won the game. Eh, Alex Chan? =P Like I've stated before, I hate Yagura castle and will definitely spend tremendous amount of time studying on ELIMINATING it.

16. Favourite play style?
Fast and exciting, which both me and my opponents' kings are in high danger without castling. But I still truly enjoy slow-paced games.

17. Hated play style?
Fast-paced games, especially when I make one wrong move and the game is immediately over. I also hated slow-paced games that result in "dreadlock", where both me and my opponent have spent all of our "development moves" and "waste a turn move" and whoever starts the battle first will lose the game immediately. This is not fun at all.

18. Specialty?
My specialty? Hahahaha. To be honest with you all, I'm also not sure what's my specialty because I've been playing too many different kinds of Joseki and strategy. But if I were to choose one, then I guess most probably it's the Yagura Joseki because of the large amount of time I've spent on it, although I really hope I can be more specialise in Kakugawari. Kakugawari really piqued my interest alot.

19. Most Favourite Shogi picture?
My game against Chen Xinwen when I first started playing Shogi in 2007. This game actually lasted for about 3 hours because we're still new to Shogi and we just basically put all our captured pieces back during the endgame, which drags the game too much. But I have been using this as my wallpaper ever since I've gotten this picture and never EVER had I change the wallpaper once before! Definitely my most favourite Shogi picture as it represents a deep and memorable meaning for me.
(Analysis of the game for the curious: Left player moves first will gain advantage but if Right player moves first he'll gain advantage. But I forget who's suppose to move next =.=||)

As I would like to end the interview in 20 questions, I'm adding a random question in:

20. Favourite I-Go players of all times?
Chang Hsu (or Cho-U: http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/player/htm/ki000331.htm ), Chen Xinwen and Ho Hock Doong.


Okay, that's all! I hope you all enjoy it! I hope that this answers those who are curious about my Shogi life. Once again, hope you all take care and I'll see ya in the next post!


Regards,
Ryou Takehito




(PS: Exam starts in 6 hours and now it's 2.00 a.m.! X_X )

Extra PS: Other Shogi players are welcome to use these Shogi interview questions and do your own interview! But please please please do leave the link in my comment so I can read yours as a sign of courtesy! =)

Fun Interesting Fact

Hey,

On the year 2005, Takehiro Ohira won the Ryuo-oh-sen league game in just 52 minutes, which each player has a thinking time of 5 hours!

Reason?
So that he can reach Zone's final concert!

Evidence:


Kifu:
Koichi Kodama (Sente) against Takehiro Ohira (Gote)
Thinking Time: 5 hours per player.
http://wiki.optus.nu/shogi/index.php?cmd=kif&cmds=display&kid=17048

Regards,
Ryou Takehito