Akira Watanabe, three-time holder of the prestigious Ryuo title in "shogi," a Japanese form of chess, prevailed over the world's most powerful shogi program in a historic clash Wednesday.
Bonanza, which won the world computer shogi championship last May, made the first move in the showdown held at a Tokyo hotel, but Watanabe, 22, was widely expected to beat the program and did not disappoint.
Watanabe and Bonanza had two hours each in what was the first bout ever held between a top shogi player and a computer program. The bout is a warmup for the first official game to be played on the Net, set for April.
