Chapter 49

There is an innate gap in physical strength between female players and male players.

A game of Shogi often takes a long time to play, during which a large amount of brainpower needs to be consumed, which requires high physical fitness.

Some players faint while playing, which is a common occurrence in the chess world.

It is also because of this.

Even the strongest women's players have yet to be promoted to professional players.

However, the highest grade of women's players is still quite a gap compared to professional players.

Except for the fact that this physical hurdle is hard to overcome, those professional players are indeed terrifyingly powerful and hard to defeat.

Very powerful women's players may occasionally win a few games, but that's all.

You know, accidental victory cannot fully prove strength.

Promotion to professional grade requires multiple rounds of competition, must defeat multiple players of the same level, and even directly challenge professional players.

And the game against professional players is often not a one-game decision, sometimes it's best of five, sometimes best of three.

In such a tournament system, one game takes 1 to 3 hours to start, and after continuous battles, the whole person will be exhausted.

And it's not just against one professional player, but against multiple ones within half a year to have a chance to be promoted to professional.

So this physical hurdle... is indeed one of the reasons why it is difficult for women's players to become formal professional Shogi players!

Reality is just that cruel.

With the rise and fall, she found it increasingly difficult to defeat Fukuda Tsukasa.

However, she heard that a genius had emerged among the women's players—Mido Orihime!

Only in her second year of high school, she was already a women's fifth-dan, much stronger than her first-dan.

That girl was only one step away from the highest grade, sixth-dan.

Even Fukuda Tsukasa, a trainee fifth-grade player, had no chance of winning in front of Mido Orihime.

Even using the tactic of delaying time was useless; she would be checkmated in a short time—the gap in strength was just that huge!

If Mido Orihime could successfully be promoted to sixth-dan, maybe she would really have a chance to challenge the professional grade.

She sincerely hoped that someone among the women's players could create history and become the first female professional player.

At present, Mido Orihime seemed to be the most hopeful.

Conversely, Xia Xia Xia Mujun, although similar in age to Mido Orihime, was still just a beginner.

Although he was a boy, compared to Mido Orihime, who was a girl, the gap was like heaven and earth.

Sometimes one still has to sigh that people with talent just need to work a little bit, and it is a realm that ordinary people can hardly reach in a lifetime...

"In any case—Xia Xia Xia Mujun, you must go for it when you draw your opponent!" Horikawa Kaori reminded him earnestly. "Sometimes, playing well isn't as good as being paired well; that really is a golden rule!"

Xia Xia Xia Mujun actually agreed with her point of view.

In certain situations, a gap in strength can indeed be bridged by luck.

Although such opportunities are not often seen.

However, when it comes to "drawing lots," how exactly is one supposed to "go for it"...

He didn't want to dampen Horikawa Kaori's spirits, so he smiled gently:

"I think so too."

Just then, a clear and penetrating looped announcement echoed through the venue.

[The competition is about to begin. Will the contestants for the first round please follow the staff's guidance and gather in the center of the venue in an orderly fashion!]

[The competition is about to begin. Will the contestants for the first round please follow the staff's guidance and gather in the center of the venue in an orderly fashion!]

Hearing the broadcast, Horikawa Kaori stood up nervously:

"Well then, I'll go to the competition first."

Xia Xia Xia Mujun sincerely offered his well-wishes:

"I wish you a flying start!"

Horikawa Kaori nodded gratefully:

"Thank you."

After saying this, she hurried off toward the restroom—she had to take care of her physiological needs before the match.

After all, leaving the venue during a Shogi match is usually not permitted.

This is to prevent cheating.

In the past, there had been incidents where players used the excuse of going to the restroom to seek outside assistance via mobile phone or to look up game records to find a way to break a deadlock.

Therefore, the Shogi Association now enforces strict electronic device controls on contestants.

Even if one needs to go to the restroom midway, they must be accompanied by a staff member.

To avoid such trouble, she felt it was best to be prepared in advance.

Before long, Xia Xia Xia Mujun saw Horikawa Kaori rushing back to the venue, blending into the crowd in the center area waiting to draw lots.

Witnessing this, he couldn't help but be a bit surprised—he hadn't expected it to be an on-site draw.

It seems the organizers place particular emphasis on randomness.

But thinking about it carefully, it isn't hard to understand.

This competition brings together players of all ranks to compete on the same stage.

If absolute randomness cannot be guaranteed, it would likely discourage many participants—after all, no one wants to run into a professional player in the first round; that would be no different than throwing an egg against a rock.

Just as the players were preparing for their matches, the large screen in the center of the venue began broadcasting a live interview by the beautiful host, Sawada Rika.

On the screen, Sawada Rika, dressed in a standard professional suit, stood in a temporarily constructed interview area, with busy staff and players taking their seats behind her.

She wore a professional and infectious smile as she reported fluently to the camera:

"Hello everyone, I am Sawada Rika from Tokyo Television, reporting live for you from the Tokyo Shogi Hall on the highly anticipated 'New Talent Shogi Challenge'!"

The camera swept across the crowded venue following her lead.

"As you can see, this year's tournament has attracted many players from all over the country, with the number of registrations far exceeding previous regular tournaments; the atmosphere on-site is very enthusiastic!"

Sawada Rika turned gracefully, gesturing to the eye-catching competition format chart hanging on one side of the venue.

"This tournament has adopted a highly attractive and innovative format!"

"All participants, regardless of their rank, will start from the same point and undergo a brutal single-elimination tournament!"

"Only those who advance to the top sixteen will enter the more intense and exciting best-of-three stage!"

Her tone shifted to be more impassioned as she highlighted the competition's features.

"Even more noteworthy is the generous prize money mechanism set for the tournament!"

"A victory in the first round earns 10,000 yen, and for every consecutive win thereafter, the prize money will double!"

"And the total number of participants this time has reached 2,048."

"This means that if a player can maintain a perfect record before entering the top four—then each of the top eight players will be able to take home a staggering reward of up to 2.56 million yen!"

"And after entering the top four, the prize money increase for each victory reaches a staggering fourfold!"

"The two players who advance to the finals will each receive 10.24 million yen!"

"And the ultimate champion will exclusively enjoy the super grand prize—40.96 million yen!!!"

The camera captured several contestants preparing to enter the venue at the right moment.

A professional player in Sector A happened to appear on screen.

"Of course, the huge prize money also means unprecedented challenges!"

"This tournament is packed with experts, ranging from experienced amateur-ranked players to powerful members of the Promotion Association, and even the participation of professional players or title holders cannot be ruled out!"

Sawada Rika's expression became playful and full of suspense.

"What's even more exciting is that all first-round matchups are not pre-arranged, but will be decided later through—on-site drawing!"

"Every player's fate will be revealed at the moment of the draw!"

"Will you draw an evenly matched opponent, or unfortunately encounter a top-tier powerhouse?"

"This unknown suspense is also one of the biggest highlights of this competition!"

She turned her gaze toward the player preparation area.

"At this moment, the players are storing their personal belongings under the guidance of the staff and are heading to the center of the venue in an orderly manner, preparing to face this crucial first step—the draw!"

"Let us look forward together to see which lucky ones can avoid the powerhouses, and which highly anticipated seeded players will collide early!"

The camera finally settled on the transparent drum used for the draw in the venue.