The fourth round of the "Osho Tournament", one of the eight major shogi titles, was held in Tokyo, where Sota Fujii (21 years old) defeated the challenger Tatsuya Sugai (31 years old) and defended his title for the first time this year. I accomplished it.
In the seventh match of the "Osho-sen" match, Fujii Hakkan had won three consecutive matches and was one win away from defending his title.
The fourth game began on the 7th in Tachikawa City, Tokyo, and on the second day, the 8th, the second day, Sugai 8th Dan, restarted with a ``blocking move'', which was the next move written at the end of the game on the 7th.
After exchanging rooks, the game ends in a stalemate as both players wait for an opportunity to attack.
After that, Fujii Hakkan strengthened his defense and continued to attack mainly with large pieces, giving him an advantage.
Sugai 8-dan showed tenacity until the end, but gave up after 121 moves at 5:52 p.m.
Hakkan Fujii won the seventh match with four wins and no losses, winning the "Osho Tournament" for the third consecutive time, and this was the first title defense out of eight defense matches to be held this year.
As a result, he has extended his streak of consecutive title wins to 20, surpassing the record of Yasuharu Oyama, the 15th Master, and becoming the number one player in history.
On the other hand, Sugai 8-dan aimed to win his first "Oshou" title, but was unable to win.
Fujii Hakkan is currently being challenged by Takumi Ito, 7-dan (21) in the 5th match of the ``Kiosen'', which is being held in parallel, and the second round will be held in Kanazawa City on February 24th. I will.
Japan Shogi Federation President Hanyu says, ``I hope he will continue on his path to becoming a great shogi player.''
Regarding Sota Fujii's eight consecutive titles, he has now won 20 consecutive titles, the most in history, and Japan Shogi Federation President Yoshiharu Hanyu said, ``Congratulations on winning 20 consecutive title matches.It's incredibly difficult to break that record. It's a record, but it was accomplished brilliantly. I hope that he will build on this and continue on his path to becoming a great shogi player."