The fifth game of "Hulic Cup Kisei Match", which is the first title defense game for Shogi Souta Fujii, will start on the 6th.


The other party is Akira Watanabe, who has three titles including a master, and Fujii, who has three titles, said at the press conference on the 5th, "I want to raise my feelings."

Last year, Souta Fujii (18) won the eight major titles "Hulic Cup Kisei" and "Throne" in quick succession and achieved the "double crown" at the youngest in history. I will.



The fifth match of "Hulic Cup Kisei Match", which is the first defense match, was Akira Watanabe's triple crown (37) who lost the title to the title's first challenge, Fujii Nikan, with 1 win and 3 losses last year. ) Becomes a challenger, and a rematch will be realized by switching positions.

Before the first station on the 6th, the two attended a press conference after confirming the environment of the game venue at a hotel in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture.



Among them, Fujii Futaku said about the rematch with Watanabe Triple Crown, who has three titles including the master, "I feel that my feelings have gradually increased since the challenger was decided. Watanabe master is the bango. I think that Mr. Watanabe has a long day in terms of strategy, and I want to deal with it. I want to raise my feelings and come tomorrow. "

On the other hand, Triple Crown Watanabe said, "Mr. Fujii has won two titles in the past year and has grown into a top player who is neither pushed nor pushed. It will be a great fight. I will take my usual way of pointing and seize a few chances. I don't think there will be so many chance balls, so I want to fight with a "good ball must-hit". " ..



The fifth match of the Kisei match will be held in various places over the next month, and the player who won the first three wins will win the title.

Steps of Fujii Double Crown and Watanabe Triple Crown

Souta Fujii double-crowned became a professional player five years ago (2016) at the youngest age of 14 years and two months, and has set a number of records including 29 consecutive victories in official games.



Last year, he was the youngest player in history to achieve the "double crown", and from October to April last year, he achieved 19 consecutive victories, which was the 8th place in history, and maintained top-class results. In January, I voluntarily dropped out of high school because I wanted to concentrate on shogi.



This month, the seventh game of the "Throne Battle", which is another title defense battle, will start, and in the "Eiou Battle", we are currently in the semi-final in a tournament that decides the challenger, and we have two more to acquire the right to challenge We are approaching victory.



On the other hand, the Triple Crown of Watanabe, like the Triple Crown of Fujii, is one of the "Junior High School Go Players" and won the first title "Ryuo" at the age of 20.



The number of titles won so far is "29", which is the 4th place in history and the 2nd place after the 99th term of Yoshiharu Habu 9th Dan in active duty.



Currently, he holds three of the eight major titles, Master, Kiou, and King, and if he wins this Kisei match, he will achieve his first "four crowns".



Fujii Double Crown and Watanabe Triple Crown have fought twice in the Asahi Cup Shogi Open Match in addition to last year's Kisei Match. The total result is 5 wins and 1 loss.

High-profile "return match"

Yasumitsu Sato, the chairman of the Japan Shogi Association, who has won the title of "Kisei" for six terms and has the qualification of "Eternal Kisei", said about the fifth match of the Kisei match, "Since there are not many return matches these days. The confrontation between these two players is a battle that goes beyond human knowledge, and every station comes up with a surprising move. Last year's fifth match was also very shocking, even if a professional shogi player saw it. It was an advanced battle, so I'm looking forward to seeing it again. "



Regarding Souta Fujii's first defense battle, "I think that there is usually a lot of power. Mr. Watanabe, the opponent, has a track record and I think that he is a professional shogi player, so that's what it means. Then, even though it is a defensive battle, I think we will take the plunge and hit it. "



On the other hand, regarding Akira Watanabe's Triple Crown fighting for the title recapture, "I think I was a little worried after losing the fifth game last year, but I will defend all three titles and increase the title as a challenger. I think that he is quite fulfilling in terms of feelings and is also dealing with the challenges of the battle against Fujii, so it is important to see how that comes out. "



On top of that, regarding the first station tomorrow, "The two are fighting for the first time in a year in the title battle. The start dash is very important, so I think that how much both sides have prepared for tomorrow will come out in the game." I was talking.