The German shogi community could welcome shogi legend Teruichi Aono, 9 Dan, as a special guest for the Frankfurt Spring Tournament on March 23.

In addition to a 4 round tournament each of the 10 participants could challenge Aono sensei at a teaching game. Winner of the tournament was Keigo Suzuki followed by Dmitry Belous and Bilal Dardour. After tournament and teaching games still another highlight awaited the participants: Aono sensei analyzed an Osho title match on the demonstration board between the top-stars Souta Fujii and Takuya Nagase, which he personally attended as a so-called “tachiainin” (立会人).

The tachiainin in these title matches is a kind of arbiter, who checks on the whole game set-up and oversees the orderly conduct of the match. Like the players themselves he dresses in traditional Japanese attire, but shares also a special privilege with the them, as Aono sensei confided: he is entitled to dwell in a very luxurious room in the Japanese Inn, where the match is conducted. Not a bad condition!