Shogi Reborn: Mind's Gambit

Kuzuryu has become the Ryuo. The match went the full seven games, culminating in a narrow victory. While my 29-game winning streak had drawn attention to the world of shogi, Kuzuryu's title win as a player of the same generation stirred up excitement among the public. Kuzuryu, now full of confidence, began riding the wave of his success. Oh, and just to clarify, I let Ayumu defeat me, so my winning streak restarted and is now at 18 games.

On Christmas Day, Kuzuryu claimed his title and even secured a promise with Ai Hinatsuru to become her master, cementing his place among the winners in life. Honestly, I'm a bit envious. Meanwhile, I'm sadly spending the holiday alone immersed in online games. I still haven't received a substantial payout. Some money trickles in from interviews and merchandise, but it's nothing major.

(Hey, why has Ayumu been losing so much lately?)"It's about 90% your fault, Master."

(What? But Ayumu beat me fair and square.)

"Shall I replay your match with Ayumu from his perspective? Right here, right now?"

The 30th Match

Surrounded by a throng of reporters, my 30th match, with my winning streak on the line, began.

"Ha ha ha! It's been a while since I've stood before this many cameras. Allow me to introduce myself: a knight among shogi players, the silver chevalier, God-Colden Ayumu!"

The piece toss determined that Ayumu Kaminabe, 5th-dan, would play first. While some cameramen focused on the photogenic Ayumu, most of the crowd's attention was on me, Ogi, 4th-dan.

Ayumu began with 7-6 pawn, and on my second move, I played 3-2 gold without hesitation.

"What!?"

A gasp of surprise arose from somewhere. Against Ayumu, a static rook player, this move was a provocation, essentially saying, "You're not a man who can shift his rook." It wasn't a good move by any means and deviated from conventional openings right from the second move. This forced Ayumu to burn his time early.

I, however, kept making moves without any time spent, as if everything had already been thoroughly studied. Usually, this would lead to a gradual advantage for me, but today was different. Ayumu clearly gained a winning position.

Beads of sweat formed as Ayumu confirmed his dominant position. The lack of resistance compared to our previous games made him second-guess his advantage. Meanwhile, I, who was heading straight for a loss without using any time, was arguing internally with Ai.

"Are you seriously telling me to claw back to just a one-move loss from here? Also, spreading 7-8 gold and 3-2 gold as opening moves—is that sane?"

(It forces the opponent to avoid static rook positions, and honestly, I'd love to see static rook strategies go extinct.)

"Then why not just win today's match? If you play 3-2 gold and still win, it'd be easy to achieve both."

(Wouldn't losing to Ayumu help his growth? Plus, I kind of want to lose now.)

"Master, you're such a spoiled man. Fine, I'll ensure you lose by just one move. Still, the way you keep playing without using time is why we end up in such predicaments!"

(You're not exactly taking your time either, Ai.)

Confident in his victory, Ayumu played the decisive move that should have sealed his win. From here, a comeback seemed impossible.

But then, what had seemed like reckless attacks and pointless moves suddenly turned into an assault on Ayumu's king. Ayumu, now running out of time, was forced into a one-minute-byoyomi.

"Tsk! This playstyle… it's beyond human! You truly are my greatest rival!"

Though Ayumu's passion burned, he also felt a chilling cold. That oppressive atmosphere was unmistakably created by me, Ogi. While Ayumu spent over 50 seconds deliberating each move, I continued making mine instantly.

Ayumu's Anaguma castle had been breached, and the silver that once covered it was now floating. My bishop struck through, further dismantling his formation. By this point, Ayumu's stronghold had completely collapsed.

I then placed a knight on the head of Ayumu's silver. Unlike the previous king-attacking rush, this wasn't a check. But whether he captured it or not, disaster awaited either way. Ayumu had to quickly decide whether to counterattack or defend.

With each countdown during the byoyomi, Kaminabe grew increasingly anxious, hesitating until the very end on whether to capture or not. Suddenly, Ogi let out a sigh and spoke.

"I resign. Please play 1-3 silver. I'll concede the match."

"What!? What are you saying...?"

"50 seconds… 55, 56, 57..."

"Ugh, whatever happens, happens!"

Ogi's abrupt resignation caused a stir among the spectators. The recorder nearly forgot the countdown but quickly resumed. Kaminabe made the move as directed, and Ogi formally resigned. This unexpected act was prompted by Ogi stepping in to make a critical move in place of Ai.

(Hey, Ayumu is staring at his position, completely stuck. Fix this.)

"That's because you made a reckless move, Master. The position is now a direct mate for your own king. Defend it properly."

(Huh? There's a direct mate? The only pieces he captured are a knight and a bishop, right? Let me think…)

"It's a 21-move mate. But if we continue this way, you'll end up winning. So resign and suggest the first move to him. That would be 1-3 silver."

(Got it. Still, I really need to break my habit of throwing in a knight when I see an exposed silver head.)

In a match where his 30-game winning streak was at stake, Ogi openly declared the mate in his own position. This sent a chill of indescribable fear through Kaminabe, who realized that Ogi was a wall he must someday overcome.

After the match, Kaminabe reviewed the game record and once again confirmed with disbelief that Ogi had not spent a single moment of his time throughout the match.

Moving Forward

(Come on, Ai, the whole "SAN check" thing is just your imagination. Anyway, I'm still undefeated in the ranking tournaments, so at least I'm keeping things close to how they should be by the time the original story starts.)

"But wasn't Kuzuryu supposed to go on an 11- or 12-game losing streak? Without that, the timeline isn't quite aligned."

(Ah, right. I'm not even sure if I made that promise with Ai-chan in the first place. Somehow, I need to make Ai-chan and Kuzuryu a proper master-disciple pair.)

"We'll see how it goes. I've already done about as much as I can on my end."

After Kuzuryu claimed the Ryuo title, he treated me to a yakiniku dinner, where he recounted the entire Ryuo Championship. One notable story involved receiving water from the innkeeper's daughter, which made me feel confident that the original storyline was still on track.

As the new year began, Kuzuryu, uncharacteristically, didn't fall into a losing streak but still accumulated several defeats. On message boards, he began facing criticism here and there. Meanwhile, I won the Asahi Cup quick-play tournament and had already achieved promotion to 5th-dan in the ranking tournaments, which subsequently led to my promotion to 6th-dan.

Because Kuzuryu was born in August and I in November, I ended up breaking the youngest-record milestones for both 5th-dan and 6th-dan promotions. Of course, in a few years, these records will likely be shattered by Sota Kunugi, the elementary school prodigy set to rewrite every youngest-record milestone. So, this achievement is probably only temporary.

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