Chapter 45

Whether it was amateur players, trainee players, female players, or famous professional players.

And most shogi players started participating in competitions from a young age.

Working at the Shogi Association often, she was basically familiar with all the shogi players in the Tokyo area.

Because the shogi circle is just that big, coming and going are all those familiar faces.

However, in Tokyo, Horikawa Kaori had never seen Natsume Chikage.

She was both surprised to meet such an exceptionally handsome boy and curious about how his shogi strength was, and whether he was a player who came to Tokyo specifically to participate in the "New Sharp Shogi Tournament."

This competition was open to all of Japan.

Therefore, it attracted many players from other places to come for its reputation.

The fact that people were still coming one after another on the last day of registration was enough to show the popularity of this competition.

You know, the scale of ordinary shogi competitions is usually small.

In most cases, shogi players only compete in a small range.

The number of participants rarely exceeds a hundred.

And this competition was expected to have more than two thousand participants, an unprecedented scale.

Therefore, the moment she saw Natsume Chikage, Horikawa Kaori concluded that he was definitely not an amateur, trainee, or professional player in the Tokyo area.

And looking at his high school uniform, it was very likely that he came from far away from another region?

Horikawa Kaori stood up, swept away her previous lazy state, and a warm smile bloomed on her face, handing an application form to Natsume Chikage.

"Hello, please fill in your name, contact information, shogi rank here..."

Horikawa Kaori explained with extra patience and detail.

Natsume Chikage nodded and took the application form to fill it out seriously.

In a short while, he finished filling it out and handed the form back to Horikawa Kaori.

Horikawa Kaori took the form, and when she saw the content filled in the "Rank" column, she was stunned.

【Amateur Rank: None】

【Trainee Status: None】

【Professional Rank: None】

Horikawa Kaori thought she had misread it and confirmed carefully: "Xia Mu-jun... you have never registered at the Shogi Association, nor have you participated in an amateur rank tournament?"

Natsume Chikage was slightly startled: "No. Do I have to have an amateur rank to sign up for this competition?"

"That's not it..." Horikawa Kaori was a bit dumbfounded.

Now she understood that this Natsume Chikage had never participated in any formal competition, so he had no rank.

Not even the most basic amateur rank.

Coming to participate in the "New Sharp Shogi Tournament" in this situation, no matter how you look at it, it's like a one-round trip...

You know, the participants in this competition at least have an amateur rank.

This was the first time an ordinary person with no rank came to participate!

Although from the rules, it seems everyone can participate in shogi competitions, the actual level requirement is very high.

If you are unlucky, you might encounter a trainee member in the first round, or even play against a professional player.

Usually: amateur player < trainee player < professional player < titled player.

Ordinary people can't even beat amateur players, let alone face higher-level players.

And this competition requires a registration fee of 20,000 yen.

This money is not much, but it's not little either.

But it is definitely not an amount that can be wasted casually.

Therefore, ordinary people basically won't come to participate in this kind of competition.

Knowing you will lose and still coming to send money, isn't that a fool?

Horikawa Kaori scratched her cheek unconsciously, calculating inwardly how to dissuade him tactfully.

But she still held a glimmer of hope and asked tentatively:

"Um... Xia Mu-jun, have you been studying shogi since you were a child?"

If he had been learning since childhood, some people, although they hadn't participated in formal competitions, had strength not inferior to amateur players.

She had seen many such players and hoped Natsume Chikage was one of them.

Natsume Chikage shook his head and said:

"I didn't play much when I was a child."

Horikawa Kaori had fine sweat on her forehead and pursued:

"Then about how many games have you played?"

Natsume Chikage was puzzled:

"Do I have to answer?"

Horikawa Kaori coughed and said:

"I hope you can answer..."

Natsume Chikage heard this and had to calculate slightly:

"I played a few games when I was a child, but I played more than ten games with my younger sister yesterday, adding up to about fifteen games."

Horikawa Kaori's heart skipped a beat.

Only about fifteen games in total?

Isn't this just a pure newcomer?

A newcomer running to participate in this kind of competition, isn't this nonsense?!

Horikawa Kaori wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and hinted tactfully:

"Um... Xia Mu-jun, most of the people participating in this competition are very strong shogi players."

"In fact, very few players without a rank participate, because the registration fee is indeed not cheap."

"And the competition system this time is very special, different from regular shogi competitions, it adopts a single-elimination system, and if you lose in the first round, there is no chance of resurrection."

"Are you... sure you want to participate?"

Natsume Chikage nodded firmly:

"Sure!"

Fukuda Si was about thirty years old, with obvious stubble on his chin.

He was a fifth-dan trainee player and was somewhat famous in the Tokyo shogi circle.

He didn't want to say anything originally, but after hearing Natsume Chikage's situation, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

You know, which player in the Shogi Association hasn't been studying shogi since childhood?

Everyone has worked hard for so many years to have the confidence to participate in this kind of large-scale competition.

And this Natsume Chikage, dared to come to participate after playing only a dozen games?

This is really—the ignorant are fearless, ignorant to the point of being laughable!