Special Event
International Shogi Festival 2008 in Tendo
A Highly Cosmopolitan Shogi Event: The International Shogi
Festival, November 2008
Every year the Japan Shogi Association organizes various events with the participation of top shogi professionals in order to promote the Japanese traditional culture of shogi. This year these events will be brought together and held as one large-scale festival in Tendo, where most of the shogi pieces in Japan are produced, to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a city. As part of this festival, the triennial International Shogi Forum (1999, 2002, 2005) will be held under the name “International Shogi Festival 2008 in Tendo.”
- Dates
- Friday, November 7, 2008 to Monday, November 10, 2008
- Venues
- Takinoyu Hotel (Tendo, Yamagata), Tendo Citizens Cultural Centre
- Logo
Festival Details
- International Shogi Tournament
- November 8-9 (Takinoyu Hotel)
- A shogi tournament will be held for about 40 players from 21 countries (provisional), selected through preliminary tournaments or by recommendation.
- Shogi Day Event
- November 9 (Tendo Citizens Cultural Center)
- With the participation of many well-known shogi professionals, this event offers a rare opportunity to watch live shogi games between professional players. The event will be filmed by NHK and is scheduled to be broadcast on NHK’s Education Channel on the 34th Shogi Day.
Invited Countries and Number of Players
- Asia
- Japan, China, Thailand
- Oceania
- New Zealand, North America, USA, Canada,
- South America
- Brazil,Paraguay
- Europe
- UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus
- Number of invited players
- Individual tournament: 40 players from 21 countries
Preliminary Tournaments
| Country | A Class | B Class | Preliminary organizer | Preliminary date/venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 1 | 1 | New York Branch, Minoru Hayashi | March 29-30,13th U.S. Shogi Championship, Chicago, Illinois, |
| Canada | 1 | 0 | Canada Branch, T. Hsu | March 16, Ontario |
| Brazil | 1 | 1 | Brazil Branch, Sdamu Okuda | Recommendation |
| Paraguay | 1 | 0 | Paraguay Branch, Masatoshi Umeyama | March 1 |
| UK | 1 | 1 | UK Branch, David Falcon | May |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 | Netherlands Branch, Peter Blommers |
April 26 (A class, Netherlands)June 14 (Bclass, Hague) |
| Germany | 1 | 1 | Germany Branch, Jochen Drechsler | Not yet decided |
| Austria | 1 | 1 | Austria Branch,Gert Schnider | June,Qualification Tournament |
| France | 1 | 1 | French Federation, Fabien Osmont | May 10-11 or June,Colmar |
| Belgium | 1 | 1 | Belgium Branch, Hans Secelle | Recommendation |
| Italy | 0 | 1 | Italy Branch, Giuseppe Baggio | Recommendation |
| Norway | 1 | 1 | Norway Branch, Asle Olufsen | Undecided |
| Sweden | 1 | 1 | Sweden Branch, Martin Danerud | March 29-30, May 31-June 1 Stockholm andTrollhattan |
| Finland | 1 | 1 | Jouni Tolonen | June28-29,the International ctivity Center Villa Victor, Oulu |
| Russia | 1 | 1 | Alexander Nosovsky | Scheduled for May |
| Ukraine | 1 | 1 | Ukraine Branch, Viktor Shevchuk | June 21-22, Rivne |
| Belarus | 1 | 1 | Belarus Branch, Korchitskij Sergej | March, Minsk |
| Japan | 2 | 2 | Japan Shogi Association and Tendo Branch, Masaaki Hanawa | July 20, Tendo. Other preliminary not yet decided |
| China | 1 | 1 | Shanghai Branch, Jian-dong Xu (A class), Beijing (B class) | Recommendation |
| Thailand | 1 | 1 | Bangkok Branch, Masao Tsukahara | March 2 Thailand |
| New Zealand | 0 | 1 | Auckland Branch, Kazuhiro Horiuchi | Recommendation |
| Total | 20 | 20 |
Representatives:
| Country | A Class | B Class |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Alan Baker （Pennsylvania） | Eric Kuniholm （California） |
| Canada | Jeff Stroud (Toronto) |
----- |
| Brazil | Shigetaka Sato (Sao Paulo) | Johnny Kitani (Parana) |
| Paraguay | Monica Escher Dresow (Asuncion) |
----- |
| UK | Tony Hosking (Cornwall) | Kingsley Pratt (London) |
| Netherlands | Arend van Oosten (Huis ter Heide) | Wouter de Haas (Enschede) |
| Germany | Jochen Drechsler （Weilheim） | Andreas Pietz （Petreshausen) |
| Austria | Thomas Pfaffel (Glaz) | Marco Dietmayer (Leoben) |
| France | Frédéric Pottier (Paris) | Anh Tuan NGuyen (Paris) |
| Belgium | Bart De Schepper (Haaltert) | Harold Heeffer (Melle) |
| Italy |
---- |
Nicola Caridi (Genova) |
| Norway | Terje Christoffersen (Ski) | Asle Olufsen (Drammen) |
| Sweden | Christer Hartman (Enskededalen) | Nils Carlsson (Stockholm) |
| Finland | Jouni Tolonen （Oulu） | Sauli Huovinen（Oulu） |
| Russia | Victor Zapara (Sankt-Petersburg) | Igor Sinelnikov (Moscow) |
| Ukraine | Artem Kolomiyets (Kiev) | Alexander Shcherbina (Kiev) |
| Belarus | Sergej Korchitskij (Minsk) | Andrei Kaspiarovich (Minsk) |
| Japan | Shinichi Abe (Tendo),Yuki Kasai (Tokyo) | Yamato Sato (Tendo),Mimei Sakamoto |
| China | Tang Shunjie (Shanghai) | Cai Wennao (Beijing) |
| Thailand | Wisit Ngaolertloi (Bangkok) | Wisuwat Teerapabpaisit (Bangkok) |
| New Zealand |
----- |
Michael Mackinven (Auckland) |
| Total number |
20 |
20 |
Inquiries
Shogi Promotion Department
The Japan Shogi Association
2-39-9 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan 151-8516
Tel: +81-(0)3-3408-6165
Fax: +81-(0)3-3404-7301