Chapter 268: A bet is a bet! Am I the big water fish?

After three moves were made, Fukuda Tsukasa noticed that Xia Xia Xia Mujun responded quickly without hesitation after every move he made, and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Truly a newcomer, impatient.

He glanced at the Shogi clock—both sides had one hour of reserved time.

At this moment, he had used more than two minutes, while Xia Xia Xia Mujun had used less than thirty seconds.

But this was by no means Xia Xia Xia Mujun's advantage.

In the world of Shogi, time is not the only yardstick; quick reactions without deep thought are often the prelude to a trap.

The common problem of newcomers lies exactly here: they can only see the step in front of them, but cannot see the opponent's intentions and layout three or four steps or even deeper behind it.

If one cannot understand the strategy behind a move and responds rashly, it is very easy to fall into traps laid early on.

What Fukuda Tsukasa loves to see most is an impatient opponent like Xia.

What he is famous for is not a fierce offensive, nor interference outside the board, but a set of tactics known as the "newcomer killer": extreme positional defense.

He is good at building solid formations like the "Yagura enclosure" or "Mino enclosure," hiding the King behind a barrier interwoven with Gold, Silver, and Lances, inducing the opponent to attack for a long time without success.

The attacking side often reveals flaws first in their impatience; once he catches that fleeting opportunity, he can immediately turn defense into offense and deliver a thunderous blow.

However, this "big fish" Xia Xia Xia Mujun in front of him presented another extreme.

From the beginning of the layout, he gave up stability, and his piece deployment seemed aggressive, as if he were pushing his main forces like the Rook and Bishop to the front line all at once, completely in a posture of all-out attack.

This formed a sharp contrast with Fukuda Tsukasa's "iron wall" tactics he was famous for.

Fukuda Tsukasa almost laughed out loud.

An all-out attack without regard for the rear is a major taboo; flaws will sooner or later be revealed like reefs after the tide recedes.

He just needs to follow the steps, especially consolidating the joint defense of the Silver and Gold.

Quietly waiting for the opponent to exhaust their patience and precision in continuous ineffective attacks is enough.

The middle game is the moment for him to harvest victory.

With this certainty, Fukuda Tsukasa picked up a piece, placed it steadily, and continued to reinforce his defensive position centered on the Silver.

Snap.

Almost the same moment his piece touched the board, Xia Xia Xia Mujun's response arrived, crisp and decisive, without any hesitation.

After a few rounds, Xia's seemingly ordinary Bishop exchange was, in Fukuda Tsukasa's eyes, a common reckless move for a newcomer—exchanging major pieces too early often means a shallow grasp of the overall rhythm and the thickness of the formation.

Playing so fast?

Fukuda Tsukasa felt disdain in his heart.

Doesn't he know that in Shogi, sometimes playing like flying is the prelude to defeat?

However, as the game progressed to the twelfth or thirteenth move, Fukuda Tsukasa examined the board, and the sense of superiority he originally had quietly seeped into a trace of indescribable strangeness.

The situation was clearly developing according to his expectations: his "Yagura enclosure" prototype had appeared, and the formation was solid.

Xia's vanguard Pawns and Lances seemed to be effectively blocked outside the defense line, making it difficult to form an effective threat.

It could be said that he was currently in a great advantage.

I don't know why, the more Fukuda Tsukasa looked at the game, the more indescribable strangeness he felt in his heart.

That was the alarm bell naturally formed by him who had played Shogi for many years.

He felt that something must be wrong, but he couldn't find it no matter what.

Could it really be his imagination?

Spectator stands.

Horikawa Kaori stared at the main screen—the picture was still switching between the games of several professional players, and she couldn't help but complain:

"What is the director doing? Why haven't they switched to Xia Xia Xia Mujun's game yet?"

Furukawa Masahiro also shook his head slightly:

"They should indeed give more shots."

Furukawa Saio looked up with her little face and muttered:

"Grandpa, Sister Horikawa, when will we be able to see Big Brother?"

"Should… be soon."

Before Horikawa Kaori finished speaking, the big screen switched, and the game at table 56 finally appeared.

"Look! It's Big Brother!" Furukawa Saio's eyes lit up.

At the commentary table, the host and commentators also noticed the switching of the screen.

Male commentator Inoue Masazo examined the game, his brows slightly furrowed:

"Currently, it seems that Fukuda Tsukasa, a 5-level contestant, still occupies the initiative in the situation."

"His Yagura enclosure is built quite solidly, the pieces are coordinated, and contestant Xia's offensive seems to be effectively contained, making it difficult to find a breakthrough."

Female commentator Nanjo Maiko nodded in agreement:

"Yes."

"Contestant Fukuda's 'defense instead of offense' style is very distinct; he is good at consuming the opponent's patience and precision in tight defense."

"If contestant Xia cannot open up the situation as soon as possible, he may become more and more passive as the number of moves increases and psychological pressure accumulates."

Listening to the professional commentary, Horikawa Kaori sighed, with an "as expected" expression.

In her opinion, Xia's ability to win last time was mostly due to luck.

At this time, Furukawa Saio, who had been staring at the screen seriously, said softly:

"Grandpa, I think, within ten moves, the winner will be decided."

Furukawa Masahiro stroked his beard and smiled, his gaze still on the board:

"Hmm, almost."

Hearing this, Horikawa Kaori looked suspiciously at the seemingly deadlocked board, and then at the serious grandfather and granddaughter:

"Ten moves? Do you mean Xia Xia Xia Mujun will be solved within ten moves? It seems that is indeed the case…"

Furukawa Masahiro shook his head and smiled:

"Look more carefully."

"The superiority or inferiority of a game is not always on the surface."

"Sometimes, the side that seems to be under pressure is actually weaving a net."

Furukawa Saio also tried hard to explain with gestures:

"Big Brother's Knight jumped here; it looks like a lone army going deep, but it's actually bait!"

"If that uncle's Gold comes to eat it, here… and the connection here will have problems!"

Horikawa Kaori became more and more confused, completely unable to keep up with the little girl's jumping explanation of the Shogi path:

"……Still don't understand."

Furukawa Saio tugged at her grandfather's sleeve angrily.

Furukawa Masahiro patted her hand and said gently to Horikawa Kaori:

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand it now; after all… the answer will be revealed soon."

Horikawa Kaori was skeptical, only feeling that this grandfather and granddaughter might have limited Shogi strength and couldn't see the real crisis.

She refocused on the board, and no matter how she looked at it, she felt that Xia Xia Xia Mujun's pieces were surrounded by Fukuda Tsukasa's thick force, making it difficult to exert his strength.

In the competition, the game had quietly entered the critical middle game.

Fukuda Tsukasa's sharp gaze locked onto a spot on the board—a protruding Pawn of Xia Xia Xia Mujun, whose position seemed increasingly abrupt and lacked subsequent support.

In Fukuda Tsukasa's rich combat experience, this was clearly a questionable move born of the opponent's impatience after failing to attack for a long time, a tempting and obvious flaw.

It's right here!

A burst of joy in his heart.

After defending patiently for more than twenty moves, what he was waiting for was this tail revealed by the opponent because of his eagerness for success!

He didn't hesitate to mobilize his own Gold, which was in an excellent position, like a hawk catching food, and neatly took that protruding Pawn. ===== CHAPTER 269 =====