What is “Sota Fujii 7th Dan Strength” as seen by professional shogi players?

From the perspective of Shogi professional shogi players, “Sota Fujii 7th Dan Strength” is 11:10 on July 9th.

How do the same shogi players see the strength of Souta Fujii's 7th dan, aiming for the first title? We asked Taichi Nakamura, 7th Dan, who has experience in the title of "the throne", to explain it.

"Yokozuna Sumo"

Fujii Nandan made two title challenges one after another last month, and after that, he won two consecutive wins in the "Ki Seisen" fifth game, and even the "three-placed match" seventh win, with three wins so far.

Regarding this, Nakamura Shichidan said, “It's really overwhelmingly strong, and the way to win is like “Yokozuna Sumo” in which the winner is the one who wins. It does not escape from the opponent's favorite tactics, but it strikes from the front, but a sense of stability. There is no danger in this. The other person should be in a position of "borrowing" because the opponent is completely superior in terms of achievements and ranks, but when you look at the content of the game, it is an impression that you do not know which is higher". It was

Nakamura Nandan states that the current strength of Fujii Nandan is not only the strength of the final stage that he has been strong since his debut, but also that the beginning and middle stages have been refined. However, I've been putting a lot of effort into the middle of the game lately, and I've almost never been late, so there are more ways to win Fujii-san's final game. I think that there is.”

One hand of shock "5 four gold"

Among the examples that show the strength of Fujii 7th Dan, Nakamura 7th Dan is "5 Yokin", which was the 42nd hand, in the middle of the second game of "Ki Seisen".

Nakamura Shichidan says that he is a bold move that puts out "gold", which is a key piece of defense, from his position and adds thickness to the attack, "I made a gap in my position, and in the immediate vicinity A battle takes place, so if you fail even one move, you will soon be defeated.It was a move that crossed a dangerous bridge, but after that, I was able to survive difficult situations without making mistakes, I was able to survive the difficult situation. "It's a great thing to try these hands on a big stage and win," he recalled.

“Grief” grows?

Nakadan Shichidan points out that the background of Fujii Shichidan's growth may be the "frustration" that he feels from his losses and failures.

"I can't forget that last year Fujii Nandan lost the challenge in the match of King Ou who had the first chance to take the title challenge, and missed the challenge one more step. I imagine there was a lot of disappointment in the person who lost the match because Fujii-san always speaks carefully with his words, but he has a strange gesture during the game and his expression when he loses. Clearly feels regret in it, and I feel one side of the matchmaker.I would never say that, but I think he might have worked hard on shogi because of his regret. Masu”

My shogi staring at Corona

Fujii Nandan was unable to play for about 50 days due to the new coronavirus.

Nakamura Nandan pointed out that it was a valuable time for Fujii Nandan to reconsider his own shogi, ``Mr. Fujii continued to win, but there are inevitably many games to play. It was a situation, and I think that it was hard for me to take time to look back at my shogi, as the shogi player had to focus on researching the opponent and the latest tactics when there was a game. I think the weaknesses and missing parts could be clearly seen because I had the time to look back at shogi. I think it was big this time."

Where's the match?

Finally, Nakamura Nandan says as to the whereabouts of this chess holy battle, which is the youngest ever title win for Fujii Nandan.

“I think Mr. Fujii will be a player who will play an active role for decades to come, but this is the beginning. I think Mr. Fujii will be more emotional than usual, and Mr. Kiyoshi Watanabe He is a great shogi player who has trained in a hundred battles and has three consecutive losses in the seventh match, and then four consecutive wins, so I really pay attention to what kind of battle I will show.The title battle that remains at the top in the history of shogi. I am very excited to be in the middle of that history right now as the same go player.''