New lease on life for Senzaki
In the A class the relegation battle between Kato and Senzaki was played. Both players had 2-4 scores, and especially for Senzaki this was a game he could not afford to lose, as he is at the bottom of the league.
For a long time it looked like he would, as Kato got a very good position despite spending a total of 147 minutes on his 3rd and 4th move (!). Senzaki fought hard to keep things close and was rewarded with a late Kato mistake that gave Senzaki the win he so desperately needed.
It is still too early for him to relax, as he has only Kato, Tanaka and Shima behind him and the game against Shima still to play in the final round. Still, he has his chances of a second year among shogi's elite in his own hands.
The races clarify in Junisen B
In B1 things have become very clear with two rounds left to play. Minami lost his second game in a row against Nakamura and the usual suspects Miura, Goda and Fujii all won, so these three are the only players left with a chance to promote to the A class.
Miura is in the lead with a 9-2 score, followed by Goda with 8-2 and Fujii with 7-3. Fujii needs to win both of his last two games to promote, while Goda needs to win only one out of two.
Goda should be all right, but for Miura the situation is a little more complex. He only has one more game to play, but his opponent Takahashi is in good form lately, winning his last five Junisen games in a row. Not the easiest opponent when promotion to the top class is at stake...
In B2 the 8th round made things suddenly a little more complicated for Tsukada. After seven consecutive wins, he lost against Urano in a R8e Yokofudori game that turned out to be too difficult for anyone to understand. There was no clear Tsukada mistake and his opening position also looked alright, so he was a little unlucky to lose. Still, with games against veterans Ariyoshi and Tamaru coming up, he should be able to get back to B1.
Tsukada was joined in the lead by Kio challenger Kubo, who had a lot of trouble with Ishida, but managed to pull out the win. Tsukada and Kubo are followed by Abe and Suzuki, so they still must be careful in the final two rounds, but I don't think Abe or Suzuki will catch up.
Chuza's nerves best
In C2 the 8th round was played. The biggest game of the round was between leaders Yamamoto and Chuza. For Yamamoto it was a really big game, as he had lost in the previous round and his Junisen position was bad, so a loss would make his promotion chances very slim indeed. On the other hand, Chuza is positioned near the top of the table and a win would bring promotion very close.
Chuza got the upper hand in the middle game, but in the endgame Yamamoto managed to turn the tables. With two minutes left he played a nice looking silver sacrifice that looked winning. However, he had completely overlooked Chuza's reply. He still could have won, but he panicked and blundered.
Kobayashi Hiroshi joined Chuza in the lead with a win over Matsuo. Nozuki could have been the third player with a 7-1 score, but he surprisingly lost against Kubota. Other players on 6-2 are Iizuka, Naganuma, Kanezawa and rookies Akutsu and Watanabe. Watanabe got a free win because his opponent Mori was ill, and Akutsu had a lucky escape against Kondo to stay in the promotion race.
There is still a lot to play for, as Kobayashi will meet Akutsu in the next round and Nozuki still has to play Watanabe.
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