Chapter 34 against the times

In the past, the matches between Chinese and Japanese chess players were all "friendly matches" with coaching features.But in the 1976 visit to Japan, except for my six wins and one loss, the Chinese Go team defeated Japan for the first time with a total score of 27 wins, 24 losses, and 5 draws in 56 games. Team.This result strongly shocked the Japanese chess world and changed the Japanese chess world's view of Chinese players.From then on, the Sino-Japanese chess battle began to have a real confrontational color. In April 1977, Hashimoto Utaro Kudan led a delegation to visit.I drew 1-1 against Hashimoto 9th dan and Ishida Akira 7th dan. I beat Higashino Hiroaki 9th dan, Iada Ryuji 7th dan and Sato Masaharu 6th dan with a total score of five wins and two losses.

In the June 1978 visit to Japan, I lost 1-2 against Kunio Ishii in the "Sanbanqi" 9-dan match.Wins Shiraishi Yu 9th dan, Kikuchi amateur 7th dan, loses Fujisawa Tomozhai 9th dan and Sekiyama Toshio 9th dan.In the same year, in the competition visited by the Japanese side, I won the 7th dan of Kurahashi, and drew with the 9th dan of Sugiuchi, the 8th dan of Awaji and the 9th dan of Higashino.The total score is four wins, four losses and three draws. In the Sino-Japanese competition in 1979, I won four nine-dan, one eight-dan, two seven-dan and four amateur seven-dan, and lost to one seven-dan, one five-dan and one amateur seven-dan.The total score is eleven wins and three losses.

In the competition of visiting Japan in 1980, I won two 9-dan and one amateur 7-dan, but lost to three 9-dan and one 7-dan.The total score is three wins and four losses. In the China-Japan competition in 1981, I drew 1-1 with two 9-dan players and two 7-dan players, with a total score of 2 wins and 2 losses. In 1982, the visit of the Chinese Go delegation to Japan was very memorable. I won four 9-dan players, one 8-dan player, and one amateur 7-dan player in this game. The result is six wins and one loss.Moreover, the Chinese team unexpectedly defeated the Japanese team with an overwhelming advantage of 43 wins and 13 losses.It once again broke the balance of exchanges since 1976, and once again greatly shocked the Japanese chess world. For this reason, the Japanese chess academy has been criticized by the public opinion circles.

Since the exchange of Go between China and Japan, whether it is our visit to Japan or the visit of the Japanese side, the Japanese lineup is basically a mixed army composed of professional high-ranking players, new cutting-edge players and amateur strong players. After 1976, with the improvement of the level of Chinese chess players, especially after the emergence of a group of rookies headed by Ma Xiaochun, the winning rate of amateur strong players on the Japanese side became lower and lower.By 1982, none of Japan's amateur strong players could resist the attacks of Chinese chess players, and almost "the whole army was wiped out". This made the Japanese chess community feel that the "mixed army" could no longer adapt to the situation of Sino-Japanese exchanges.Therefore, on the eve of the 1983 Japanese Go delegation to China, the organizer of the China-Japan exchange game, the president of Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun, said that this time the group would rather spend more money than invite strong players.

Sure enough, the Japanese Go delegation that visited China in 1983 consisted of four 9-dan players and four 8-dan players. It was the most powerful delegation in the history of Sino-Japanese Go exchanges.The leader is Yoshio Ishida 9th dan, and the members are Ishii Kunio 9th dan, Kobayashi Koichi 9th dan, Sonoda Yuichi 9th dan, Sato Masaharu 8th dan, Yamashiro Hiroshi 8th dan, Nakamura Hidehito 8th dan, and Hasegawa Nao 8th dan.They are all strong players hired by the Yomiuri Shimbun with a lot of money, and all of them have extraordinary skills.Kobayashi Koichi Kyu-dan in particular, although he did not have a championship title at the time, has won the right to challenge major competitions many times and is recognized as a "super-class" chess player.In my opinion, Kobayashi Koichi's strength seems to be even worse than Ishida Yoshio.

In addition, in order to encourage chess players to play every game well, the Yomiuri Shimbun has adopted a reward system. It also stipulates that chess players will receive bonuses for every game they win, and the amount will double with the number of games won. This is unprecedented.Before his departure, Captain Ishida publicly issued a declaration of striving for forty victories and sixteen losses. However, in the face of such a strong opponent, the Chinese chess players were not afraid, but inspired their fighting spirit even more. In the end, although they won 25 games and lost 31 games, the 25 games they won were all genuine and resounding. .If we go back a few years and Japan sends a delegation of this strength, it is likely to easily reach the goal of forty victories.It can be seen that we have made great progress.

In this competition, I played a total of five times. I won two games in a row against Ishida Nine Dans, Ishii Nine Dans and Hase Eight Dans. Unfortunately, I lost to Kobayashi Koichi Nine Dans, with four wins and one loss. In any case, the outcome of the Sino-Japanese Go game in 1983 was obviously beyond the expectations of the Japanese chess world. Therefore, the Japanese side proposed to officially change the "friendly match" to a "confrontation match", thinking that only in this way can the current level of competition between China and Japan be reflected.Later, at the welcome meeting held for our competition in Japan in 1984, Mr. Murakami Morio, the president of Yomiuri Shimbun, fully expressed this attitude in his speech.He said: "Twelve years ago, the Yomiuri Shimbun began to organize the Japan-China Go exchange for the purpose of Japan-China friendship and goodwill. From this time on, it will use the name of 'Japan-China Go Showdown'. Now, with friendship and goodwill The exchange for the purpose has entered a stage of a decisive battle between Japan and China, and the strength of the two countries will be determined through the game.” It can be said that the Sino-Japanese game in 1983 was a milestone in the history of Sino-Japanese Go exchanges. People in the national chess world all realize that the exchange of Go between China and Japan has entered a new stage.

In the past, the composition of the Chinese Go delegation was basically based on old players, supplemented by young players, and the proportion of male and female players was also taken care of.In order to adapt to the situation of the "Sino-Japanese Go decisive battle", the 1984 group formation broke this routine and adopted a selection system.All members of the national training team must participate in the trials, and only the top eight are eligible to participate in the visiting delegation to Japan.After fierce competition, I, Ma Xiaochun, Liu Xiaoguang, Cao Dayuan, Qian Yuping, Kong Xiangming, Wang Yuan, and Song Xuelin finally formed the delegation to visit Japan in 1984.

In my game history, the 1984 visit to Japan is worth looking back on.Although I didn't have any brilliant achievements that time, there were only painful lessons from the fiasco.However, it was the disastrous defeat that made me clearly see my own weaknesses and gaps, and re-inspired my fighting spirit to challenge the vast and boundless "Chess Road". As early as 1983, the Japanese side had the idea of ​​letting Zhao Zhixun Jiudan, who had just ascended the throne of "Chess Master", play "Fanqi" with me. In March 1984, Mr. Hideyuki Fujisawa, the honorary chess master, also confirmed the news when he visited.According to him, the Yomiuri Shimbun has decided that when the Chinese Go delegation visits Japan, they will invite Zhao Zhixun and me to play "Qifanqi".In addition, it is also planned to invite first-class chess players such as Kato Masao 9th dan, Takemiya Masaki 9th dan, Hashimoto Masahiro 29th dan and other members of the Chinese team to play "Fanqi".

As soon as this news came out, it immediately caused a sensation in our entire chess world.First, in the previous Sino-Japanese Go matches, the strongest Japanese players rarely played, but this time almost all of them were dispatched, which is enough to prove that Japan attaches great importance to the Sino-Japanese exchanges in 1984.Second, the fact that Japan proposed "Fanqi" itself further shows that the Japanese chess world has begun to truly regard Chinese chess players as opponents of equal status.Therefore, the information passed by the Japanese side will of course arouse great repercussions from us.

In the past, the Chinese and Japanese Go matches, except for the "Sanfanqi" played once when they visited Japan in 1978, were usually determined by one game.However, Japanese chess players believe that the chance of winning or losing a game is too great, and only by playing "Fanqi" can they show their true strength.The finals of major chess games in Japan all use "Fanqi" The higher the level of the chess game, the more games you will play.For example, "Battle of the Throne", "Tianyuan War" It is five rounds of victory and defeat, and "chess holy war", "celebrity war" and "Honinbo war" are all seven rounds of victory and defeat. At first, Chinese chess players were far from adapting to this kind of "Fanqi". They often played well in the first game, but it got worse later on. In 1978, in the "Sanbanqi" of Chinese and Japanese chess players, except for Kong Xiangming who defeated Kobayashi Chishou 3-0 and Wu Songsheng who defeated Ushinohama Suoxiong 9-dan 2-1, all others lost.Later we found out that playing "Fanqi" is indeed beneficial. It is more confrontational than a single game, and the atmosphere of competition is much stronger.As a result, the finals of some important competitions in our country have also begun to adopt the "Sanfanqi" or "Fivefanqi" competition methods. I am very interested in playing "Fanqi". I feel that I have played several games with the same opponent in a row. The battle of wits between the two sides is very interesting, and it really makes the atmosphere of confrontation much stronger.However, this time my opponent in "Nanchi" is Zhao Zhixun, the strongest player in Japan, which made me both excited and nervous.What is exciting is that although my record against Japan's 9th Dan is more than one win, but against the "superior" Japanese players, I have not achieved good results. I have lost two games against Kato Masao and Kobayashi Koichi, so I have long been eager to compete with them. Let's decide again.This time I can play against Zhao Zhixun, the best among them, of course, which makes me very excited. What makes me nervous is that Zhao Zhixun's reputation as a chess master is too great, and all the "super-class" Japanese players have been defeated by him.Forty years ago, when Wu Qingyuan dominated the Japanese chess world, the Japanese chess world once shouted the slogan "Down with Wu Qingyuan".Now that Zhao Zhixun's rise has caused the Japanese chess world to shout the slogan "Down with Zhao Zhixun", this is enough to show how his reputation has reached its peak.Not long ago, in the three rounds of ups and downs against Hiroshi Yamashiro, 7th dan Wang Licheng, and 7th dan Kobayashi Kaku, he almost beat all three young players who shouldered the hope of the Japanese chess world to second place. It is moving.Therefore, the prospect of playing "Qifanqi" with such a strong opponent is really uncertain. In this nervous and excited mood, I began to actively prepare for the game. When we arrived in Japan on May 22, we were warmly welcomed by our Japanese friends.From the words of the Japanese friends, it makes people feel that the Japanese side attaches great importance to this game. This may be due to the fact that in the atmosphere of the "China-Japan Go decisive battle", most of the Japanese players who will appear on the stage are powerful figures. . I found that Japanese friends are very interested in the game between Zhao Zhixun and me, although for some reason "Sanbanki" was changed to "Sanbanki" (I will play another round of "Sanbanki" with Kato Masao), But it didn't affect their emotions at all. No matter at the welcome reception or in ordinary communication, the topic would often unknowingly turn to Zhao Zhixun and I's "Three Fans of Chess". On May 23, we went to the Chinese Embassy in Japan as usual, and were warmly received by Ambassador Song Zhiguang.Being in Japan, the "Kingdom of Go", Ambassador Song Zhiguang naturally has a good understanding of the situation in the Japanese Go world. When talking about the upcoming game, he specifically said that if I beat Zhao Zhixun, he will hold a grand reception to celebrate .In my impression, only after the Chinese women's volleyball team won the world championship did they get this honor.I know very well that this statement by Ambassador Song Zhiguang is to inspire me to improve my level and style to win glory for my country.From his words, I felt his deep expectations for Chinese chess players.On the way back to the hotel from the embassy, ​​I was silent. Ambassador Song Zhiguang's words made me feel restless for a long time, and I felt the heavy burden on my shoulders. On May 24, the first round of the "Sanfanqi" game between China and Japan officially started.When Master Zhao Zhixun took his seat, I felt an electric current pass through my whole body. In an instant, all kinds of comments about him flashed in my mind again, which made me look up at this famous opponent in front of me. Zhao Zhixun is no stranger to me. On the contrary, I can almost tell you about his experience in the Japanese chess world, and I have met him several times during my previous visits to Japan.However, as an opponent, it was the first time to sit in front of the chessboard and observe him face to face.When I saw him before, I always saw him with a smile on his face, looking very kind, and his fat face gave people a peaceful and somewhat innocent feeling, but looking at it now, there is no half of peace Qi.But seeing him sitting upright, with a solemn expression, and his energy ready to go, I felt a power of victory coming from him. It was only then that I really realized why many Japanese masters said Zhao Zhixun is the most difficult chess player to deal with. To be honest, although Zhao Zhixun's reputation in Japan has reached its peak, deep down in my heart I feel somewhat disapproving.After studying his chess carefully in order to prepare for this game, I feel that his chess is not as magical as people say.I feel that Zhao Zhixun's chess seems very plain, without any outstanding style.In terms of genius whimsy, he is not as good as the bold and unrestrained Fujisawa Hideyuki; in terms of attack ability, he is not as good as the fierce Kato Masao; in terms of thick and delicate, he is not as good as Lin Haifeng; He doesn't seem to have the superhuman strengths.When I compared his chess with mine, I faintly felt that defeating him did not seem to be too difficult, so there is a question that I still can't figure out. defeated by his hands.However, just looking at him for a moment, I suddenly understood. Under Zhao Zhixun's aggressive aura, my self-confidence was suddenly shaken. "This is the supreme player in today's Japanese chess world. Can I defeat him?" This thought suddenly came to my mind, and I couldn't help but panic.For the first time in my life, I felt that the short moment before the game was so difficult. Since it was the first game, Zhao Zhixun guessed the first and second moves. He guessed the black chess piece. After a little thought, he made the first move with a "pop".The long-awaited game finally started. In order to stabilize my emotions, I closed my eyes, only to hear my heart beating violently. Suddenly, my mind flashed: Zhao Zhixun's reputation is far above mine, and everyone expects it. If I am so nervous, he must be more nervous than me.Thinking about it this way, my heart calmed down. Before the game, I heard that Zhao Zhixun attached great importance to this "San Fan Qi", so he quit drinking two weeks in advance (he quit drinking every major game), and in order to maintain the dignity of "chess master" and "celebrity" , blatantly stated that "Sanbanqi" must win 2-0, otherwise it would be shameless to receive the huge bonus provided by the Yomiuri Shimbun for the winner.Although this move has the magical effect of "putting soldiers to death and reviving later", it is still too much of a burden, and once it fails, the consequences will be unimaginable.Therefore, he "can't afford to lose" more than me. With this speculation, I regained my confidence. I won't go into details about the technical details of this "Sanfanqi". defeated. In the other two games in Tokyo, I lost to Takemiya Masaki Kudan in white, and I defeated Takeshi Sakai in black. Immediately afterwards, the second round of "Sanbanqi" was held in Osaka, with Kato Masao Kudan playing against me.Masao Kato defeated Ma Xiaochun 2-0 in the first round of "Sanbanqi", and his morale was high, while I had 1 win and 3 losses, so I was eager to win. I turned a blind eye to many opportunities in the game and lost 0-2. The two rounds of "Sanfanqi" were defeated by 0 to 2. The mood was very painful, but after learning from the pain, I felt that I got a lot of benefits from it.Zhao Zhixun and Kato Masao, two outstanding chess players, have left a deep impression on me with their superb skills.Their tenacious combat effectiveness, rich practical experience, the ability to quickly capture fleeting fighters, and their calm and calm attitude during the "countdown" stage are all worth learning from me.In addition, they are also very good at grasping the situation. For example, when the situation is stalemate, they are not in a hurry;In contrast, my weakness in this area is clearly exposed. However, although Japanese super-class shogi players are one step ahead of our highest-level shogi players, they also have weaknesses and are not invincible.Take Masao Kato as an example. I have lost to him twice in the past, and after losing, I didn’t know where I lost. At that time, I really felt that Kato’s chess was a bit unpredictable. But this time, although he and I still lost the "Sanfanqi", the chances of winning were unexpectedly many.So the word "fear" hidden deep in my heart was driven out. Perhaps this is my greatest achievement. It was the defeat of these two "Sanfanqi" that made the necessary psychological preparation for the Sino-Japanese Go Challenge that started in 1985.