Report by George Fernandez, NY Shogi Club senior munber:
Alan Baker, a greatly improved 2 Dan from Pennsylvania, emergedvictorious, over a 32-player field, at the 13th U.S. Shogi Championship,which was held in Chicago, Illinois, on March 28-30, 2008. It was thefist time for a player of non-Japanese descent to win the event! Heovercame Mark Ohno, a determined and seasoned 4 Dan from LA, in anexciting Final game, which was simulcast from a separate location in thehotel. Mr. Masakazu Kondo, Pro 6 Dan, gave the expert commentary, on alarge display board, for the Final game.
Alan's recent surge in ability was first noticed when he achieved a 9-0score, at the July 2007 Poconos (PA) annual NY area Shogi outing. Hisimpressive result should propel him through the 3 Dan amateur rank andmay soon, at this rate, be able to reach 4 Dan!
Seiken Higashionna, a 3 Dan from North Carolina, got 3rd place and was akey player in the event. He inflicted the only tournament losses onTakeshi Furudoi, a strong (4 Dan+) newcomer and Ray Kaufman, who battledwith Alan from the start, for the 2008 Tendo Dan Player prize.
The Chicago organizers and promoters put together an excellent event thatran smoothly from start to finish. In addition to the serious tournamentplay, sessions were run each day, where beginners had a chance to learnhow-to and play shogi with the visiting professional players!
I hope that Alan Baker will find time to share his experience withShogi-L subscribers soon!
In a few weeks, when the post ratings have been calculated, I'll post amore comprehensive report.
For now, here is a complete list of the prize winners.
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13th U.S. Shogi Championship
Chicago, Illinois. March 29-30, 2008
Prize Winners:
A Class
1st AlanBaker (2D, PA) 2008 U.S. Champion!
2nd MarkOhno (4D, CA)
3rd SeikenHigashionna (3D, NC)
B Class
1st HaruhitoUchida (3D*, KY)
2nd TakayukiToriyama (2D*, IL)
3rd KenShimizu (2D, NY)
Best HigherDan [3D &Above]
TakeshiFurudoi (4D*, MI)
Best LowerDan [1D& 2D]
TomohiroKubo (2D*, NY)
Best Kyu
ShinyaMizuguchi (1K*, IL)
Best Club
East Coast Team
Ray Kaufman (3D, VA), SeikenHigashionna (3D, NC),
Alan Baker (2D, PA), TomohiroKubo (2D*, NY),
Tetsuya Onishi (1D, NY)& KatsumoriKuwaki (1K, NY)
Chicago "Special Prize"
KosukeHozoji (2K*, IL) The youngest participant!
*** International Shogi Festival 2008 in Tendo ***
***U.S. Team ***
Dan Player: Alan Baker (2D, PA)
Kyu Player: Eric Kuniholm (2K*, CA)
Alternate: Ray Kaufman (3D, VA)
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