OSAKA -- Shogi prodigy Sota Fujii, 17, became the youngest-ever titleholder after defeating title defender Akira Watanabe at the fourth match in the best-of-five series held in Osaka on Thursday.
Seventh-dan professional shogi player Fujii grabbed the Kisei, one of eight major titles, by winning the match in 110 moves in the series 3-1 at the Kansai Shogi Kaikan. Watanabe, 36, now holds of the Kio and Osho titles.
Fujii won his first title at the age of 17 years and 11 months, rewriting the age record. The previous record was held by ninth-dan Nobuyuki Yashiki, 48, who won the Kisei title at 18 years and 6 months in 1990.
Fujii, a third-year student at a high school in Seto, Aichi Prefecture, is a disciple of eighth-dan Masataka Sugimoto. He encountered shogi at the age of 5. He became a professional at the age of 14 years and 2 months in October 2016. And he was the fifth junior high school student to become a professional. He has rewritten various records in the world of shogi, including a record 29 consecutive wins.
"I'm so happy that I could win the title, and I learned a lot during the best-of-five series matches with Mr. Watanabe," Fujii said after the match Thursday. "I'd like to work harder and be able to play better shogi games."
Watanabe praised him and said: "I failed to get an edge on the competition. I feel that an amazingly talented player has appeared."
On Friday, he showed a square calligraphy card on which he wrote "tankyu" (quest) with a brush at a press conference.
When asked about his writing "quest" on the card, he replied: "I won the title, but shogi is a difficult game. Even though I'm in this position, I still have a lot to learn. So I will continue to play with a spirit of quest."
As for being called Kisei, Fujii feels like he is not used to it, but he would like to learn how to behave as the titleholder, he said.
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