After being taken away from the hegemony by Lin Haifeng, Sakata Einan is still active in major chess battles, and although the pace of winning the championship has slowed down, the number of championships is still increasing.
In 1973, Sakata challenged Shuzo Ohira in the 20th Japan Chess Academy Players' Power Battle, winning 3–1 and returning to the throne of the Japanese Chess Academy Players' Rights Championship. Founded in 1953, the Japanese chess academy player Quan Zhan decided the first champion in 1954, and Takakawa Katsuya reached the top. In the second tournament, Sakata Einan picked Takakawa and immediately achieved seven consecutive hegemonic feats. The ninth session was picked up by Takakawa Katsura, and the 11th Sakata successfully took revenge and dominated two consecutive terms. In the 13th tournament, Sakata lost to Shuzo Daipei, who lost to Yoshio Ishida after winning four consecutive championships. Yoshio Ishida dominated for two consecutive terms, and was regained the title by Daihei. When Sakata defeated Daihei and reached the top again, he won the 10th championship in the 20th Japanese Chess Academy Players' Power Battle, far ahead.
At the end of 1973, the 26-year-old Masao Kato won the right to challenge the japanese chess academy players and engaged in a five-game duel with Sakata Eiko. Both were full of murderous spirits, which was a deadly duel between a swordsman and a swordsman.
Kato, together with Yoshio Ishida and Masaki Takemiya, was known as "Three Feathers under the Kintani Gate", and was the first of the three to emerge, winning the right to challenge Honinbo in 1969, but after losing 2-4 to Lin Haifeng, it was like being sealed, and he could not win the championship in the competition for a long time, repeatedly reaching the final and repeatedly frustrated, and had been runner-up four times before this challenge, and was jokingly called "the second old man of ten thousand years".
In this year's Japanese chess academy players' power battle, Masao Kato held back enough strength to knock down the senior Dahao, and won the first two games with strong killing power in the middle of the game, and the championship was in sight. The desperate Sakata was not discouraged, fought back, and won the third and fourth sets in succession, pulling the score to 2-2.
In the fifth game of the decisive victory, who will the god of fate smile to?
The fifth round of the 21st Japan Chess Academy Players' Battle Challenge
Masao Kato, 6th and a half-eyed Sakata Osamu
Date of the match: 12 and 13 February 1974
Matching location: Japan Chess Academy, Tokyo, Japan
At that time, Japan's title battle challenges were basically based on a two-day system, and the Japanese chess academy players had 4 and a half eyes on the black first.
Masao Kato defeats his brother Shuzo Odaira in the Challenger Decision Battle, shattering his dream of restoration.
First spectrum 1-50
The decider Sakata took the lead.
China flowed against the three consecutive stars, and the two began to open a big fight.
Black 7, White 8, and Black 9 each have their own horns, which is quite interesting.
White 10:33 take the air, black 11 block this side, Sakata does not intend to fight in a big way.
Black 19 Tiger Supplement, the double flying swallow on the upper left and the lower left can always go to one.
White 20 guards the lower left, and black 21 attacks on the upper left.
White 22 and 24 are the best players in this world.
Black 31 and White 32 are not properly exchanged, injuring the left side, and this hand is preferably 32 point angle.
White 34 pinch hit, Kato destroys the black chess above.
When the white 36 is pulled, the black chess piece is better to pull the trigger continuously.
White 38 flying point, black 39 crossing, at this time to stabilize the left side is the priority.
White is 44 long, and black chess is difficult to get out of.
White 50 leans on, and the black chess piece needs to survive.
Second Spectrum 1-50 (i.e. 51-100)
White 4 long, chess straight.
Black 7, 9 excessive! The tiger should go alone in 13 places.
White 12 long, black chess left and right.
Black 13 is still a tiger, white 14 tigers live, and the left black chess is difficult.
Sakata was in a hurry to succeed in the layout stage, and even played bad chess, and the situation fell into an unfavorable situation early.
Black 15 below the desperate survival, was robbed by the white chess to 24 offensive and defensive points, Kato firmly controlled the initiative.
Black 27 flying horn snatch, but white 28 is a beautiful counterattack.
The black chess pieces are empty on the lower side, the white chess pieces go thick in the middle, and the left and middle of the black chess pieces are uneasy.
White 48 sticky is a thick hand, but it is too slow, this hand is as long as in the 30th place, and the black chess is more and more embarrassing.
Black 49 dozen eat, Sakata is very sharp.
White 50 sharp.
Third Spectrum 1-50 (i.e. 101-150)
White 2 sticks, Black 3 resolutely plucks flowers, and Sakata wants to gamble with the left side of the lonely one.
White 4 crawls back, and the left side becomes a robbery kill.
White 14 trouble, Sakata danger!
However, when Black 15 was robbed, Kato had a big illusion and walked away from White 16, thinking that it was still robbery, in fact, Black 17 could eliminate the robbery!
This is known as one of the "three blind robberies in history", the other two are the fourth round of the 15th Honinbo Challenge Fujisawa Hideyuki against Takakawa Katsushi out, the sixth game of the 2nd Chess Challenge Masao Kato against Fujisawa Hideyuki walked out, Kato Masao more than the so-called "full of mistakes and omissions" Mr. Hideyuki, it is really laughable.
After the "great illusion of historicity", Kato wasted a hand of chess in vain, and the situation plummeted.
White 18 and 20 have to fight to eat the black chess above, if white 14 does not open the robbery, directly go here, the black chess will be unsustainable.
White 24 broken, Kato desperate. However, at this time, the White Chess Dragon was also not stable, and the White Chess was barely able to fight.
The black 25 should immediately go 30 places to pounce and break the white chess eye position.
White 30 hands sticky first, Kato breathed a sigh of relief.
Black 39 tendons, Sakata has completely regained his form.
White 46 forced the upper right black chess to work.
Fourth Spectrum 1-50 (i.e. 151-200)
White 2 Tiger is the first hand, and Black 3 is a good hand for efficient replenishment.
White 4 hanging horns, Kato opened up a new battlefield.
The black 9 jumps in 12 bits as well.
Kato Haku 12 flew and forced the battle, and the situation was dark for a while.
However, Sakata has seen the change, and black chess is actually not dangerous.
The White 30 is Kato's tendon.
Black 35 is not concise, it should be single sticky, that is the first hand, and then make up for the lower right, you can clearly win.
Kato let the dragon not make up for it, desperately resisting.
After the white 44, Kato harvested a lot on the right.
Black 45 began to kill chess.
Kato prepared a white 50 tendon.
Fifth Spectrum 1-50 (i.e. 201-250)
After bai 4 blocked back, the black chess dragon did not live.
White 8 tenaciously do robbery.
Black 19 fight to eat, white chess ignored, continue to rob, fight to the death.
Black 25 kills the white chess dragon on this side.
White 26 broke his eyes, and Kato's tenacity was touching.
When the black 37 was eaten, the white chess robbery material was exhausted, and only 38 was destroyed.
Black 39 lifts two sons, the dragon lives out, and the white chess piece on the left naturally dies.
After the big conversion, the white chess is still not enough, and Kato Shira 44 tries to plot the black chess above.
Black 45 tendons, Sakata gave up the upper side, on the right side of the live chess, to establish the victory.
White 48 mentioned that the black chess piece above was dead, and the whole world was turned upside down, but objectively speaking, the battle that began from the bottom right, the black chess piece did not have a really dangerous time.
Sixth Spectrum 1-39 (i.e. 251-289)
White 2 and 4 consecutive lifts are very painful, but unfortunately the eye number can not catch up.
Sakata tightened steadily, and there were no more waves in the chess game.
After the black 39 sticky robbery, the number of eyes was finished, the black chessboard surface was 11 mesh (the middle of the white chess dragon had to be supplemented at the end), and Sakata won 6 and a half eyes.
What a thrilling game! Masao Kato's big miss trick allowed Sakata to escape, but the pursuit that followed was really impressive. Sakata completed a two-game losing streak and three consecutive victories, stubbornly holding the title of Japanese chess player, which is his 55th crown, and the 54-year-old Sakata is still one of the few giants in the chess world. That year, Ishida Yoshio snatched the celebrity title from Lin Haifeng and became the new celebrity Ben infang, and he also defeated Lin Haifeng, won the throne title, and created the "Ishida Era". Hayashi won the Professional Ten Masters Championship, Shoji Hashimoto defeated Sakata in the Ten Dan Battle, and Hideo Ohtake took control of Japan's first battle and fast chess player power battle champion. Sakata Eio stubbornly adhered to the honor of Taisho chess players and divided the world with these rich and powerful descendants.
Sadly defeated Masao Kato has already lost five consecutive finals, and his bad luck is not over, there are still three runners-up waiting for him in the future, and his era will come in two years.
Sakata Osamu 289 hands 6 5th and 5th eyes Masao Kato