Reo Koyama (29), an amateur from Iwate Prefecture who was challenging the "transfer exam" to become a professional shogi player, won the game on the 13th and won the right to become a professional shogi player.

It is the first time since the war that she has obtained the right to become a professional player without experiencing the Japan Shogi Association's Shogi player training institution "Encouragement Meeting".

By last year, Mr. Koyama had achieved a good record of "10 wins and 5 losses" in games against professional shogi players. I was challenging from



Mr. Koyama, who has two wins and one loss so far, played against Yuki Yokoyama (23) at the Kansai Shogi Kaikan in Osaka on the 13th.



Mr. Koyama, who was on the front line, attacked aggressively from the beginning and took the lead.



As a result of withstanding the counterattack of Yokoyama 4th Dan and continuing to attack while increasing his pieces, Yokoyama 4th Dan conceded up to 133 moves at 3:31 pm.



Mr. Koyama won his third victory and passed the "transfer exam", earning the right to become a professional shogi player.



According to the Japan Shogi Federation, Mr. Koyama was the first post-war player to obtain the right to become a professional shogi player without participating in the Shogi player training organization "Encouragement Society," which was established in 2006. He is the third person to pass the transfer examination system.



Mr. Koyama is from Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture.

He started playing shogi when he was in elementary school and honed his skills at local shogi classes.

Although he failed to join the Encouragement Society, he continued to play shogi even after the Great East Japan Earthquake, winning an amateur shogi tournament when he was a university student.

He is currently a shogi instructor in Yokohama.



After the game, Mr. Koyama said, "First of all, I'm relieved that I got a result. I lost in the third game and it was a bad flow, but I was able to stay on my feet and I'm doing well."



Mr. Koyama will become a “4th dan” on April 1st, and will take his first step as a professional shogi player.

About Reo Koyama

Reo Koyama is 29 years old from Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, and is currently a shogi instructor in Yokohama City.



When she was in elementary school, her mother encouraged her to start playing shogi, and she began attending a local shogi class.

When she was in her third year of junior high school, she took the entrance exam for the Japan Shogi Association's "Encouragement Meeting", but she failed.



After that, she went to Kamaishi High School, a local prefectural high school, and when she was in her second year of high school, her parents' house was completely destroyed by the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake, but she continued to play shogi at evacuation shelters and temporary housing.



After graduating from high school, she entered Iwate Prefectural University in Takizawa City, where she won the tournament to determine the best amateur shogi player in Japan when she was in her fourth year, and won the title of "Amateur Master".



After that, in 2016, she tried to transfer to the 3rd Dan League of the Shounenkai, but failed.

After graduating from university, she won many games against professional shogi players while working at a general company.



Ms. Koyama retired from the company she worked for the year before, and now she is taking the transfer exam.



She was an examiner in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the transfer exams held in November and December last year. , It was 2 wins and 1 loss so far.



According to the Japan Shogi Association, Mr. Koyama, who passed the exam, is the first professional player from Iwate Prefecture to become a professional player without ever belonging to the promotional association.

What is the strength of Leo Koyama, talked about by a professional?

Daisuke Nakagawa, 8-dan (54), who has experience playing against Leo Koyama, cited good decision making and tenacity as characteristics of Mr. Koyama's shogi.



Nakagawa Hachidan says, "Even in difficult situations, if you think it's the best, you point it out. That kind of determination is the greatest strength, and you also have the tenacity to bounce back from the inferiority. Generally, amateurs are pushed when the opponent's pace comes. Although there are times when he gets overwhelmed, Mr. Koyama is able to hold his head firmly at the edge of the ring. He has also achieved good results against professional opponents, and it can be said that he has already met the professional level."



In addition, regarding Ms. Koyama's qualification to take the "transfer exam" without going through the "encouragement meeting", she said, "Until now, Ms. Koyama has never been enrolled, although she was a former encouragement member and a female shogi player. As a pure amateur, I got the eligibility to take the exam.I was surprised to see that I was approaching a wall that I could not normally reach, let alone overcome, and I realized how strong I was. I think there is," he said.



Nakagawa 8dan is from Sendai City.

Regarding the fact that Mr. Koyama is also from Tohoku, he said, "I think there are expectations from fans in Iwate Prefecture and Tohoku, so I hope they will continue to devote themselves to it. I spoke with him and looked forward to working with him in the future.

What is the “Transfer Exam”?

In order to become a professional shogi player, as a general rule, it is necessary to join the Japan Shogi Federation's "Encouragement Association" and achieve a high rank in the game and be promoted to "4th dan".



However, the road to becoming a professional is difficult, and in principle, only two people can be promoted to 4th dan every six months.

This time, amateur Leo Koyama (29) took the "transfer exam" to become a professional shogi player, a system established in 2006.



Female players and amateurs who have played an official match against a professional player and who meet the conditions such as "10 wins or more" and "60% 50% win rate" in the most recent match are eligible to take the exam.



Once a month, you will play against 4th-dan shogi players who act as examiners, and if you win 3 times, you will pass and become a professional shogi player.



Only two people, Kenji Imaizumi (49) and Shogo Orita (33), became professional players under this system.



Also, Mr. Koyama is the first player in the post-war era to obtain the right to become a professional player without going through the "Encouragement Meeting".