Sota Fujii, 19, the youngest-ever holder of two major titles in the world of shogi, defeated Takuya Nagase, 28, in the second match of a best-of-three series on Monday in Tokyo to determine the challenger for the Ryuo title in the 34th Ryuo shogi tournament.
Fujii holds the Oi and Kisei titles. Nagase holds the Oza title.
Fujii won in the 77th move, with his second consecutive victory earning him the right to challenge Ryuo titleholder Masayuki Toyoshima, 31. At the age of 19 years and 1 month, Fujii is the second youngest player to qualify as a challenger for the Ryuo title, following Yoshiharu Habu, now 50, a ninth-dan player who became the challenger at the age of 18 years and 11 months.
After the match, Fujii said, "It's an honor to be able to challenge for the title considered the most prestigious, the Ryuo title." The first match of the best-of-seven series of the Ryuo title match will be held at the Cerulean Tower Noh Theatre in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on Oct. 8 and 9.
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