By SHINYA MURASE/ Staff Writer
February 13, 2022 at 16:15 JST
Shogi sensation Sota Fujii gestures with his left hand after winning the Osho championship Feb. 12 to become the youngest player ever to clinch five major professional titles. (Hiroyuki Yamamoto)
Shogi prodigy Sota Fujii became the youngest player ever to clinch five major professional titles in the Japanese board game, doing so just six months short of his 20th birthday.
Fujii defeated defending champion Akira Watanabe, 37, to complete a sweep of the best-of seven Osho title series during their fourth match held in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, over two days.
“I am happy to win the Osho title, given its long history,” Fujii said after the match.
Despite his loss, Watanabe still holds the Meijin and Kio championships.
Fujii, who hones his skills playing against artificial intelligence software, exhibited unconventional and dramatic moves in his matches against Watanabe, signaling that he prefers playing strategies free from traditional approaches.
Fujii is the fourth player to hold five championships in professional shogi after the late Yasuharu Oyama, Makoto Nakahara, who is retired, and Yoshiharu Habu.
In winning his fifth title, Fujii broke the record set by Habu, who accomplished the feat two months short of his 23rd birthday in 1993.
“I am honored to join the other five title holders, who all carved out their places in the history of shogi,” he said. “I am very aware that I still have a long way to go to become worthy of my titles. I will continue to work hard.”
Clearly, though, the world of professional shogi will revolve around Fujii for many years to come. He turned pro at the age of 14 and two months, the youngest player to do so.
He grabbed his first major title, Kisei, in July 2020 and added Ryuo, Oi and Eio to his accomplishments.
Of the remaining titles of Meijin, Oza and Kio, Fujii may fight for the best-of-five Oza championship this autumn.
As for Meijin, a title that ranks as the greatest achievement alongside Ryuo of all the eight championships, he stands a good chance of going for it next year.
A player who captures either of the Ryuo or Meijin titles is ranked at the top of all sitting players.
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