The first round of one of the eight major shogi titles, the Eio-sen, was held in Tokyo, where Sota Fujii (1) defeated challenger Tatsuya Sugai Hachidan (1) to get off to a good start to win his third consecutive title.
The first stage of the "Eio-sen" began at 1 a.m. on the 11th at "Kanda Myojin" in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, with the first move of Fujii Rokukaku.
While the back-hander Sugai Hachidan showed his specialty "swinging wheel", Fujii Rokukaku attacked while solidifying his defense.
Rokkaku Fujii ran out of time first, and it became a "one-minute shogi" in which he pointed to one move in less than 1 seconds, but he showed a solid attack towards the end, and at 60:1 p.m., Sugai Hachidan threw up to 6 moves and Rokkaku Fujii won the first match with a white star.
Fujii, who currently holds six titles, will be aiming to win his third consecutive title in the Eio Championship with this first defense of the year.
If Fujii wins the title in the "Meijin Match" that has already begun, he will become the youngest "Seven Crowns" since Zenji Hanyu Kudan (16).
Sugai Hachidan, on the other hand, is the first challenger in the Eio Match, in a title match since the Battle for the Throne five years ago.
The best-of-five match of the "Eio" is scheduled until June this year, and the first three wins will win the title.
The second leg will be held in Nagoya on April 5.