Chapter 471

"But only Natsume-kun chose the same speed-attack strategy, which caught me off guard; after all, most of the opponents I face rarely go head-to-head with me like this."

"Coupled with the fact that Natsume-kun himself had the first move, his speed-attack remained at an advantage."

"Finally, snowballing, once I was checked once, the rhythm was basically controlled by him afterwards."

"So... if I had drawn the first move, the result of this match might have been very different."

Sawada Rika was stunned for a moment and asked Natsume Chikage:

"Contestant Natsume, do you think his analysis is correct?"

Natsume Chikage nodded and said:

"It is fair."

"Using this strategy with the first move is indeed advantageous."

"I must say, Contestant Tanabe is very skilled with this strategy; if he had the first move, the outcome would indeed not have been decided so quickly."

Sawada Rika smiled:

"Speaking of which, why did both of you adopt such aggressive tactics?"

Tanabe Yuto shrugged and said:

"This is my consistent style; compared to me, I am also curious why Natsume-kun used this strategy."

Sawada Rika hurriedly moved the microphone over:

"It seems that not only I, but even Contestant Tanabe, the audience present, and everyone in front of the TV must be very curious why you played like this?"

"Could it be that using the same aggressive attack strategy was your special strategy to deal with this tactic?"

Natsume Chikage shook his head and said:

"It wasn't any strategy."

"It was simply that I saw him playing like that, so I played like that too."

These words of his.

Immediately left Sawada Rika stunned.

"Ah... you just saw him play like that, so you played like that too?"

Tanabe Yuto was also completely dumbfounded:

"Ah... so this really wasn't a strategy, just that you were in the mood, so you played like that?!"

Natsume Chikage nodded:

"Yes."

Tanabe Yuto was somewhat speechless.

He had originally thought this guy had seen through his routine and wanted to use a counter-routine, then use the first-move advantage to win against him.

Who knew this guy was simply a reckless brute!

He didn't think that much at all; he just charged, and that was it!

I'm truly defeated.

Tanabe Yuto would rather lose to a cunning enemy than lose to a greenhorn.

Sawada Rika was also a bit dazed, never expecting this kid to be just a reckless brute who says, "If you want to fight, I will fight."

And the two commentators at the commentary desk.

After hearing Natsume Chikage's explanation, they were also a bit unable to hold it together.

The male commentator, Inoue Miyabi, said with a wry smile:

"I originally thought Natsume Chikage looked so calm while playing, with the appearance of someone planning strategies, and thought this decision might have been intentional."

"But I never expected... he was just acting on a whim, and even... really did hit the mark like a blind cat catching a dead mouse."

The female commentator, Nanjo Maimai, covered her mouth and laughed:

"It gives me a... fantastic feeling, like entering an exam room without any preparation, finding that the questions are all multiple-choice, and then picking randomly, only to get them all right."

"But regardless—here, let us congratulate Contestant Natsume for being the first to win in our third round, and the fastest winner!"

Her words.

Many audience members present began to applaud.

In the apartment.

Seeing that Natsume Chikage had actually won, and it only took 3 minutes and 13 seconds, Kondo Miyuki was suddenly stunned, and then somewhat incredulous.

"Natsume-kun... actually won?"

"And he won way too fast..."

"Didn't his old man say that he didn't like shogi at all and had basically played very few games?"

"How could this be..."

That is what she said.

But deep down, she gradually realized that this Natsume Chikage definitely has strength, and is likely even stronger than his father, his younger sister, and even her, a second-dan female professional player.

She could easily defeat Natsume-kun's father and sister.

But to say she could defeat Tanabe Yuto, the probability is very low.

If she were to use the same head-to-head fast-chess style to duel, the one who would lose would definitely be her.

Because this type of tactic is very unpopular in slow-chess tournaments.

Almost no players would use this aggressive tactic.

She is one such person.

So in terms of fast chess, she really couldn't win against Tanabe Yuto.

And this kind of fast chess requires extremely high thinking speed.

This also means that Natsume Chikage's current strength is really a bit higher than Tanabe Yuto's, and it is highly probable that they are at a similar level.

Otherwise, even with the first move, he wouldn't have been able to win.

Since Natsume-kun was able to use this strategy to win, it naturally means he is exceptionally skilled with it.

Looking at it this way, Natsume-kun likely hasn't played only a dozen games; no matter how you look at it, he must have studied hard for a period of time.

But she knows very well that before his father went bankrupt and passed away, Natsume Chikage definitely hadn't played much shogi and spent all day playing games.

This is what his old man said himself, so it's likely not a lie.

But now, it seems like only about a month has passed since his father passed away...

In just one month, he reached this level?

Kondo Miyuki thought for a moment and remembered that a month ago, it was exactly when this shogi tournament was advertising everywhere.

Could it be that Natsume-kun set his sights on the prize money from that time and started learning shogi?

And then reached the strength of a 3rd-level in the promotion society in just one month?

If that's true... this talent is indeed a bit terrifying.

Private Tsukikage Academy.

Shogi Club.

Yasui Ryoto clutched his head and complained:

"No way—brother, you really won?!"

"So fierce?"

"And it was 3 minutes and 13 seconds? You broke the record directly?"

Araki Yuai was happy for Natsume Chikage in her heart, but him winning against Tanabe Yuto really shocked her.

"This Natsume-kun... he hides so deep; it turns out he can play fast chess?"

"And he really won against Tanabe Yuto head-to-head... doesn't that mean his current strength is stronger than Tanabe Yuto's?"

Nomura Tomohiro was also very surprised, and after thinking for a while, he affirmed:

"It should be."

"Both sides are playing fast chess, and Tanabe Yuto is even a specialist in fast chess."

"Although Natsume-kun had the first move, it was the same routine after all; without equal or slightly stronger strength, he really couldn't have won against Tanabe Yuto."

City Hall.

In the office.