By Galo S Mirth
2013 was the year the top of professional shogi compressed into a very small circle. Toshiyuki Moriuchi, Yoshiharu Habu, and Akira Watanabe split the major narrative between them, and several title matches were decided only after sustained pressure rather than one-sided dominance.
1. The title picture: three elite anchors
In the 2013 season, the seven major titles were concentrated among a few players. Moriuchi defended the Meijin, Habu held multiple crowns, and Watanabe remained central in the Ryuo, Osho, and Kio lines.
What made the year memorable was not only who held titles, but how frequently those same names collided in high-stakes series.
2. Moriuchi’s defining year: Meijin defense and Ryuo return
Moriuchi defended the 71st Meijin title against Habu, 4-1. Later in the year, he also captured the 26th Ryuo title from Watanabe by a 4-1 score.
That Meijin plus Ryuo combination gave Moriuchi a clear claim to the season’s center and was reflected in year-end recognition.
3. Habu’s consistency across multiple title matches
Habu defended three major titles in the same season:
- Kisei: defeated Watanabe 3-1
- Oi: defeated Hisashi Namekata 4-1
- Oza: defeated Taichi Nakamura 3-2
The pattern here was classic Habu era shogi: not one isolated peak, but sustained title-match depth across different formats and opponents.
4. Watanabe’s resilience in the winter titles
Even after losing the Ryuo match to Moriuchi, Watanabe stayed a decisive force by defending:
- Osho (63rd): 4-3 vs Habu
- Kio (39th): 3-0 vs Hiroyuki Miura
That split season explains why 2013 feels so competitive in hindsight: title momentum moved, but did not settle in one direction.
5. Awards snapshot: why 2013 was remembered this way
In the 41st Shogi Awards (covering the 2013 season), Moriuchi was named Most Outstanding Player, while Habu took categories such as most wins and most games played.
This pairing captures the year well: Moriuchi owned the biggest title swing, and Habu maintained unmatched volume and consistency.
Closing thought
If 2012 looked transitional, 2013 looked concentrated. Elite players repeatedly met in title matches, the major crowns stayed within a tight group, and the hierarchy was decided by who could survive long series under constant rematches.
Sources (Japanese)
- Wikipedia（日本語）: 2013年度の将棋界: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013年度の将棋界
- 日本将棋連盟: 第84期棋聖戦: https://www.shogi.or.jp/match/kisei/84/hon.html
- 日本将棋連盟: 第54期王位戦: https://www.shogi.or.jp/match/oui/54/hon.html
- 日本将棋連盟: 第61期王座戦: https://www.shogi.or.jp/match/ouza/61/hon.html
- 日本将棋連盟: 第26期竜王戦: https://www.shogi.or.jp/match/ryuuou/26/hon.html
- 日本将棋連盟: 第63期王将戦: https://www.shogi.or.jp/match/oushou/63/hon.html
- 日本将棋連盟: 棋王戦（棋戦ページ）: https://www.shogi.or.jp/match/kiou/
- 日本将棋連盟: 将棋大賞受賞者一覧: https://www.shogi.or.jp/player/winner.html
- 日本将棋連盟: 名人戦・順位戦（第71期結果を含む）: https://www.shogi.or.jp/match/junni/index.html