TENHIKO SATO KUDAN ACCUSED OF FOUL

 Tenhiko Sato Kudan, no mask "one-shot red" No details in the article and doubts

In a game where top shogi players competed for the right to challenge shogi masters, the match was decided because they "took off their masks for a long time". The 81st Meijin Match Class A ranking match (sponsored by the Mainichi Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun) between Tenhiko Sato (34) and Takuya Nagase (30) on the 28th resulted in a foul loss to Kudan Sato based on temporary regulations established by the Japan Shogi Federation as a countermeasure against the new coronavirus. However, the inadequacy of the standards and judgment system that violates the regulations has raised questions from shogi players and fans.

The problem occurred late at night on the 28th. The fact that Kudan Sato remained unmasked for more than 30 minutes during the long thought was seen as a problem by his opponent Nagase Title. The director of the federation rushed to make a decision after consulting with President Yasumitsu Sato, who had been contacted. According to the regulations, the judgment of a foul was to be made by a "witness", but since there was usually no witness at midnight, it took about an hour for the decision to be made from the point of Nagase's point.

This was the first time the regulation had been applied since it was put into place in January this year. Before the regulations were established, wearing a mask during games was only "recommended". However, towards the end of the game, there were frequent scenes where the shogi player took off his mask and faced the board due to suffocation. Some players began to dislike their opponents taking off their masks for a long time, so wearing them became mandatory.

TENHIKO SATO KUDAN

In Go, you lose a foul after a warning

What about the Go world, which is called the "neighboring world"? In Japan Ki-in, a witness player will issue a warning to a shogi player who is not wearing a mask during the game, and if he does not comply, he will lose the foul. Witnesses wait inside the Ki-in until the end of all the games of the day, and it often happens that there is a shogi player who is removing his mask in the video of the game room, but there is no foul loss.

On the other hand, the regulations of the Shogi Federation do not have a clause on how much masks must be removed to constitute a foul or warnings. Therefore, as in this case, the shogi player is suddenly confronted with a "one-shot red card". On Twitter, several players questioned the decision, saying, "This is strange."

In addition, in response to a tweet from the Shogi Federation that casually announced the result, "Nagase Championship defeated Sato Kudan in 124 moves," there was a flood of opinions from fans, such as "I wonder if it was not enough to get away with a warning or something.

81st Meijin Battle A Class Ranking Battle Saito Shintaro Hachidan-Fujii Sota King General 17th Bureau 7

KATSURA

Fujii didn't miss the loose hand. [After] 4 katsura that had been on hold were thrown in with full force. I want to chase [first] 6 seven silver and [after] 5 five steps, but the point is to walk with [after] 56 steps ~ [after] 5 five steps. Attack key points without using Katsura. If you walk the same way, you can [after] 5 six strokes and hit more severely.

Fujii thinks as he opens and closes the fan. The names of shogi players such as Yasumitsu Sato and Takayuki Yamazaki appear and disappear. It looks like a commemorative fan of the JT Cup. After 34 minutes, we decided that we could not get out of the way, and [later] we took the same bank.

Katsura's [ahead] 34 steps are stepped on and Fujii rushes in. [After] 8 Shikatsura claimed to have read through. [First] 3 three steps did not even deal with [after] 7 six katsura. He must be convinced that there is no jam in his own ball. Without fiddling with the fan, he sat down a little well-behaved and waited for Saito's hand.

Tenhiko Sato Kudan loses foul for not wearing a mask Shogi Meijin Match, A-Class Ranking Match

In the 81st Meijin Match Class A ranking match held on the 28th at the Shogi Kaikan in Sendagaya, Tokyo, Tenhiko Sato (34) played without wearing a mask for a certain period of time and lost by foul. This is the first time that a player has lost a foul for a mask violation.

As a countermeasure against the new coronavirus Japan the "Temporary Game Regulations" established by the Shogi Federation in January 2022 stipulate that "masks must be worn during the game, except temporarily, except in cases of unavoidable health," and that violators will lose the match by foul based on the judgment of the witness.

The game starts at 10 a.m. At around 11 p.m., Kudan Sato pointed to his 112th move, put his mask over one ear, began to think, took off his mask, and continued the game. About 30 minutes later, his opponent, Takuya Nagase (30), pointed out that he might have lost by foul. Since there were no witnesses in the hall, Daisuke Suzuki, executive director of the federation, rushed to the meeting and discussed with President Yasumitsu Sato and others, and as a result, a foul was decided.

Kudan Sato, who was told by Managing Director Suzuki that he had lost the foul, retorted, "In the past, there were cases where I was warned to wear a mask, but this time I was not even warned," but the decision was not overturned. The regulations state that if you disagree with the decision, "you may file a complaint with the Executive Committee within one week," and Kudan Sato indicated that he would consider filing a lawsuit.

The "Temporary Game Regulations" established by the Japan Shogi Federation on January 26, 2022 are as follows.

In light of the current corona disaster, in addition to the original game regulations, the following are stipulated as game regulations in Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Membership Regulations of the Federation.

Article 1 During the game, the player must wear a mask (non-woven fabric in principle), except temporarily. However, this does not apply if there is an unavoidable reason for health and if notification is made in advance and approval of the Executive Committee is obtained.

Article 2 Players must wear masks as much as possible in the building where the game is played, even in cases other than the game.

Article 3 If a player violates the provisions of Article 1, the player shall lose the foul in accordance with the violation of each item of Article 8 of Chapter 3 of the Game Regulations. However, Paragraphs 1 and 3 of the same Article shall not apply to this foul loss.

Article 4 The judgment of the foul loss as stipulated in the preceding article shall be made by a witness, and in a game without a witness, a person acting as a witness shall act on behalf of a witness in accordance with the order of Article 9, Paragraph 4 of Chapter 3 of the Game Regulations. A player who is dissatisfied with this decision may file a complaint with the Executive Committee within one week after the judgment in accordance with Article 8, Paragraph 6 of Chapter 3 of the Game Regulations.

Article 5 If a player violates the provisions of Article 2, disciplinary action may be taken in accordance with Article 8, Paragraphs 1 and 9 of the Membership Regulations.