Shogi Reborn: Mind's Gambit

At the end of May, the third match between 8-dan Yamatokiri and Ryuo Kuzuryu took place, and once again, Kuzuryu suffered a loss. The reason for his defeat was his reckless attack in the final stages of the game. It's understandable, given that he was suppressing a pressing need to use the restroom at that critical moment, which likely pushed him to launch that ill-advised attack. Even so, Ai commented, "What a waste."

After this loss, Kuzuryu visited a public bathhouse near Kiyotaki-san's home, marking the start of the rainy season, leading to the events at Gokigen no Yu. If Gokigen no Yu wasn't located in Kyobashi, I would have used it more often. It's a bit far from Kobe. While the train ride from Fukushima to Kyobashi takes just over 10 minutes, traveling from Kobe takes nearly an hour. That's why I chose to visit during Golden Week, a time when elementary schools are on break.

Still, it's close enough to go on a day off, and the two-hour round trip is worth the effort. If I had the chance, I might even visit while Kuzuryu is working, just to tease him. Honestly, I'm a bit jealous of his antics, like the JS Reflex gimmick.

'Ten'i would probably step on you if you asked. Seriously.'

(That's just like Sora-san. Speaking of which, didn't Sora-san show up while Ten'i was training?)

'There's a chance they crossed paths when the Master wasn't around—particularly during the Challenger Finals of the Kiteisen, where you defeated the Meijin.'

(The match itself was fine, but I really wanted to skip the interviews afterward. It was my first title challenge, so I understand why there were so many questions, but the interviews alone took up nearly half a day.)

Since my challenge for the Kiteisen title has been confirmed, I'll be facing Shinokubo Taishi, the current Kiteisen champion, starting in July. Among the younger players in the Kanto region, he stands out even more than Ayumu. Not only is he a prominent rising star, but he also graduated at the top of his class from the prestigious Keio University. Compared to me, a middle school dropout, our educational backgrounds couldn't be more different. In my previous life, I was supposed to graduate from a decent university, but in this life, I didn't feel like attending high school, so here I am, a middle school graduate.

'Let's utterly crush him.'

(Of course. Beating a handsome "Crown Prince" type like him in straight games is a must.

...Wait, didn't I also beat the Meijin in straight games?)

'Yes, you did. The infamous "Kuzuryu Inferno" on NicoNico Live happened during the third game of the Kiteisen match, where you sealed the win.'

(Is it really going to cause a stir again? I'll definitely rewatch the broadcast later.)

For now, I'll gather information on Shinokubo Kiteisen, but since it's bound to stress me out, I'll probably stop halfway. Besides, Ten'i's MyNavi Women's Open is happening during the Kiteisen match, so I'll focus more on that.

In the MyNavi Women's Open, which Ten'i is participating in, amateurs are allowed to enter the Challenge Matches. From there, players progress to the First Preliminary, then the Main Tournament. If Ten'i advances, she'll face Sora in the Women's Queen title match. Since she's still an amateur, Ten'i has to start from the Challenge Matches. For the record, she doesn't visit often, but at the Kansai Shogi Hall's dojo, Ten'i is already ranked 4-dan.

In the original story, participation in the training sessions required membership in the workshop, but since Ten'i isn't a member, she needs to hold at least a dan rank. If she frequented the dojo more often, she could probably achieve a higher rank, but since she's not particularly motivated, we decided to leave it at 4-dan for now.

Today, I'll be teaching Ten'i about komaochi (playing with a handicap where the opponent's lance is removed) at her estate. While playing with a mindset similar to an even match is one approach, and it's fine if she can win that way, komaochi is a legitimate handicap system. It's worth understanding how to exploit the handicap to her advantage.

"Playing komaochi as if it were an even match can sometimes put the lower-ranked player at a disadvantage," I explained.

"At a disadvantage? Do you mean they can't capture the lance?" Ten'i asked.

"That's part of it. But there are also moves that would normally work if the lance were present, which don't work in komaochi. The absence of the lance creates vulnerabilities. If you play as if it's an even match, you might miss the chance to exploit those gaps."

Another potential obstacle for Ten'i in the Shōreikai (Professional Shogi League) exam could be Sōta Kunugi, a 1-kyū player. By July, he should be promoted to 1-dan, so he'll likely still hold that rank during the exam. If Ten'i takes the 1-kyū exam, she'll get the advantage of the first move, so her chances of winning are reasonable. Kunugi is about a year older than Ten'i, I believe.

"Yes, he's one year older. If Ten'i takes the 1-kyū exam, I'm certain they'll pair her against him."

(The second stage of the Shōreikai exam pits examinees against Shōreikai members. Since the members' results are added to their records, they'll give it their all, which makes it challenging.)

"Alright, that's it for today," I concluded. "The Shōreikai often uses komaochi pairings, so if you start at 1-kyū, you'll also need to study how to play from the upper hand."

"The upper hand in komaochi means swinging the rook, right? Seishi Tamashiro taught me a little about it."

"So he's teaching swinging rook strategies whenever he gets the chance, huh? Well, it's a good opportunity. Let's visit Gokigen no Yu this weekend."

I smoothly guided the conversation toward visiting Gokigen no Yu, and on the day of the trip, I arranged to meet Ten'i at Osaka Station. From there, we headed toward Kyobashi. Just as we boarded the train, we unexpectedly ran into Kuzuryu and Ai sitting together. What were the odds of that happening?

"Fukushima is the opposite direction, Ryūō," I pointed out.

"We've got plans in Kyōbashi," Kuzuryū replied.

"Yep! Ai and I are headed to Gokigen no Yu," Ai added cheerfully.

"Oh, really? What a coincidence," Ten'i said. "We're headed there too."

The pair didn't seem too surprised that we were heading to Gokigen no Yu. No doubt they'd heard about it from Seishi Tamashiro.

Kuzuryū and Ai were on their way to Gokigen no Yu again today. On their way, they ran into Ten'i and me by chance, and we decided to go together. Seeing me, Kuzuryū was quickly reminded of his first time visiting Gokigen no Yu with Ai.

"Ai, huh? It's a nice name, but pretty unusual. Just last month, a girl with the same name came here every day for a whole week," the bathhouse owner remarked at the time.

"Are you talking about Yakushigami Ten'i!? Ōki's apprentice!" Kuzuryū exclaimed.

"Ten-chan trained here too!?" Ai added in surprise.

"That's right. Ten'i came here looking for sparring partners to practice against furibisha strategies. Between her and me, we played over 100 matches. I've never been so close to losing, so many times, to such a little girl playing on equal footing."

It was then that Kuzuryū learned that Ten'i and I had been frequenting Gokigen no Yu. He also discovered that Seishi had lost to Ten'i in a komaochi game, confirming that Ten'i was already at a dan-level skill for the Shōreikai.

"Ten'i seemed to really enjoy playing with the regulars at the dojo," I mentioned. "It was a nice change from just online shogi or training games with her teacher."

"Oh, that reminds me—there's something I should give you," Seishi said, pulling out a stack of game records. "These are game records of Ōki beating shogi software."

"What!? Why do you have these, Seishi-san?" Kuzuryū asked in shock.

"Ōki brought them as part of the deal for having me train Ten'i. These are 100 game records where Ōki played as the second player, using the nakabisha strategy, and defeated the software."

"Are you sure we can have something like this?" Ai asked hesitantly.

"They're just copies. And honestly, about half of them use strategies so unconventional they're almost useless. Besides, 71 of these games involve obscure software exploits that Ōki used to manipulate the AI's decision-making. He completely turned the software's logic against itself. Still, there are plenty of interesting concepts and ideas in there."

After finishing his conversation with Kuzuryū and Ai, Seishi shared two-thirds of the game records that Ōki had brought. Even though many of them relied on exploiting software vulnerabilities, they were invaluable research for Kuzuryū, who eagerly accepted them as if they were treasures.

Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon

https://patreon.com/Glimmer09