This is the sixth of ten parts devoted to a famous but still neglected ten-game match held almost 50 years ago.

Game 6, held at Lake Hamana on 19 January 1955.

The venue for fateful Game 6 was almost mockingly symbolic. Fujisawa was hanging on grimly as he faced the humiliation of being forced down to taking a handicap. Lake Hamana - "lake by the seashore" - hangs on to its status as a lake by the merest spit of sand. Beyond this the Pacific Ocean was belying its name at this time of year, appearing almost white with angry looking rollers pounding in. Hashimoto was on the crest of a wave.

The lake looked calm but it had already taken a battering. In 1498 an earthquake had ruptured the sand bar and allowed seawater in, so that it became, as now, a centre for turtle, oyster, prawn and seaweed culture. In this cold January, the still unharvested, shining seaweed seemed to grow everywhere, as if threatening to suffocate the lakeside.

The brand new inn Hashimoto and Fujisawa were to play in was on the main island of the Bentenjima group just within the sand bar. The seven islands are named after a shrine to the goddess of good fortune, Benzaiten. Fujisawa at least had someone to turn to. It seemed as if he needed divine help, 4-1 down and with the handicap of White in a no-komi game.

Uncharacteristically, he spoke only when necessary, and briefly. His nerves seemed shot. By midday his ash tray already had 12 or 13 cigarette butts. He would use one cigarette to light the next. At the board his hands were like lead, and he lifted them only reluctantly to play a stone: move 24 took 24 minutes; move 30, 28 minutes, move 32, 58 minutes. He gave every appearance that he would think for 24 hours if he could.

It was around this juncture that the game took on the cast of an impending storm, and the observer, Yamada Fukumenshi, suddenly noticed in alarm that there was a real storm brewing outside, too. Even the lake began to froth, and as the wind got up, the glass doors that were the only barrier between the players and the elements began to bow before the gusts.

Hashimoto was unperturbed, but Fujisawa began to look even more anxious, so it was decided to move the board into another, more protected room inside. Fujisawa's face showed relief, but it was still not clear whether his assuaged feelings extended to the position on the board. He spent 65 minutes on White 64. On seeing Black's reply he sighed, "Oh, you're cruel!"

Down to his last five minutes, Fujisawa spent three of them on White 138. This was to be the final convulsion. Sakata Eio said outside that White should have defended with 138 at 152 or one point to its right, and when Fujisawa was asked to comment on this after the game, he agreed that objectively this was so, but the psychology of the game had brought forth a different response.

Shortly afterwards, with Black having used only 8 hours 41 minutes compared with White's nominal 9 hours 59 minutes - plus endless byoyomi minutes - White had to surrender after seeing Hashimoto play 163.

Suddenly Fujisawa's grimness disappeared. He laughed: "How could I become a 9-dan playing like this!" It was as if, despite the humiliation, a burden had been lifted. He could start afresh. Indeed, it had been agreed at the outset that the match would continue even if one player was forced down to a handicap. Fujisawa still had four games in which to salvage his pride by clawing his way back to parity. To help him in this, he now had the advantage of Black in two games out of three. A new match was about to begin.

To download Game 6 in sgf format, click here. The moves are also shown on the following diagram.