The challenger Sota Fujii (20) won against Akira Watanabe (38), the current Kio title holder, in the first round of the 48th Kio Battle 5th Match (sponsored by Kyodo News) held in Nagano City on the 5th-Feb 2023. Fujii holds the five crowns of Oi, Eio, Osho, Kisei, and Ryuo. And Watanabe holds two crowns of Kio and masters. The only remaining crown is Oza held by Takuya Nagase. So, the game between Fujii and Watanabe is the decisive battle. If Fujii takes the Kio crown, it will be the second person to occupy six crowns simultaneously. The first man was Yoshiharu Habu. After the game, Watanabe grumbled that he could not find out the cause of his defeat, tilted his head, and the strength of Ryuo Fujii was once again highlighted.
Because it was the first round, piece toss were made to decide the first player to make the move. The toss was repeated three times, because one of five peaces stood up in the first and second times, which hardly ever happen. Fujii, who took the first move, chose his favorite tactic, Bishop Exchange. On the other hand, Watanabe led to a position that has not been played much recently. Watanabe said at a press conference the day before, “I have to change the strategy for Fujii.” and it can be said that he has prepared a strategy based on that idea.
It was Watanabe who attacked first, and Fujii counterattacked. An impressive offense and defense were unfolded. In the middle of the game, Watanabe dropped his Knight to attack the opponent’s defensive piece. However, a few moves later, Fujii’s idea of using the targeted defense gold for offense was clever. Watanabe, who realized the miscalculation, accepted the exchange of the opponent’s Gold with the Horse that is the key to offense and defense, but this is painful. In the end, Fujii made a checkmate, and won with 125 moves.
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