by Junta
There are three Japanese players on the country's
active list rated above 2300.
I've written posts on the #1 ranked, Shōgi master Yoshiharu Habu
here and
here, and the #2 ranked full-time chess professional, Shinya Kojima
here. I interviewed the #3 ranked player, Nanjō, after he showed a dominant performance in the Japanese Championships in May. From his words and games, one can sense his creativity and striving to always give his all at the board, strong character, objectivity, and a yet unfulfilled potential.
Name: Ryōsuke Nanjō (Japanese:
南條遼介)
DOB: September 27th, 1988
Title: FM
Current
FIDE: 2344
Graduated from Azabu High School, 2007
Studied at the University of Tōkyō
Currently in final year of studies at Keiō University
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| At the closing of this year's Japanese Championships, Photo: Yumi Hiebert |
First of all,
congratulations on winning the 2014 Japanese Championships! 10.5/11 is a
phenomenal score, and is in fact the new record. Did you feel that you were
playing well?
Thanks! I was playing okay, but I didn’t feel I was playing
especially strong. I’m kicking myself for not getting that last half-point
rather than parading on victory.
The top seed in FIDE ratings, Shinya Kojima
was half a point behind you for most of the tournament. Did
this have an effect to spur you on?
No, as I’m a player who tries to win every single game
regardless of the tournament situation. The last time I noticed Kojima’s
existence during the tournament was when he faced me on the board; I was too
busy thinking what to do against other opponents after that. (And I think it’s
the right reaction; does Usain Bolt look back during the 100-metre dash just
because 7 other guys are trailing him by a tenth of a second?)
You have now won the
Japanese Championships three times. How important is the national title for
you?
For me it’s just another national tournament. Just because I
won this tournament doesn’t mean I can lose every single tournament I enter
this year and still say “I’m the strongest player in Japan” with a smile on my
face.
It’s true that it is one of the only two FIDE-rated
tournaments held in Japan, but it’s also true that this tournament has no GMs
or IMs.
Please share your best
or favourite game/s from the event with us.
My best game was the one in round 6 against CM Tomohiko
Matsuo, a former national champion.
You are a member of
the Japanese team who will play at the Tromsø Olympiad in August. Has the board order
already been decided?
Yes it has. I’ll just say that I’ll be playing on Board 1.
You already have some
experience of playing at the Olympiad – how will you train before the event? Will
you play any other tournaments in Europe?
I’ll be working mainly on books, it’s what I usually do.
I’ll probably have some training sessions with our team coach GM Mihajlo
Stojanovic online, maybe some training games with Japan’s top players too, but
I won’t be doing anything exhausting.
About my tournament schedule, as I have exams in late July,
I won’t be going anywhere before the Olympiad. But I’m thinking about going to
the Riga Technical University Open right after Tromsø.
What do you look
forward to the most about this Olympiad? Do you have any goals?
Playing strong opponents, it’s what makes my heart rush.
Being the first board of this team, I can expect to play 7 GMs at least, which
gets me really excited. I haven’t set any goals, but since my score against GM
opposition was 40% at the Cappelle la Grande this year, I suppose breaking that
record would be a sign of progress.
What advice could you
give to someone playing their first Olympiad? Playing on a team for your
country must be very different from playing in an ordinary tournament as an
individual.
One thing that makes team competitions different from other
tournaments is that you need to keep in mind what your role is and what the
team is asking you to do. You may be able to get norms by thinking about only
yourself, but you won’t be able to get category medals without teamwork.
Most of the chess
‘elite’ will also fly north to play for their own countries. Do you have any
favourites or players you see as role models in the current elite?
I try to learn most from the games of Magnus Carlsen, of
course. It’s the Carlsen Era, and while it may not be the ultimate answer to
chess, it’s something special and the wisdom in his chess may be difficult to
learn if not now.
Who are your favourite
players through chess history, and why?
I have many
favorites, but I guess if I had to pick one it would be Alexander Alekhine. I like
the way he blends logic and passion to create beauty on the board in many
different shapes. If I were to choose another one, David Bronstein would be my
pick.
You were born in the
USA, and I believe you hold dual citizenship. When did you move to Japan? Did
you ever consider moving back to the States again?
I moved to Japan in August 1999, when I was a ten year-old,
and I’ve lived in this country ever since, although I’ve travelled to more than
a dozen countries to play chess.
I actually wanted to enter a university in the US, but
couldn’t get the financial support. Maybe I can move back by getting a job
there, it’s another option I’ve been pondering on.
You attended the Azabu
High School in Tokyo, well known in the Japanese chess scene for having a
school club which has produced many of the current top players in the country. Please
tell us about the club and the time you spent there.
I entered Azabu junior-high in 2001, because it was the only
school with a chess club in Japan back then. I was both lucky and unlucky;
lucky because I met players who were much stronger than I was (such as Masahiro
Baba and Tomu Sano), unlucky because all of them were 3 or 4 years older than
me and quickly stopped playing to prepare for university entrance exams. I had
a golden first year with them, during which I rapidly grew to qualify as a
member of team Japan at the 2002 Bled Olympiad, and then I had to do everything
on my own. For the next five years I dedicated myself to giving back what I
learned to other club members, while trying to find a way to improve all by
myself.
Chess does not have a large
following in Japan, there being two other board games which are much more
popular (Shōgi and Gō). In fact, in 2013 there were only two FIDE-rated tournaments
in the country. Do you think there is a good market for chess in Japan? How do
you think chess could be popularised?
There is certainly something to be said about Japan’s
potential; there are not many countries which can parallel Japan’s high level
of population, economy and social stability. The main problem is we have a
national organization with ridiculously low skills, which means that we have to
do everything as individuals and that there’s no room for new players even if
we succeed in our rogue campaigns. About possible solutions please ask someone
else, as I’m a player and not a politician.
Have you played Shōgi
and Gō yourself? How similar or different is Shōgi in comparison to chess?
I was never a Shōgi player nor a Gō player, because I lived
my first ten years in the US and discovered chess there. I know the rules for
both of them, but nothing more.
Shōgi is a sibling of chess, but I believe they are
completely different games. The ability to use captive pieces makes Shōgi much
more mindboggling than chess in tactics, while the existence of draws makes
chess strategically more difficult to win.
Which tournament
performances would you rank as your best?
I suppose my 8.0/8 at the Japan Open last year, which
includes a win over Yoshiharu Habu, a true legend.
Please share with us
one or more of the best games you’ve played.
What aspects of chess attract
you to the game?
One thing that I really love about chess is I keep find
something new and interesting about it. And it comes with different shapes and
sizes, from astonishing ideas played in top level games to unpleasant opening
novelties unleashed on me. That makes it better.
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| From the Japan Open in November 2013, Photo: Yasunori Honma |
What would you say are
the most important qualities for a chess player to have?
I would say courage. You can’t play difficult moves without courage
to believe in yourself, you can’t improve unless you have courage to be honest
and objective; you basically can’t do anything without it.
How would you describe
your chess ‘style’?
I am an idealist, and I constantly try to make the most out
of my position. With such meager opening preparation I suppose it isn’t a wise
tournament decision not to back down, but I keep forgetting to do so and try to
learn from my scars and burns instead.
Please tell us about
your studies and what your plans after graduation are.
I’m in my final year studying financial econometrics, and I’ll
be working at a securities company from next April.
How do you work on
your chess nowadays?
Analyze my games with engines, look at games from the latest
tournament, read books.
You are currently
ranked 3rd in Japan, and you will surely be one of the top players
for many years to come. Do you have particular goals in chess?
I’d like to play good games in general, so that if there
were a collection of my best games it would need to be revised constantly.
Last but not least, I
heard you have a Russian girlfriend you met through chess…?
It’s true, but it’s also supposed to be a secret…
Thank you very much for
answering the questions. I look forward to seeing how you perform at the
Olympiad!
