Masayuki Toyoshima Ryuo (Eiou = 30) won with the fewest number of moves in the history of the Ryuo War, and got off to a good start towards the first defense. At “Cerulean Tower Noh Theater” in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, the first game of Shogi’s 33rd Ryuo match, which took place in two days from the 9th, was a challenger at 4:12 pm on the 10th with only 52 movements. Defeated Zenji Hanyu 9th Dan (50).

The shortest so far is 66 moves that Takeshi Fujii won in the first season of Ryuo’s 12th bout 21 years ago (Daisuke Suzuki 6th Dan vs. Takeshi Fujii = then). In the title fight, there is the shortest record Tanikawa won with 49 moves in the fourth season of the 63rd Kisei War (Koji Tanigawa vs. Kisei Hanyu = then) 26 years ago.

Toyoshima escaped development where the pieces collided violently from day one. “It was a difficult shogi that would finish in about 20 moves,” he recalls. In the initial stage, 7 Sankei → 6 Gokatsura, and the right Katsura takes the initiative against Hanyu’s Yakura patron. Immediately after the seal, the rear 4 Gokatsura and the left Katsura also bounce. It was a very condensed game that required “depth of reading” and “conceptual power.”

“Mr. Toyoshima scored a great victory with a consistent investigation procedure. Mr. Hanyu should have taken the first three triangles and Katsura instead of taking the first two seven dofei in the sealing phase.” Explained Kato 123, 9th Dan (80).

Hanyu, who is aiming for a total of 100 titles, wonders which one to point to when Kato Kudan points it out. “There was a problem with the selection in some branches. The order of the main score was not even,” he laments. For the shorter defeat, he analyzed, “it looks like a decisive battle from the beginning, and I wonder if there will be such a decisive battle.”

Toyoshima lost his master this year, but he seized the King. Even in the league by championship challengers decision on the 5th of last week, he’s on the rise with a win over Sota Fujii’s (18) double crown. Will you win in a row like this? Will Hanyu, the 50-year-old challenger, rewind? The second station will be held in Nagoya on October 22-23.[Tatsuhiro Akatsuka]