The competition continued amid a tense atmosphere.
In the dedicated commentary area of the venue, a male and female professional commentator faced the cameras, analyzing the exciting matches for the audience.
Thanks to the venue's excellent soundproofing, they could speak freely without worrying about affecting the players' performance.
Their commentary could not only be heard clearly through the venue's broadcast system, but was also transmitted live through television signals to viewers across the country.
However, by convention, the commentators usually focused on matches involving professional players first.
After all, compared to ordinary contestants, professional shogi players came with their own fame, and their matches were generally more entertaining and technically sophisticated.
Natsume Chikage had originally wanted to check on Horikawa Kaori's match.
Unfortunately, the director's camera only lingered over the boards of several ordinary players for a few seconds before swiftly cutting back to the professionals' matches.
Still, that was no issue.
Natsume Chikage also wanted to learn how professional players' styles differed from his own.
Yet after watching a few moves and listening to the commentary's analysis, he learned that the professional player's opponent was merely an amateur.
After observing only three moves from the professional, Natsume Chikage had already seen through his setup.
He predicted that the man would plant a crucial trap on the seventh move.
Within five moves after that, the game would inevitably become overwhelmingly one-sided.
It could be said that this amateur player's defeat was already certain!
When there was such a huge gap in strength between the two players, it truly was difficult to see the stronger side's full ability.
Seeing this, Natsume Chikage stopped watching the screen, picked up his phone again, and focused on his writing.
Unlike him, the Furukawa grandfather and granddaughter listened with great interest, their eyes fixed on