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.
1) Meijin changes hands: Habu takes the 61st Meijin
In the 61st Meijin (第61期名人戦), challenger Yoshiharu Habu (羽生善治) defeated defending Meijin Toshiyuki Moriuchi (森内俊之). The match score is recorded as a clean win for Habu, with one game becoming a sennichite (千日手).
2) Kisei stays with Sato: a 3-0 defense
The 74th Kisei (第74期棋聖戦) was short and sharp. Yasumitsu Sato (佐藤康光) defended his title against Tadahisa Maruyama (丸山忠久) by 3-0. In a five game match, a sweep is both rare and loud.
3) Tanigawa holds the Oi: 4-1 over Habu
In the 44th Oi (第44期王位戦), Koji Tanigawa (谷川浩司) defended against Habu by 4-1. The scoreline matters: it was not a coin flip series, but a firm defense.
4) The Oza match that introduced a new name: Watanabe pushes Habu
For the 51st Oza (第51期王座戦), Habu defended against 5-dan Akira Watanabe (渡辺明). Watanabe won two games and took the match to a fifth, but Habu held on 3-2. For many fans, this series is an early marker of the generation that would soon reshape top level shogi.
5) The year’s biggest jolt: Moriuchi sweeps Habu for the Ryuo
The 16th Ryuo (第16期竜王戦) ended in a shockingly decisive way. Challenger Toshiyuki Moriuchi beat Habu 4-0 to take his first Ryuo title. A four game sweep in a seven game match is the kind of result that changes the story of a whole season.
6) Winter crown: Moriuchi takes Osho from Habu
The momentum carried into winter. In the 53rd Osho (第53期王将戦), Moriuchi (as Ryuo) defeated Habu (as Osho) by 4-2 to claim the Osho. By the end of the season, Moriuchi had turned a spring loss in the Meijin into the year’s most memorable double strike.
7) Kio switches again: Tanigawa takes it from Maruyama
In the 29th Kio (第29期棋王戦), Tanigawa defeated defending champion Maruyama by 3-1. With the Oi already in hand, it reinforced the sense that Tanigawa remained a serious title match threat whenever he reached the big stage.
Major title match winners for the 2003 season (April 2003 to March 2004)
- Meijin: Yoshiharu Habu (羽生善治)
- Ryuo: Toshiyuki Moriuchi (森内俊之)
- Oi: Koji Tanigawa (谷川浩司)
- Oza: Yoshiharu Habu (羽生善治)
- Kisei: Yasumitsu Sato (佐藤康光)
- Osho: Toshiyuki Moriuchi (森内俊之)
- Kio: Koji Tanigawa (谷川浩司)
Sources (Japanese)
- Wikipedia (JA): 名人戦 (将棋) (oldid 108192561) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E4%BA%BA%E6%88%A6_(%E5%B0%86%E6%A3%8B)?oldid=108192561
- Wikipedia (JA): 第74期棋聖戦 (将棋) (oldid 98238288) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC74%E6%9C%9F%E6%A3%8B%E8%81%96%E6%88%A6_(%E5%B0%86%E6%A3%8B)?oldid=98238288
- Wikipedia (JA): 第44期王位戦 (oldid 98237018) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC44%E6%9C%9F%E7%8E%8B%E4%BD%8D%E6%88%A6?oldid=98237018
- Wikipedia (JA): 第51期王座戦 (将棋) (oldid 98237398) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC51%E6%9C%9F%E7%8E%8B%E5%BA%A7%E6%88%A6_(%E5%B0%86%E6%A3%8B)?oldid=98237398
- Wikipedia (JA): 第16期竜王戦 (oldid 99511023) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC16%E6%9C%9F%E7%AB%9C%E7%8E%8B%E6%88%A6?oldid=99511023
- Wikipedia (JA): 第53期王将戦 (oldid 103417480) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC53%E6%9C%9F%E7%8E%8B%E5%B0%86%E6%88%A6?oldid=103417480
- Wikipedia (JA): 第29期棋王戦 (oldid 98236065) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC29%E6%9C%9F%E6%A3%8B%E7%8E%8B%E6%88%A6?oldid=98236065
- Wikimedia Commons: File:SHOGI Proffesional Toshiyuki Moriuchi.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SHOGI_Proffesional_Toshiyuki_Moriuchi.jpg