Titleholder Masayuki Toyoshima defeated ninth-dan challenger Yoshiharu Habu in the first match of the championship round of the 33rd Ryuo shogi tournament in Tokyo on Saturday.
Toyoshima closed out the victory at the Cerulean Tower Noh Theatre in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward with the 52nd move, the least-ever number in the history of the best-of-seven final of the Ryuo tournament.
The opening match in the best-of-seven series started on Friday morning with Habu making the first move. At 6 p.m. Friday, the match was suspended with Habu's next move sealed in an envelope. It resumed on Saturday morning.
Habu is attempting to win an unprecedented 100th career title in the professional board game.
This is the fourth year in a row that the tournament is being held at the Noh theater and is open to the public. Only a limited number of tickets, however, were made available as a countermeasure against the novel coronavirus. Those able to obtain the premium tickets watched the action from seats surrounding the stage.
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