By Galo S Mirth
The 2003 shogi season (April 2003 to March 2004, following Japanese convention) felt like a swing year. Yoshiharu Habu reclaimed the Meijin, but the year ended with a completely different headline: Toshiyuki Moriuchi swept Habu to take the Ryuo and later wrested the Osho as well. Meanwhile, Koji Tanigawa continued to prove he could still win big matches at the very top, and a teenage challenger, Akira Watanabe, pushed Habu in the Oza.
Below is a compact tour of the year, using Japanese records and summaries. (more…)