Photo/Illutration Amahiko Sato, left, and Takuya Nagase during their shogi match at the Shogi Kaikan hall in Tokyo at five minutes after midnight on Oct. 29 (From live streaming on YouTube)

A top-ranked shogi player was disqualified for not wearing a mask for about 30 minutes during a match in Tokyo, the first such case under a new rule implemented because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Amahiko Sato, a 34-year-old ninth-dan player, automatically lost to Takuya Nagase, a holder of the Oza title, during the fourth-round match of the 81st Meijin class A ranking tournament held Oct. 28 at the Shogi Kaikan hall in Tokyo’s Sendagaya district.

The match started at 11 p.m. with both players donning face masks in accordance with the association’s mask mandate.

But Sato stopped covering his mouth around 11 p.m. An observer serving as a referee was not present during the game. After about 30 minutes, Nagase, 30, pointed out the violation of the rule to the association.

After the head of the association, Yasumitsu Sato, and Daisuke Suzuki, its executive director, huddled to discuss the matter, they ruled that Sato was defeated by a foul.

Sato bitterly protested, declaring, “I was not given prior warning and find it unacceptable to be told all of a sudden that I had lost.”

Reporters from The Asahi Shimbun and The Mainichi Shimbun, two news outlets that jointly host the tournament, were present when the officials weighed the issue and supported the decision.

Loss by disqualification left Nagase with a two wins and two losses record and Sato with a one win and three losses record.

Sato is an elite player, having held the Meijin title for three years in a row.

After the pandemic began in 2020, the association took the step of only “recommending” that players wear masks during matches out of consideration for those who find the coverings uncomfortable or complain they make it harder to breathe.

But in February, the association added a provisional rule obliging all players to wear a mask during matches, except for those who are unable to do so due to health issues. The association also allowed for the temporary removal of a mask during games.

However, the association did not set a specific guidance on the number of minutes that failure to cover the mouth would result in disqualification.

(This article was written by Shinya Murase and Arata Kitano.)

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