Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Handicap Matches
"Ugh, why can't I win?!"
"As if I'd let you win so easily. Still, getting this close against me in an even game isn't something most Shōreikai members can manage."
Day five of training. Ten'i had played more than 20 games in the three-board simul against Akashi Gyoku. She'd won twice in bishop-handicap games and once in lance-handicap games. But in even games, she remained winless. Not that it was surprising.
Shogi isn't a game where the stronger player always wins. Even strong players make mistakes, and Akashi Gyoku isn't immune to that either. Victory hinges on the gap in skill between two players being too large for a mistake to overturn the outcome. In this case, the difference between Ten'i and Akashi Gyoku was just that significant.
Especially in these three-board simul games, which were played at lightning speed. Ten'i made mistakes, but so did Akashi Gyoku. Yet, even with those mistakes, he didn't lose an even game—that's the pride of a professional.
"What do you think, Akashi Gyoku? Between Ten'i and Kuu-san, who's stronger?"
"I'd say they're about evenly matched. But if they meet in the Queen's Title match, Gin-chan's experience with title games will give her the edge."
(Did I just let slip that Akashi Gyoku and Kuu-san are in a study group together? Was that supposed to be a secret?)
"'I don't think it's a secret, but knowing about it could seem odd.'"
"Right, of course. I've got a title match coming up myself, so I plan to share the atmosphere of the experience with Ten'i."
"Facing the Meijin in the challenger's match, and you're this nonchalant about it? I envy that carefree attitude."
The upcoming Shogi Emperor challenger's match is against the Meijin. But honestly, Ai should win. That Meijin is past their prime. In their heyday, maybe there'd have been a 1% chance of losing.
"'Even in their prime, Ai's win rate would've been 99.9999%.'"
(The fact that Ai won't say 100% shows how exceptional that Meijin really is.)
"I'll beat the Meijin without hesitation."
"With how you've handled the software opponents, I'd say as long as you don't mess around in the opening, losing isn't a concern."
Incidentally, the Shogi Emperor matches have the shortest time limits of all title games, with each player getting four hours. For first-round qualifiers, it's just one hour. It's a single-day title match, so there are no sealed moves. The prize money is also the lowest among the major titles—three million yen. Compared to the Dragon King match, where the prize money is more than ten times that, the gap between sponsors is striking.
(When you think about the Rookie King prize being two million yen, three million feels like pocket change.)
"'You'd just spend it all on computers and games anyway, so what's the difference?'"
(Says you. Lately, I've been spending on clothes, shogi pieces, and boards too. Speaking of which, where's that set with Ten'i's father's calligraphy?)
"'Didn't Kyōsu Third-Dan have a connection? …By the way, thinking about a December 10th gift this far ahead is kind of creepy.'"
(Shut up. This is one gift I'm determined to deliver, no matter what.)
Still, even if the prize money is modest, the Shogi Emperor title remains prestigious. Winning it would change my name from Ōki Seventh-Dan to Ōki Shogi Emperor.
As part of her training period, Ten'i was granted a week of Akashi Gyoku's time. Over the next two days, Ten'i would stay overnight and focus solely on shogi. For the first time in her life as a sheltered young lady, she also experienced cleaning a bathhouse.
The Gokigen Bathhouse boasts a large tub, and during cleaning, Ten'i wore her gym clothes. Unfortunately, she slipped and fell, getting slightly wet. The wet fabric clung tightly to her, and seeing that...
Akira, holding a camera, burst out with a nosebleed. Way to ruin the freshly cleaned bath with your blood.
"'By the way, isn't Akira worried about wearing such an expensive-looking suit while cleaning the bath?'"
(It's probably cheap. Maybe they bulk-ordered them for uniformity across the group.)
Though Ten'i was a bit embarrassed, if she's going to be embarrassed, she should at least aim for Asuka-level proportions first. As that thought crossed my mind, Ten'i shot me a deadpan glare. How did she know what I was thinking? It's terrifying that she can sense my unspoken thoughts. Could it be that my mental conversations with Ai are being overheard too?
In moments like this, it's better for me to change the topic. Ah, I haven't brought this up before.
"Ten'i, how many shogi boards do you have in your mind? Do you have eight?"
"I've got eight for sure. If I push myself, I think I can handle nine."
"...What!?"
"Hm? How many does Akashi Gyoku have?"
"...If I really focus, I can manage three. Are you guys serious right now?"
"Want to test it out? With Ten'i's talent, she could probably manage ten boards."
In the original Gokigen Bathhouse storyline, the topic of mental shogi boards came up. That was when Ai revealed she had 11 mental boards, shocking both Kuzuryu and Akashi Gyoku. Ten'i, being used to playing multiple boards simultaneously, might actually be capable of handling ten boards.
"No way… This kid can handle six boards in her head and still plays just like normal?"
"Well, it's pretty tough as it is now, so I'd say eight boards at most. Being able to win consistently with a rook handicap shows how much she's improved."
Taking advantage of the moment, we decided to test this with Akashi Gyoku. He played six boards simultaneously with Ten'i: one even game, and others with various handicaps—lance, bishop, rook, rook and lance, and two pieces. Akashi Gyoku played with visible boards, while Ten'i played blindfolded.
The result? Ten'i won three games—against two-piece, rook and lance, and rook handicaps—and lost cleanly on the remaining three.
After finishing the games, Ten'i seemed reasonably exhausted, so it's clear that fully committing to eight mental boards simultaneously is still a bit much for her. When she asked how many mental shogi boards I could handle, I simply told her, "Over 100."
"That's not a lie, is it? If I asked you to play 100 mental games against the dojo's guests, you'd actually pull it off, wouldn't you?"
"You can bring me 100 professional players if you'd like."
'If I push my brain to its absolute limit, I could probably handle 600 games.'
(There aren't even that many professional players. The total number of pros barely reaches 200, and even if you include women's players, it doesn't hit 600.)
During the final two days, I was too busy with matches and work to keep a close eye on Ten'i. Still, it seems she focused primarily on three-board matches against Akashi Gyoku, gaining valuable experience against real opponents. If this progress carries over, she might even clear eight-board matches against 6-dan players in online shogi. For her last game on the final day, as instructed, she played a bishop-handicap match against Akashi Gyoku and managed to win.
Beating Akashi Gyoku in a bishop-handicap match suggests Ten'i's skill level, when fully focused on a single board, is around 2-dan in the Shōreikai ranking system. Once the MyNavi Women's Open Challenge Matches are over, it might be worth seriously considering having her take the 1-kyū Shōreikai exam.
The Shōreikai exam is a high-stakes challenge; failing it would waste an entire year, so most people play it safe to ensure they pass. But with Ten'i's current skill level, she should have no trouble passing the 1-kyū exam.
That said, there's a good chance she'll face Sora during the exam. If it's for 1-kyū, the match against Sora would involve a lance handicap. Since she'll need to study lance-handicap games anyway, I might as well start teaching her strategies for them now, keeping the exam in mind.
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