The anticipated fifth game of the Queen Title match took place in a wedding hall in Kobe City. This hall, likely used in Game Three of the original work, is known for its spaciousness and spectacular view. If my memory serves me correctly, one can see Tinei's parents' graves from here. President Geikō's choice of this venue as the setting for Game Five shows the extent to which he indulges his shogi granddaughter.
Reserving this place for Game Five implies that he and Ms. Ōga expected the match to extend to the fifth game. Before the Queen match began, there was hardly any difference in strength between the two sides, so this possibility was high, yet it remains a bold reading of the situation's trajectory.
「I will definitely win.」 (Tenai)
「Your face is frightening. Before the match starts, go and do the radio warm-up exercises. Tenai, you remember all the movements, right?」 (Ōki)
「Huh?! ... I understand. To relax, right? I'll do it then.」 (Tenai)
Tinei's face was grim and intimidating, so I asked her to move her body to calm down. Such methods, even if done under duress, have a positive effect. A senior colleague (senpai) taught me that when I participated in my first tournament during my previous college life.
Game Five began with Tenai's opening move as the first player (Sente), moving the Pawn to 2-6 and clearly declaring a Static Rook strategy. However, Sora-san surprised her by executing the Bishop Exchange, losing one move strategy.
(Don't use your boyfriend's favorite strategy when you're this happy... Although the "Bishop Exchange, losing one move" strategy has become difficult to win against elite professionals recently, Sora-san executes it with stunning brilliance.) (Ōki)
『Tenai's hand has started to freeze up.』 (Ai)
(This is thanks to "Diversion Shogi." Because of the disruption to her experience, she has begun seeing redundant moves. But her reading ability is supposed to have increased, and her thought process underwent forced modification. The outcome of this game now rests entirely on Tenai.) (Ōki)
『... I wished it wouldn't come down to luck in the end. It's true that we adjusted things to move in a good direction, but the possibility of her strength weakening still remains.』 (Ai)
Tenai chose not to use the Perched Silver General (Koshikake-gin) formation by moving the Silver to 4-8, then 3-7, then 4-6. Instead, she chose the Flat Yagura (Hira-Yagura) castle formation. In this setup, the Gold General, usually at 6-7, is placed at 6-8, making it strong against flank attacks. It is one of the branching Yagura variations.
『The Flat Yagura castle is excellent, but the 7-6 point becomes weak, so the matter has advantages and disadvantages.』 (Ai)
(In contrast, Sora-san formed a beautiful Gold Castle (Kin-Yagura) formation... This match will take a completely different path from Game One.) (Ōki)
『Both of them are in a mental state that accepts no retreat; there are no more chances after this. By the way, get ready to take a punch from Tenai as soon as she returns, okay?』 (Ai)
(If it ends with just one punch, it means she treated me mercifully compared to what I put her through. I am prepared for at least that fate.) (Ōki)
After the Bishop exchange in the "losing a move" strategy, and then another Bishop exchange, Tinei dropped the Bishop into the opponent's camp at 6-1. The attack was going well by moving the Silver to 3-5 and the Pawn to 3-4, but Sora-san created a Horse (Promoted Bishop) and began harassing Tenai's Rook. When Sora-san managed to capture Tinei's Silver General as a net gain, Tinei's evaluation index reached
−1000
. Is recovering from this situation near impossible?
(Huh? Pawn to 1-2 at this timing?) (Ōki)
『This is brilliantly played. To turn the tide from here, she must utilize the Knight drop at 1-6 at all costs, and this move maximizes the role of the Knight at 2-4.』 (Ai)
(The promotion at 1-2 and taking the Lance was a good move, but the opponent also promoted the Pawn at 3-7 and took the Knight, creating a Tokin (Promoted Pawn), right?) (Ōki)
『Yes. The advantage still favors Sora-san. But the gap is narrowing slowly and steadily. It seems like Tenai is evolving during the match itself.』 (Ai)
(That means the plan succeeded, then.) (Ōki)
What a long shogi match. It exceeded a hundred moves, and we still do not seem to have reached the climax of the middlegame. But Tinei's shogi style was gradually changing.
(Ah, damn it! I'm seeing things I shouldn't be seeing!)
Game Five of the Queen Title match. In this match, Tinei became capable of seeing redundant possibilities and moves. All of this was due to the "Diversion Shogi," and it was proof that Ōki's plan was proceeding as he wished.
On move 100, Sora Ginko dropped a Pawn at 3-8, directly above Tinei's Rook. When Tenai escaped with the Rook to 2-9 and then 1-9, Sora relentlessly pursued her by dropping Pawns at 2-8 and then 1-8. Finally, by dropping the Pawn at 1-7, Tinei's Rook was completely cornered, and even though she escaped with it to 1-9, the Rook had lost all effectiveness.
The next target Sora Ginko focused on was the Bishop that had been dropped into her camp, launching an attack on it by moving the Rook to 6-2. After deep thought, Tinei promoted the Bishop at 4-3, capturing the Gold General and sacrificing the Bishop.
At this stage, Tenai's evaluation index improved slightly, but it remained poor at around
−500
. Nevertheless, the content of her shogi play gradually began to change, making it difficult for Sora Ginko to deal with.
In a seemingly forced manner, Tenai chased Sora Ginko's Rook, using two Silver Generals to exchange them for the Rook. The game surpassed 150 moves, and both sides entered the One-Minute Shogi system (Byōyomi). Ai (Hinatsuru), who was recording the moves, felt that the two had developed far beyond what they were in Game One, and realized that Tinei had gone to a much deeper place.
Tinei created a Dragon (Promoted Rook) with that Rook, but her face remained sullen. In fact, even the AI programs indicated Tinei was behind at this moment, and Hinatsuru Ai also felt that the probability of Tinei losing was high. But in the next move, everything turned upside down.
(Eh...? Not Silver General to 5-3, but to 3-3?) (Ōki)
In a long match that exhausted much energy, Sora Ginko, whose physical stamina was depleted, committed an unexpected, major blunder. Her poor physical constitution and depleted fitness had a decisive effect here. Tinei's evaluation index jumped from negative to
+500
instantly, and Tenai did not hesitate to punish Sora Ginko's mistake with complete coolness. It was a victory for Tinei, thanks to her composure and persistence.
On move 173, after Tinei placed Sora Ginko's King in a state of Mating Threat (Hisshi – checkmate is inevitable), Sora Ginko announced her resignation without even attempting to improve the final shape of the board. In contrast to Sora Ginko, whose eyes were teary and face was red as she tried to suppress her emotions, Tenai was drenched in cold sweat. The reason was that the shogi she had played had clearly changed.
Her stable general intuition, and the best moves derived from her experience, all became unstable. Faced with the most important match in a crucial title showdown that reached its decider, Tinei felt anger because fundamental parts of her style had been modified without her permission, and from this anger, her thoughts jumped to a deeper conclusion.
She realized that her master had judged that she, Yashajin Tenai, would not be able to defeat Sora Ginko without this modification. That is why he carried it out.
As soon as Tenai finished her interviews with the journalists, she ran toward her master. Tinei's master, the man standing before her, looked genuinely happy for her victory, and an aura of relief surrounded him. The moment Tinei sensed this, she delivered a straight right punch with all her strength toward his stomach.
Unfortunately, being a spoiled young lady from a wealthy family, Tenai was physically weak. No matter how thin Ōki's body was, a punch from a ten-year-old girl would not cause any harm to the body of a seventeen-year-old boy.
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