Taiwanese Chang Ching-ting (???) defeated an opponent from China to win the 8th International Shogi Tournament, which was held online this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Shogi, also known as Japanese chess or the Game of Generals, is a two-player strategy board game that is the Japanese variant of chess.
Chang's victory meant that Xu Kanyun (???) of China came in second while third place was shared by Munkhzul Turmunkh of Mongolia and Joost Berkvens of the Netherlands.
The virtual tournament was held as part of the 2021 International Shogi Festival, which also consisted of an introduction to this native Japanese game, online coaching sessions by professional players, and how-to-play videos for beginners.
"I thank everyone for the support," the 16-year-old Chang posted on his Facebook page, after receiving countless mobile phone alerts notifying him of new messages from fans who wanted to congratulate him on the victory.
Screenshot of the game taken from Japan Shogi Association's YouTube video.
The win over Xu on Sunday also entitled Chang to an exhibition match against 19-year-old Sota Fujii, who is currently ranked 9-dan in shogi and holds three of Japan's eight major professional shogi titles -- Kisei, Eio, and Oi.
All shogi players are ranked by a dan system, with nine being the highest in the professional rankings.
Chang subsequently lost to Fujii, but he said later Monday on his Facebook page that it was an honor to face off against Japan's top player.
According to the event's official website, Chang is currently a 4-dan.
In an interview with CNA on Monday, Chang described himself as self-taught by watching other players on YouTube.
He said he has tried to emulate the style of play of his favorite shogi player, Japanese Takuya Nagase, and hopes to have the chance to face him in the future.
Many people in Taiwan have learned about shogi through manga, and it was through manga that he and several friends eventually formed a shogi club in Taiwan where they would play every Saturday at a coffee shop, Chang said.
Speaking of the future, he said he wants to form a shogi club and hold tournaments once he is in college to further promote the game in Taiwan.
The shogi tournament was first held in 1999 as "the International Shogi Forum" and is organized every three years. It was subsequently renamed "the International Shogi Festival," with the tournament held online this year due to COVID-19 from Oct. 15-17.
The 2021 event welcomed 38 players from 35 countries, who first participated in qualifiers August, after which 16 finalists from different continents were selected to take part in the three-day online tournament.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel