Chapter 97

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

A single game of shogi often lasts a long time, requiring a massive expenditure of mental energy, which places high demands on physical stamina.

Some players collapse mid-game; this is a common occurrence in the shogi world.

Because of this.

Even the strongest female players have yet to be promoted to professional status.

However, the highest rank for female players still has a significant gap compared to professional players.

Aside from the hurdle of physical stamina, which is difficult to overcome, those professional players are indeed terrifyingly strong and hard to defeat.

Very strong female players might occasionally win a few games, but that is all.

One must know that an accidental victory cannot fully prove one's strength.

Promotion to a professional rank requires multiple rounds of competition, necessitating victories over multiple opponents of the same level, or even directly challenging professional players.

Moreover, matches against professional players are rarely decided by a single game; sometimes it is best-of-five, sometimes best-of-three.

Under such a format, a single game starts at 1 to 3 hours, and after consecutive matches, one becomes completely exhausted.

Furthermore, it is not just against one professional player, but having to face multiple opponents within half a year to even have a chance at professional promotion.

Therefore, the hurdle of physical stamina... is indeed one of the reasons why it is difficult for female players to become official professional shogi players!

Reality is just that cruel.

With one's strength waning and the other's waxing, she finds it increasingly difficult to defeat Fukuda Si.

However, she heard that a genius has emerged among this year's female players—Xiang Yutang Zhiji!

At only a second-year high school student, she is already a five-dan female player, far stronger than her own first-dan level.

That girl is only one step away from the highest rank of six-dan.

Even a five-level player in the Promotion Society like Fukuda Si has no chance of winning against Xiang Yutang Zhiji.

Even using a stalling tactic is useless; she would be checkmated in a short time—the gap in strength is just that stark!

If Xiang Yutang Zhiji can successfully promote to six-dan, perhaps she really has a chance to challenge for a professional rank.

She sincerely hopes that someone among the female players can make history and become the first female professional player.

Currently, it seems Xiang Yutang Zhiji is the most promising.

Looking at Natsume Chikage, although he is of a similar age to Xiang Yutang Zhiji, he is still just a beginner.

Although he is a boy, compared to Xiang Yutang Zhiji, who is a girl, the gap is like heaven and earth.

Sometimes one cannot help but sigh that those with talent, with just a little effort, reach a realm that ordinary people find difficult to touch in a lifetime... ===== CHAPTER 98 =====