Continuing to be amused at Rei being depicted as a Jack Russel Terrier with boundless energy of late. Shimada is reining it in, though. Teaching his junior some patience, I suppose, but that expression at the end... haha...
Shimada really does want to give the boy some humility against that newfound enthusiasm and bliss with rediscovering his love of shogi and solidifying his love for his beau. Shimada is a jaded older man who thinks you have to give your all to the game, but, narratively-speaking... Rei is bound to win out because he has so much better a mental state. That's just how this sort of stuff works out, I feel- the one that has found and nurtures love becomes the strongest.
It's not like Rei's been any less studious, after all. He just finds more joy in the breaks he takes from his studies, which results in a much more enriched life. Something Shimada has overlooked in his quest for a title.
Oh yeah, also, PSA that I've been adding to some of these comment threads... When Volume 18 comes out, this chapter will be shifted as it is replaced with the Volume 18 version of Chapter 207, and this chapter's contents is moved to where it belongs in Volume 18, somewhere around 6 or 7 chapters back.