By Galo S Mirth
In 2009, the modern shogi title scene featured dramatic seven game finishes in the Meijin and Oi, and a dominant sweep in the Ryuo. Below is a compact English recap of the year, with Japanese sources for readers who want to dig deeper.
1. Major title matches (2009)
- Meijin (第67期名人戦): Yoshiharu Habu (羽生善治) defended the Meijin title against Masataka Goda (郷田真隆), winning 4-3.
- Ryuo (第22期竜王戦): Akira Watanabe (渡辺明) defeated Toshiyuki Moriuchi (森内俊之) 4-0 to defend the Ryuo title and extend his streak.
- Oi (第50期王位戦): Koichi Fukaura (深浦康市) defended the Oi title against Kazuki Kimura (木村一基), winning 4-3.
2. A few notable notes
- Watanabe’s 4-0 result in the Ryuo match stood out in a period where many other top title matches were close.
- In the Ryuo class structure that year, Makoto Nakahara (中原誠) is noted as having taken leave and then retired, a reminder that the 2000s were also a generational turning point.
Sources (Japanese)
- Japanese Wikipedia: 「第67期順位戦」 (oldid 84960242) https://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E7%AC%AC67%E6%9C%9F%E9%A0%86%E4%BD%8D%E6%88%A6&oldid=84960242
- Japanese Wikipedia: 「第22期竜王戦」 (oldid 99511043) https://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E7%AC%AC22%E6%9C%9F%E7%AB%9C%E7%8E%8B%E6%88%A6&oldid=99511043
- Japanese Wikipedia: 「第50期王位戦」 (oldid 98237351) https://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E7%AC%AC50%E6%9C%9F%E7%8E%8B%E4%BD%8D%E6%88%A6&oldid=98237351
- Wikimedia Commons (image): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shogi_board_pieces_and_komadai.jpg