Photo/Illutration Sota Fujii becomes the youngest holder of the honorific shogi title called "kisei" on July 16 in Osaka. (Jin Nishioka)

OSAKA--With the pressure on, shogi prodigy Sota Fujii made all the right moves to become the youngest holder of a top title in Japan at age 17.

Fujii on July 16 beat Akira Watanabe, 36, in a tense and toughly fought match in Osaka to claim the honorific title called “kisei.”

It is the first major title for the widely popular Fujii, who is still in high school and was three days shy of turning 18. He also is the youngest-ever kisei, which is one of the eight honorific titles in shogi. 

Fujii won six consecutive matches in the first and second qualifying rounds. In the final tournament, Fujii scored successive victories against four veterans, including Amahiko Sato, 32.

With the wins, Fujii earned the right to play for the kisei title. 

The first game against Watanabe, who holds the kisei title among other major titles and has reigned supreme in the shogi world, was held on June 8.

Fujii won the first two games in the best-of-five title series, but lost the third match to Watanabe.

In the fourth game, Fujii rebounded from the loss to defeat Watanabe and win the kisei title, rewriting the history books. 

Nobuyuki Yashiki, now 48, was the youngest player to win a title in 1990 at age 18.

“I am very happy but it hasn’t sunk in yet,” Fujii said about winning the kisei. “The title comes with responsibility so I will work even harder and do my best."

In 2016, Fujii turned professional at the age of 14, the youngest ever to do so. He won 29 official matches consecutively, breaking another record.

Currently, Fujii is playing a best-of-seven match against Kazuki Kimura, 47, for another title called "oi."

Fujii has won the first two games, and his nationwide legion of fans expect him to add another major title soon to his fledgling collection. 

(This article was written by Koji Murakami and Keiji Sato.)