Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 2 - Chapter 4.3

  FLAWLESS COMPOSURE!

“Miss Ai Hinatsuru.”

“Yes!”

“Please play a match against Miss Yashajin. Determine the match with the piece flip.”

“…… Yes!”

A piece flip–––in other words, Kuruno-sensei has seen enough to determine that Ai Yashajin’s abilities are on par with my apprentice.

That, and most likely her talent too.

“…… Ai, against the new girl ……?!”

“W-Which one’s better ……?”

The mood in here just flipped like a switch.

Everyone here knows that my apprentice is on a whole other level but also they are fully aware that the new Ai is extremely talented as well.

So, which one is the better player? Everyone wants to see the match so bad that they can’t focus on their own. Everyone’s glancing over at the board between the two Ais, their eyes drawn to it like magnets. The Shogi world is a world of talent and skill. Everything revolves around those who have a lot of both.

There’s a hint of frustration in Kuruno-sensei’s voice as he whispers into my ear.

“…… You always seem to bring in the most interesting kids.”

“No, this one wasn’t me, but the chairman ……”

I start trying to explain the situation, but I don’t want to miss a single move of the match. This conversation can wait.

My apprentice leans forward, focusing all of her body weight onto each piece she puts onto the board while Ai Yashajin boldly puffs out her chest and casually lines up pieces on her side. It’s like their Shogi styles, their very personalities are on display.

“Pardon me.”

The Ai already in the Practice League picks up five Pawns and flips them all at once. Rather than getting a few words in edgewise, the other Ai grabs the water bottle at her side and takes a quick drink.

The pieces land–––three right side up and two upside down. My apprentice is on offense.

“When you’re ready!”

“When you’re ready.”

Ai Hinatsuru practically throws her head down in a bow while Ai Yashajin is showing all the poise of a titleholder rising to a challenge and responds in kind. Then, she quietly turns on the chess clock.

“Suuuu …… Haaaaaa …… Okay!”

My apprentice takes a deep breath and makes the first move–––of course, the 2 Six Pawn in front of the Rook.

In response, Ai Yashajin advances her 3 Four Pawn to open the Bishop’s Path.

She moved that piece like reaching for a piece of bread at breakfast, nothing to it at all.

The moment Ai Hinatsuru saw that, she immediately opens her own Bishop Path.

I’ll beat you at your own game, no matter what formation you choose!

She’s issuing a challenge.

Ai Yashajin’s face didn’t budge as she moved the Pawn in front of her own Rook without using any waiting time, declaring a war of Rooks. My apprentice plays Static Rook, meaning that should go in her favor. Is Yashajin going to attack head on?

As the two combatants try to feel each other out, Mio makes her way over to me and pulls at my sleeve. She must’ve been left out of this round of matches because there’s an uneven number of participants today. Then she asks.

“…… Is that Side Pawn Capture?”

“I don’t think so …… It’s looking like–––.”

I was tripping over my own words when it happened.

Ai Yashajin’s hand flew across the other side of the board.

She grabs Ai Hinatsuru’s Bishop and puts it on her piece stand and snaps down her own Promoted Bishop in its place.

It’s a Bishop Exchange.

But not just that, it’s–––.

“Move-Loss Bishop Exchange?!”

“For real?!!” Mio exclaims in surprise.

The strategy that Ai Yashajin is trying to use is the same one that took down the Panther, one that requires her to pass on one move …… Basically, she’s losing a turn.

This Move-Loss Bishop Exchange is known as a specialist strategy, so it never shows up in a match between amateurs.

Only a handful of pros use it, most notably Kanto’s A Class Unicorn Takanobu Shiraishi 9-dan, but also Chairman Tsukimitsu and Fumiaki Shamori 8-dan in Kansai, and–––.

“As one of the few uses of the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange, what you think of this match? Yaichi Kuzuryu-ryuo?”

“…… It’s too soon to tell.”

Just as Kuruno-sensei said, I’m one of the pros that uses the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange.

Now why is it that so few pros use the strategy?

It’s because using it requires your brain to work in a completely different way compared to other strategies.

“I can’t say yet because there’s a part of the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange strategy that even I don’t completely understand ……”

“Y-You’re the Ryuo, and you don’t know?! In that case, why do you use it?!” Mio askes in surprise.

I carefully choose my words to help her understand that this strategy can’t be understood.

“Do you know which player has the advantage in modern Shogi, offense or defense?”

“The offense, right?”

“Okay then, why do you think they have the advantage?” 

“Because they’re on offense?”

“Miss Mizukoshi, that is not an answer.”

“Nmh ……” Mio’s face contorts in thought after Kuruno-sensei’s rebuke.

“Ummm, I think …… Because they have one more move than the player on defense? Is that right?”

““Exactly!””

Kuruno-sensei and I give her full points for that simple answer.

To put it in the most basic terms, they can adjust their formation one more time than their opponent. Anyone could understand that it’d be weird for them not to have an advantage, right?

And it’s true. With the exception of 2008, offensive players have a higher winning percentage than ones on defense in all league matches. Even individual players, excluding a few specialized ones, have a better winning percentage when they make the first move.

The first turn has that much influence on Shogi–––however …

“The Move-Loss Bishop Exchange is a strategy that requires the defensive player, who was already a move behind, to forfeit yet another move. Basically, it means the offensive player is two moves ahead.”

“That’s way far behind!”

“Right. Thinking about it logically, passing on a turn when you’re already one move behind isn’t going to fix anything …… But take a look at that board and tell me what you think.”

I point to where the two Ais are playing.

Ai, playing on defense, has advanced her right Knight and nearly pulled into an evenly balanced formation–––.

“……?!”

The Ai on offense had been playing at a brisk pace, but the hand that was flying across the board is now frozen in place.

“Here. This is the moment that makes Move-Loss Bishop Exchange work ……! Since the formations are even during a normal Bishop Exchange, the common consensus is that the offensive player has the advantage. But a completely different type of Shogi emerges because the defensive player is one move behind!!”

“On defense …… Her Pawn in front of the Rook is one space behind her opponent’s, right?”

“It is. Now if you look at it from the opposite direction, you could say that the defensive player is forcing the offensive player to attack ……!”

Just one move.

A strange moment comes to pass when the offensive player doesn’t have a good move to play, all because the defensive player passed on their turn. There isn’t a good way to attack here.

Since the offensive player doesn’t have a promising move, there should be one for the defensive player.

That’s what the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange strategy all comes down to.

For that reason, it’s possible to say that Move-Loss Bishop Exchange is the pinnacle of Static Rook defensive Shogi.

“Then, once the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange started showing up, people started to understand that there is acceptable loss and unacceptable loss in Shogi. Not limited to terms of game flow, a whole new flat way to look at the game came into existence.”

“Acceptable loss.”

That discovery is the true merit behind the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange.

Discovering this one strategy led to a full-fledged rethinking of how turn loss actually works. They could even be acceptable loss hidden in the old standards. The Shogi world had been stagnant, but people started combing through the classic material for new discoveries all over the place.

Whew, Shogi never gets old, don’t you think?

“…… I still find it amazing that Ai can use the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange …… No amateur should be able to play it, so I doubt she’s had an opponent use it on her ……”

She told me that her father taught her how to play Shogi. That father was the amateur Meijin. It’s pretty safe to assume he had near pro-level skill.

“Then again …… Shogi starts when you have an opponent. With so few people using that strategy and the pros, she couldn’t have gotten experience with it as an amateur …… So where in the world did she pick it up ……?”

There’s still a lot I don’t know about Ai Yashajin’s Shogi history. Sure feels like it.

Speaking of Ai Yashajin, her face hasn’t changed since the match began. Using no waiting time at all, she’s been advancing at a swift pace.

Meanwhile, my apprentice Ai looks like she’s in a serious bind, her face all twisted.

Any Bishop Exchange requires the brain to work in overdrive. Since both players have a Bishop on their piece stand early in the game, they have to keep their formations closely knit together to make sure they don’t give their opponent an opening. These matches typically end up with each player mirroring each other’s moves, leading to the exact same formations on offense and defense.

It’s a nerve-racking battle where both players have a gun loaded with a bullet called Bishop pointed right at each other. All Ai Yashajin has to do is stick to what she knows, it is the early game after all. However, Ai Hinatsuru has to fumble around to find the best move.

That requires a lot of Shogi endurance and waiting time, both of which were starting to take a toll on her.

“Kh …… Haaa …… Haa ……!”

Egg-shaped drops of sweat are rolling down my apprentice’s face. Her breathing is ragged too. 

Going against the Move-Loss Bishop Exchange isn’t easy, so the fact that Ai got this far on her own power is astounding.

However, she has a clear disadvantage in this match.

And she’s aware of that. This is the kind of match where you can rely on standard knowledge and what you faced in the past, but she’s losing precious time and endurance right now.

Even so, my apprentice found a promising sequence on her own and followed it without making any critical errors as the match progressed. Talk about brainpower. There’s a point that professional Shogi players in this position spend lots of time to build up to, and this little girl has gotten to that point out of sheer talent.

The two combatants have arrived at–––.

“Double Reclining Silver in a Move-Loss Bishop Exchange …… Heh.”

“Um …… Kujyuru-sensei? If I remember right, this formation, when both players are mirroring each other, I think …… Wasn’t it determined that the offensive player’s victory is assured?”

“That’s with a normal Bishop Exchange. There is no consensus on what happens during a Move-Loss.”

And it might be a bit much to say victory is assured to the offensive player. Advantage would be a better word. Still, it’s a scary situation to be in ……

Ai moves her Rook to the fourth column. She’s applying direct pressure to the enemy King with a Silver, Knight and now her Rook in an obvious power play with some serious muscle.

However–––.

“4 Eight Rook in a Double Reclining Silver situation ……”

“W-What kind of formation is that?!”

“Recent research says that the defender has the advantage.”

“Whaaat?! Like, how?!”

I don’t blame Mio for her outburst.

Offense and defense are mirroring each other. Since the offensive player already has a turn advantage, common sense says that they would have the upper hand. On top of that, the offensive player has the advantage in a normal Bishop Exchange with thoroughly researched standard sequences at their disposal.

But, as pro Shogi players gain experience and study more and more matches, the defender tends to outlast their opponent. This Move-Loss Bishop Exchange strategy is one heck of a mystery.

“That being said, even pros on the defensive in this situation won’t win all that often.”

“Why is that? The defender has the advantage, right?”

“It’s true that they do on paper. But, that’s only if they perfectly defend against their opponent’s attack. There lies the problem. If they make one mistake during the offensive player’s continuous onslaught, they lose right then and there.”

There is a path, a path to the goal called victory.

But that path is a mere strand of rope at the top of a cliff. Losing your balance for a mere instant will send you tumbling into the valley below.

That’s exactly why it’s difficult to pull off in a real match.

That’s also exactly why so few Shogi players use the Move-Loss Bishop exchange. If you’re not confident enough to play the perfect game, it won’t work.

Also–––no human is perfect.

“Here …… Here …… Here …… Here …… Here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here––––––.”

Ai Hinatsuru’s whole body starts rocking back and forth ever so slightly.

Pouring every second of waiting time she had left into the turn, she read the board as long as possible. Her incredible talent known as end-game strength has started spreading its wings.

“Here, here, here, hereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere–––”

She raises her head as if taking a deep breath and keeps going all the way until her eyes meet the ceiling, still thinking as hard as she could.

Looking away from the board allowed her to focus on the mental one inside her head as she read further and further into the match. She’s got this divine aura about her right now, like a priestess receiving a message directly from heaven. Then–––.

“–––Here!!”

4 Five Pawn!

And the match starts up against that Pawn’s advance.

Of course, Ai Yashajin makes the same move. She’s back on defense. Leaning in over the board, she’s got one hand pressing against one eye while the other eye glares daggers at my apprentice.

“Here we go ……!” whispers Kuruno-sensei and Mio has her eyes glued on the match. This is the point of no return.

As if the long thinking time were the calm before the storm, the two girls’ hands start flying across the board at breakneck speed.

“What’s going on?!”

Ayano, who had finished her own match, peers over Mio’s shoulder to get a better look at this one. Other members of the Practice League and even the Sub League start gathering one after another to see for themselves. Apparently this match is far more engaging than any of their own.

Talent is a bright light.

The brighter it shines, the hotter it burns, the more intense the flames–––the more people get drawn in.

Even if they get burned in the process ……

“Nm!!”

Ai Hinatsuru fires her bullet deep into enemy lines with more vigor than ever before, like gunpowder igniting at her fingertips. A definitive 7 One Bishop!!

“She dropped the Bishop in!”

“Huh?! Why there of all places?!”

Many shocked voices filled the air once they saw Ai’s decision.

Everyone is scrutinizing her move because they know it’s extremely risky to put it there as the offensive player. Not only is its line of fire limited, but that Bishop will almost certainly get taken on the next turn.

It’s just that Ai didn’t have any other options. She’s sacrificing the Bishop so that her Rook can plunge deep into enemy territory, exposing a target to get a better window for an attack. Ai Hinatsuru is absolutely sure she can win the battle once the blades start clashing, so this is just like her. She used up all of her waiting time to plan this out.

However–––.

Ai Yashajin didn’t follow that path. Instead, she makes a move that stuns everyone around them.

“She pulled back her Rook?!”

No one predicted that Ai Yashajin would choose to allow Ai Hinatsuru to promote her Bishop uncontested. It’s like lowering the castle drawbridge as if to say, Come and get me.

She’s fearless.

That’s an astonishing move.

“Nh ……?! I never thought I’d see something a professional wouldn’t think of show up in a match like this ……”

Kuruno-sensei complimented her defensive strategy, not because it was a good move, but more because he recognized that Ai Yashajin is far more courageous than the average elementary schooler.

As for how good that move actually is, I’d have to say–––.

“Whaaaaaat ……? Does, does she think she can hold that off ……?”

“A-A Promoted Bishop is on the board ……”

Just as Ayano said, Ai Hinatsuru managed to promote her Bishop in enemy territory without losing anything. Not only that, she dropped the Silver right next to it, effectively creating an offensive staging area right in the middle of her opponent’s defenses.

Meanwhile, Ai Yashajin–––.

“Humph ……”

Almost laughing through her nose, she casually advances her Gold, reducing her King’s defense.

Come on, hit me with your best shot. Taunting by lowering her guard.

“Wow …… Never, ever have I seen a child able to solely focus on defense to this degree ……”

Even Kuruno-sensei, who has spent years teaching children how to play the game, can’t hide his surprise at Ai Yashajin’s bend-but-don’t-break playing style.

Mio and Ayano have been in shock this whole time.

“Th-this is anyone’s match now, isn’t it?! Who’s going to win?! Have you figured it out?!”

“I have no clue ……”

This was supposed to be a Practice League entrance test, but members of the Practice League can’t understand the match that’s unfolding in front of their eyes. That’s how intricate and complicated this game has been since the start. It’s proof of the talent pouring out of them.

Ai Hinatsuru attacks.

Ai Yashajin defends.

Two polar opposite playing styles clash, unleashing a ferocious tornado across the board.

However–––.

“?! Kh …… Why ……?!”

The pressure gets to Ai Hinatsuru, words falling from her pink lips. She leans over the board, squinting as if she’s lost depth perception.

The enemy King was in her grasp, but now it’s agonizingly just out of reach.

I’d bet anything that she’s never felt this level of impatience before.

Up until now, no matter how far she strayed from the standard during the early game, she could win as soon as the battle started. Her unnaturally fast reading ability allowed her to overwhelm her opponent once the pieces started colliding and she’d win in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, Ai Yashajin wasn’t letting that happen.

The young Yashajin was always able to figure out what my apprentice was trying to do and went in a different direction. The path to victory she saw in that moment disappeared like a mirage the next. All the planning she did became useless, resetting every turn.

Kuruno-sensei lets out a long sigh and says, “Her reading isn’t panning out …… We may have found Miss Hinatsuru’s kryptonite.”

“Yeah. Ai has always played Shogi like a wrestler who throws their opponent out of the ring with sheer arm strength once they get a good grip on them. But that style won’t work on an opponent that won’t let her grab them.”

Ai can read fast and deep. But there’s a weakness to such a direct reading style in that it’s easy for her opponent to see what she’s thinking.

And when that happens, it’s not difficult to break away from that sequence.

Ai Yashajin forms a line around her King and absorbs Ai Hinatsuru’s assault.

That defensive line is a far cry from a strong formation. Extremely well-balanced, but paper-thin at the same time.

The black haired young girl isn’t adorned by thick, heavy armor–––but an elegant, beautifully woven dress.

Ten-i Muhou.

It’s an expression that means flawless composure.

More specifically, it refers to an angel’s celestial robe in that there are no seams. It’s perfect just the way it is.

And just like that expression, there are no seams in that defensive line …… A weakness or a vulnerable point to attack simply don’t exist.

It’s thin …… But unbelievably beautiful with unequaled defensive strength. An angel’s celestial robe that doesn’t belong in this world.

And, the girl wearing that robe–––.

Come and get me.

She reaches out and moves a piece like an invitation.

I’ll dance for you. 

Ai Yashajin smiles, flicking her black hair off her forehead at the same time. Like an angel. Like a demon.

My apprentice makes her decision.

“…… Okay!!”

Psyching herself up, Ai Hinatsuru jumps her Knight forward and sacrifices her Promoted Bishop to launch a head-on assault.

The Rook she had waiting in the fourth column makes its long-awaited advance to the enemy lines and promotes. The big guns are out. Should they misfire, they’ll be captured and she’ll lose. This is a make-or-break attack in every sense.

The assault hits home, and Ai Yashajin’s King has finally been exposed.

But she didn’t even blink, moving to attack Ai Hinatsuru’s defensive line, replacing the pieces she lost while protecting her King at the same time. My apprentice took it all in stride, placing a Pawn in front of Ai Yashajin’s King on her next turn.

Even now, the girl in black didn’t break a sweat.

Whoosh …… As if swinging her leg forward, getting ready to dance, Ai Yashajin slides the Gold out from in beside the King to the side.

Enemy forces are right on the King’s doorstep, but she moves the defenses away ……?

“……?! ……?”

Ai Hinatsuru looks down at the board, neck outstretched and a look of bewilderment in her eyes as she blinks over and over, until.

“Yes!!”

She pushes her Pawn directly into the King’s defenses with gusto. What a move! The air in here is on fire! Intense!!

“She’s got a Check Path?!”

“Now …… How’s she gettin’ out of this one?”

A Check Path is exactly that–––a path to checkmate.

If Ai Yashajin doesn’t block it with her next move, this match will end. It’s like Ai Hinatsuru is one space away from bingo.

I can’t say for sure if she’s on a Check Path or not, but I do know one thing: anything can happen.

Its neck and neck …… A real skin-of-your-teeth kind of late game.

I almost forget to breathe as I watch Ai Yashajin manage to fend off the Pawn and move that Gold from earlier up another space and attack my apprentice’s Promoted Rook. Talk about a competitor! That takes serious guts!

“S-She blocked the attack, using that?!”

“Geeze …… Just, wow— ……”

The Practice League members–––Ai included–––are all dumbfounded. No one saw that move coming.

“?! ……?!!”

My apprentice’s eyes go wide, her face mere inches above the board. It couldn’t be! is written all over her face.

Stunned that her prediction was off, her train of thought came to a screeching halt right in the middle of reading the board.

“Nh! She’s ……”

“Yeah.”

Kuruno-sensei and I exchange a few short words.

We’re professionals, unfazed by the unexpected. Both of us knew immediately the effect that move would have.

However, a single good or bad move doesn’t necessarily determine who wins the match. Sometimes it’s a mistake, rather than the best move at the time, that leads to victory.

“…… Here, here, here, here, hereherehereherehereherehereherehere …… Yes!!”

Coming back to herself in the blink of an eye and reading the board until the absolute last moment, Ai Hinatsuru sends her Gold directly into Ai Yashajin’s King.

Check.

My apprentice reads the board in a straight line. Like a beam of light, she finds the fastest, shortest route forward.

On the other hand, Ai Yashajin reads in twists and turns, ducking out of that route.

Picture a massive black hole using its immense gravity to bend light to its will. That’s Ai Yashajin, the girl dressed in black moving her King to narrowly avoid the laser-like attacks bearing down on it every time.

Ai Hinatsuru’s Gold, Silver, Knight, Promoted Knight and Promoted Rook all moved in to attack the enemy King. Heck, it would blow the robe off entirely if there were no seams to tear. A concentrated blast of fire meant to drown out the darkness once and for all!!

“That’s gotta be checkmate? That’s checkmate, right?!”

“No! It’ll come up a hair short ……?”

“Whew …… This is too much ……!!”

Practice League members are up on their knees to get a better view of the battle between the two girls. Kuruno-sensei is usually very strict about that, but he says nothing. The board is a stage. Everyone is mesmerized by their dance and can’t look away.

Bullets falling like rain, Ai Yashajin continues her graceful dance, dodging every volley.

The Knight’s skirt gets torn away, the Silver sleeves are blown off, the Gold hairpin is flung from sight. The pieces descend on her from all directions like a storm of flower petals, dying beautiful deaths on the board one after another.

It’s the most beautiful scene in the world, and only Shogi players can witness it.

Her defensive dress was in shambles, but the King inside, her body didn’t have a scratch on it.

Move eighty-nine. Ai Yashajin’s King didn’t have a single piece left around it.

–––Completely defenseless.

Even so, Ai continued to dance unscathed. That ironclad spirit of hers hasn’t broken. Heck, it hasn’t even shaken.

The naked King continues the elegant waltz.

Boldly.

Flawlessly.

Then–––.

“…… Aahh ……”

For a moment, a look of resignation passes over my apprentice’s face.

Ai Yashajin’s King escapes to the wide open right side of the board like a dancer leaving the stage at the end of a musical number. Ai Hinatsuru has read the board enough to know that victory has slipped through her fingers. That she has lost.

The next twenty or so moves were nothing more than her setting the stage and coming to grips with her fate.

The battle ended.