Toshiaki Kubo defeated Akira Watanabe in 118 in the fourth game of the Kiou title match, securing his defense with a 3-1 score, denying Watanabe the chance for a second title. This is Kubo’s second defense of the title, after defeating Yasumitsu Satou 9-dan twice in the previous two years.
Toshiaki Kubo 2-Crowns defended the Oushou title 4-2 against Masayuki Toyoshima 6-dan. This is Kubo’s first defense of the Oushou title after taking it from Habu last year. The games can be replayed on Mainichi’s Official Oushou Page.
The 2011 Ladies Meijin-i tournament was played once again by Kana Satomi 3-Crowns, the current holder, and Ichiyo Shimizu Ladies 6-dan, from whom Satomi took the title last year. In a repeat of last year, Satomi won the title match in a 3-0 sweep, leaving Shimizu still without any titles.
Kana Satomi 3-Crowns defeated Ichiyo Shimizu Ladies 6-dan in 151 moves in the first game of the Ladies Meijin-i Title Match.
Ichiyo Shimizu, who lost this title last year, is back to try to put her name in the list of female title holders once again, after losing her last title to Satomi in last year’s Ladies Oushou title match. Last year, the challenger, Satomi, defeated Shimizu in a 3-0 set. Will this year be a repeat of last year?
Oneye (Poland) defeated Tellmarch (France) in 86 moves in the third and last game of the 2nd 81-Ou Title Match.
Tellmarch defeated Oneye in the first 81 Ou title match with 2 straight wins, but Oneye came back this term and took the title with a 2-1 series. This is the first time an 81-Square Universe title match has gone past 2 games.
The third 81-Ou title match is currently in the registration process. The following is a list of qualified participants:
A-CLASS:
Tellmarch
Linkuei
Karthum
keishogi
Silverkronan
kkr5015 (+)
DemonikOu (+)
hirohiigo (+)
barbapappa
B-CLASS:
Hidetchi (-)
Hidan (-)
niccar (-)
Shigure (-)
slippe
DracoLeugen
BlueFlame90
nutaboutit (-)
Chileno (+)
takodori (+)
KIT (+)
Koshiro (+)
Robinso (+)
Samurai-Blue (+)
RPX (+)
YukiTakahashi (+)
facteurix (+)
christophew (+)
bokkel (+)
widar (+)
Lukas (+)
Othin (+)
C-CLASS:
alex94s
Yuri
Cambioforma
Dark D White
Pinoko
Shogismive
Toshiaki Kubo beat Masayuki Toyoshima in 88 moves in the first game of the Oushou Title Match.
This match is the title debut match of the young Toyoshima, who’s only 20 years old. Toyoshima introduced a new move in this game against Kubo, playing ▲R-5h against Kubo’s Gokigen Central Rook. He seemed to be calm and collected throughout the game, and reporters mentioned that he seemed to be under no pressure even when making the sealed move. Kubo won the game with a decisive counterattack.
The second game will be played on January 21 and 22, in the Ni no Maru Tea Arbor, in Kakegawa City in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Akira Watanabe Ryuou has earned the right to challenge Toshiaki Kubo for the Kiou title by defeating Akihito Hirose Oui in two straight games. He won the second game of the Kiou Challenger Deciding Match in 150 moves.
Toshiaki Kubo took the Kiou title from Yasumitsu Satou 9-dan two years ago, and defended it against him last year. This is the first time Kubo plays against someone other than Satou in this title match. If Watanabe wins, he will finally take a second title.
The first game will be played on February 6 in Utsunomiya City in Tochigi Prefecture, in the Utsunomiya Grand Hotel.
Tellmarch defeated Oneye in 73 moves in game 2 of the 81 Ou title match, bringing the score to 1-1. This is the first time an 81-Square Universe title match has been brought to game 3. The winner of the next game will win the title.
You can replay the game here.
Akira Watanabe Ryuou defeated Akihito Hirose Oui in the Kiou Challenger Deciding Match in 94 moves.
Hirose made it to the challenger deciding match with no losses, so he only has to win one game in this match to become the challenger to Toshiaki Kubo Kiou. Watanabe, who lost to Hirose in the tournament, won the second chance bracket and must win 2 games in a row to become the challenger. The winner of the next game will go on to challenge the Kiou title.
Panini Comics, an Italian comic book publisher, recently announced that the shogi comic 3Gatsu no Lion (March Comes in Like a Lion) will be available in Italian starting January 27 under the title Un marzo da leona. The translator will be working closely with the Italian Shogi Association to correctly translate shogi terminology.
It was also recently announced that Pika, a French publisher, will be publishing the comic Shion no Ou (Shion’s King) under the name Kings of Shogi. The first volume will be available on May 4.