Original Address:https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUD25AGD0V20C22A1000000/
Akira Hara: The rise of female players in Go stimulates AI and world war
From: Nihon Keizai Shimbun
Author: Hikaru Kitamura
Translation and finishing: Make excuses for being quiet
The performance of Japanese female chess players is very remarkable, reaching the quarter-finals or entering the tournament in the seven major competitions of mixed competitions, as well as the first to win the most wins of the year, etc., setting many firsts. The use of artificial intelligence and their commitment to the World Series became catalysts for them.
Fujisawa Rishi Ryūyō Honmei is the first Japanese woman to play Go with the four crowns of the Ryū Ryū in her hand. In the 2019 Tianyuan War, she became the first female chess player to win in seven major tournaments (Chess Saint, Celebrity, Ben Infang, Throne, Tianyuan, Qi Sheng, and Ten Dan) and entered the round of 16 of the tournament. In 2020, she became the first female chess player to win a formal mixed male and female chess match in the Hiroshima Aluminum Cup Wakami Tournament limited to young chess players.
In 2021, he entered the 10-dan tournament after defeating the young top pillar of Japanese Go in the final preliminary selection of the 10-dan battle. After defeating Sun Zhe's seventh dan in the second round of this tournament, he reached the quarterfinals and refreshed the highest result of the female chess player he had maintained. In the first round of the Tianyuan Battle on January 27, he broke into the round of 16 after defeating Zhao Zhixun's honorary celebrity.
"No matter who it is, I will face it with a sense of victory." Fujisawa's goal is naturally the "three major chess battle loops" of the chess holy war S group, the celebrity war cycle circle, and the Honinbo war cycle circle.
In the shogi world, there are "chess players" regardless of gender and "female flow chess players" with only female chess players, these two professional chess player systems. But so far, no female chess player has been promoted to the status of a "chess player" in the fourth dan. Although there is a separate exam for female players in the Go world, professional players are treated the same as male players. In addition, there are female chess games that are only aimed at female chess players, and they can also compete with male chess players in general chess battles.
There are now nearly 500 professional chess players in Japan, and the number of female chess players is about 100, accounting for 20% of the total number. Even so, there are currently only 12 female chess players who have broken through the qualifiers in the seven major tournaments to enter the tournament. In the 1997 rookie Battle of the King, Aoki Kikuyo Yadan became the first female chess player to reach the final, recalling: "The previous victory over male chess players was enough to shock, no one would feel that the strength of male and female chess players was equal."
Nowadays, it is not uncommon for female chess players to defeat players who have a resume in the three major chess game cycles. The main reason for the rapid increase in the strength of female chess players is the popularity of AI and the ability to participate in various research seminars independently. Recalling his experiences as a young man, Kikuyo Aoki said, "When I was young, it was difficult for female chess players to speak their minds because of the gap in strength. The opinions of men and women who have now taken advantage of AI can be equally accepted by both men and women."
Ueno Aiko, who won the Hiroshima Aluminum Cup Wakasu Battle last year and became the first Ueno Beauty to win the most in the whole year with 54 wins, said: "Because of AI, we can also comment on the chess game. It's helpful to be able to listen to the game analysis of the top players."
A good opponent also has great significance. Last year, Suzuki's seven-dan and Xie Yimin's seven-dan were both close to 1 win to enter the throne battle and the celebrity battle round robin circle. Aisa Ueno said, "Including Rikasa Fujisawa, seeing that our senior chess players are also working very hard, I think there will soon be female chess players entering the loop. So I also want to work harder."
There is also the next generation of chess players Zhongyi Tsuyoshi 2nd Dan. In order to be able to compete with Chinese and Korean chess players in the future, Zhongyi became a professional chess player through the "Special Use of Recommended Chess Players for Talents". Fujisawa said: "Nakai has grown up very quickly in the past two or three years, regardless of gender, she is a talent for chess players." Players who can achieve good results in the mixed world championships in the future also motivate themselves to work harder.
Whether it's Fujisawa Ori or Ueno Aishomi, their goal is naturally the World Series. Kyaw Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Chess Academy, said: "The threshold is very high, so we must work harder on the basis of the original." The day when female chess players appear in the seven major tournaments to challenge hand-to-hand may soon be coming.