Chapter 58: Be careful!

At this moment, above the tournament arena, the giant display screen became the focus of everyone's attention.

The director keenly cut the camera to Shogi Table 77—the pairing of Xia Xia Xia Mujun and Furukawa Saio, which looked particularly striking in this arena dominated by middle-aged men.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun goes without saying; his outstanding appearance was as dazzling as a bright pearl in the crowd.

As for Furukawa Saio, the reason she drew attention was her tender age, which was completely out of place with the atmosphere of the arena.

In this tournament gathering experts from across the country, children who dared to take the stage were few and far between.

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

"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 Maiko's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly in agreement:

"That is indeed true. This level of attractiveness would definitely be top-tier even in the entertainment industry."

Inoue Masazo stroked his chin, analyzing with great interest:

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

"After all, in this arena of ours, good looks can't buy victory."

Nanjo Maiko noticed Furukawa Saio opposite Xia Xia Xia Mujun and opened her eyes wide in surprise:

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

Inoue Masazo also showed a look of astonishment:

"To dare to come and compete at such a young age, she must be very confident in her Shogi skills, right?"

Nanjo Maiko covered her mouth and chuckled:

"A handsome youth and a cute girl—this pairing for a match is quite a sight to see."

Inoue Masazo nodded in agreement:

"Indeed."

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

Nanjo Maiko carefully examined the two on the screen and finally pointed her finger at Xia Xia Xia Mujun:

"I think it should be this youth."

"Look, he is quite a bit older than that little girl."

"The time he has spent studying Shogi must be much longer than the little girl's."

"Overall, the youth should have the advantage."

Inoue Masazo expressed his agreement:

"That is indeed true."

"I also believe this youth has a higher win rate."

"In the field of Shogi, the length of study 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!"

Furukawa Masahiro, in the audience, heard this commentary and couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly.

The insights of these two commentators were far 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 Xia Xia Xia Mujun's!

At this moment, Inoue Masazo on the big screen changed his tone, saying with some reservation:

"However, the world is unpredictable; perhaps we will see a situation that makes our jaws drop in a moment."

Nanjo Maiko smiled knowingly:

"Indeed."

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

Down on the floor, the "Old Dragon King" Furukawa Masahiro heard this and nodded repeatedly.

Yes, yes, that's more like it!

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

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

"The match begins!"

Once the command was given, all the players immediately threw themselves into their tense matches.

The director's camera also moved away from Xia Xia Xia Mujun and Furukawa Saio, scanning back and forth across the arena, finally settling on the highly anticipated professional match—Akechi Aogo 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 refocused their minds, concentrating entirely on commentating this professional duel.

The suspense for this match was already maxed out.

Both of these young players had quite a reputation in the Shogi world, and their prospects at only around thirty years old were widely favored.

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 titled player.

And in this single-elimination tournament, for two such powerhouses to meet in the first round, how could it not attract attention?

However, the attention of Furukawa Masahiro and Horikawa Kaori was not there.

Their eyes remained focused on Xia Xia Xia Mujun and Furukawa Saio in the corner of the arena.

Regrettably, the director gave the main screen time to the professional matches.

The matches of other contestants could only be played in rotation in a small window in the corner of the screen, with each image staying for only about a minute before switching.

This made the two, who were closely watching the situation at Table 77, anxious, but they could only wait for the director to cut to that scene whenever that might be.

Furukawa Masahiro couldn't help but feel some regret; if he had known, he should have revealed his identity so that everyone would know Furukawa Saio was the granddaughter of him, the former Dragon King.

That way, he could at least 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 unobserved corner of the arena, the match between Xia Xia Xia Mujun and Furukawa Saio was about to unfold.

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

In Shogi matches, the ways to determine who goes first 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 and goes first.

2. Guessing for First Move (Common tournament 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/selector to guess first move

The referee uses a selector (like a coin); the winner of the guess can choose:

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

Because there were too many people in this tournament, the referees couldn't keep track of everyone.

So, basically, they let the players decide who goes first by "grabbing pieces to guess odd or even" themselves.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun, well-versed in this, asked:

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

Furukawa Saio answered seriously:

"I choose even!"

Xia Xia Xia Mujun smiled slightly:

"Alright, then I'll choose odd."

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

The pieces landed on the board with a crisp sound.

The two carefully counted the total.

"One, two, three... fourteen." Xia Xia Xia Mujun announced the number.

The total was even.

A joyful radiance blossomed on Furukawa Saio's little face:

"It looks like Saio got the first move! Big Brother, you'd better be careful!"