Chapter 115

The director keenly cut the camera to the 77th shogi table—the combination of Natsume Chikage and Gu Chuan Caixu appeared particularly striking in this venue dominated by middle-aged men.

Natsume Chikage went without saying; his outstanding appearance was as dazzling as a bright pearl in the crowd.

And the reason Gu Chuan Caixu was eye-catching lay in her tender age, which was completely out of place with the atmosphere of the venue.

In this tournament gathering experts from across the country, children who dared to take the stage were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

At the commentary desk, veteran male commentator Inoue Masazo saw this scene through the monitor and couldn't help but sigh to his female partner, Nanjo Maimai, beside him:

"I've been commentating on shogi matches for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen such a handsome young contestant."

The beautiful commentator Nanjo Maimai's eyes lit up, and she nodded in agreement repeatedly:

"Indeed, this level of attractiveness would definitely be top-tier even in the entertainment industry."

Inoue Masazo rubbed his chin and analyzed with great interest:

"The appearance is indeed outstanding, but I wonder how the shogi skill is?"

"After all, in our arena, good looks can't win matches."

Nanjo Maimai noticed Gu Chuan Caixu opposite Natsume Chikage and opened her eyes wide in surprise:

"... There's actually such a cute little contestant participating in this tournament?"

Inoue Masazo also revealed a look of surprise:

"Daring to come and participate at such a young age, she must be very confident in her own shogi skill, right?"

Nanjo Maimai covered her mouth and chuckled:

"A handsome young man and a cute girl; this match combination is quite a highlight."

Inoue Masazo nodded in agreement:

"Indeed."

"But Nanjo-san, who do you think has a better chance of winning between the two of them?"

Nanjo Maimai carefully sized up the two in the frame and finally pointed her hand at Natsume Chikage:

"I think it should be this young man."

"Look, he is much older than that little girl."

"The time spent studying shogi must also be much longer than the little girl's."

"Overall, the young man should have more of an advantage."

Inoue Masazo expressed agreement:

"That is indeed the case."

"I also think this young man's winning percentage is higher."

"In the field of shogi, the length of research time is often directly proportional to the accumulation of experience."

"Under equal conditions of talent, naturally, the player who has studied longer is stronger."

"Therefore, age is also one of the important standards for measuring a player's strength!"

Gu Chuan Changhong in the spectator stands couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly upon hearing this commentary.

The insights of these two commentators were truly too superficial.

The gap in talent can never be made up for by time alone.

Even if someone has studied shogi for decades, they could still be easily defeated by a genius who has only learned for a year or two.

And his granddaughter is exactly that kind of genius!

What's more, the time his granddaughter has spent learning shogi is already far beyond Natsume Chikage's!

At this moment, Inoue Masazo on the big screen changed the subject and said with some reservation:

"However, things in the world are unpredictable; perhaps a situation that makes us drop our jaws will appear in a moment."

Nanjo Maimai smiled knowingly:

"Indeed."

"Perhaps this little girl is actually a genius player, and it's not impossible that she ends up defeating this handsome young man."

The "Old Long Wang" Gu Chuan Changhong below the stage nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

That's right, that's right, now that's more like it!

At this time, the match staff member checked the time; the hand pointed exactly to three o'clock—the time for the match to officially begin.

He raised the microphone without hesitation and announced to all the contestants:

"The match begins!"

Once the command was given, all the players immediately threw themselves into the intense match.

The director's camera also moved away from Natsume Chikage and Gu Chuan Caixu, scanned back and forth in the venue, and finally locked onto the highly anticipated professional match—Meichi Sogo versus Hino Hiroya.

In any case, the duel between these two professional players was undoubtedly the most watchable match of the day.

The two commentators also withdrew their focus and concentrated entirely on commentating on this professional duel.

The suspense of this match was already fully pulled up.

These two young players both had quite a reputation in the shogi world, and they were generally favored for their prospects at only around thirty years old.

Everyone knew that as long as they continued to study diligently for another eight or nine years, they would have the strength to compete for the throne of a title holder.

And in this single-elimination tournament, two such strong players actually met in the first round; how could it not attract attention?

However, the attention of Gu Chuan Changhong and Horikawa Kaori was not there.

Their gazes remained focused on Natsume Chikage and Gu Chuan Caixu in the corner of the venue.

Regrettably, the director gave the main screen time to the professional players' match.

The matches of other contestants could only be played in turns in the small windows in the corners of the screen, with each frame staying for only about one minute before switching.

This made the two people who were closely following the battle situation at table 77 anxious, but they could only wait helplessly for the director to cut to that frame, not knowing when it would happen.

Gu Chuan Changhong couldn't help but feel some regret; if he had known this, he should have revealed his identity so that everyone would know Gu Chuan Caixu was the granddaughter of him, the former Long Wang.

That way, at least he could ensure his granddaughter's match footage appeared on the main screen occasionally; how could it be as difficult to watch the match as it was now?

In this corner of the venue that received no attention, the duel between Natsume Chikage and Gu Chuan Caixu was about to unfold.

In board games like Go, Shogi, and Chinese Chess, the first move often occupies a natural advantage!

In shogi matches, the ways to determine the first and second moves mainly include the following:

1. Rank Priority System (Traditional Method)

King vs. Jade: The higher-ranked player takes the King (first move), the lower-ranked takes the Jade (second move).

The King and Jade move the same way, but the higher-ranked player takes the King to move first.

2. Guessing System (Common Match Method)

Method 1: Grabbing pieces to guess odd or even

Both sides grab a number of pieces in their hands; if the total is odd, the side holding the black pieces (King) goes first; if even, the pieces are swapped.

Method 2: Coin toss to guess first

The referee uses a coin-tossing device (like a coin); the one who guesses correctly can choose:

To take the King (first move), take the Jade (second move), or let the other side choose first.

Because there were too many people in this tournament, the referee couldn't keep track at all.

So basically, the contestants were left to decide who goes first by "grabbing pieces to guess odd or even."

Natsume Chikage, who was well-versed in this, asked:

"Little Caixu, do you choose odd or even?"

Gu Chuan Caixu answered seriously:

"I choose even!"

Natsume Chikage smiled slightly:

"Good, then I'll choose odd."

After speaking, the two each grabbed a handful of pieces from the shogi box, held them in their palms, and then simultaneously placed their fists above the board and opened their palms.

The pieces fell onto the board, making a crisp sound.

The two carefully counted the total.

"One, two, three... fourteen." Natsume Chikage announced the number.

The total was even.

A joyful radiance instantly bloomed on Gu Chuan Caixu's small face:

"It seems Caixu got the first move! Big Brother, you must be careful!" ===== CHAPTER 116 =====