By Galo S Mirth
In the 2007 shogi season (April 2007 to March 2008), the title picture mixed long running dynasties with a few sharp turning points: Toshiyuki Moriuchi kept the Meijin, Akira Watanabe continued his early run as Ryuo, and Koichi Fukaura captured his first major title by taking the Oi from Yoshiharu Habu. (more…)
By Galo S Mirth
Shogi in 2005 featured a successful defense of the Meijin by Toshiyuki Moriuchi, another Ryuo defense by Akira Watanabe, and an especially busy year for Yoshiharu Habu, who held or won several major titles. This article summarizes the headline results and a few notable storylines from the year.
Note on seasons: Professional shogi title matches often span two calendar years. For consistency, I cite each title by its numbered term (for example, “the 18th Ryuo”) and the official season label used by Japanese sources.
| Title | Term | Champion (result) | Challenger | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryuo | 18th | Akira Watanabe (defended) | Kazuki Kimura | 4-0 |
| Meijin | 63rd | Toshiyuki Moriuchi (defended) | Yoshiharu Habu | 4-3 |
| Oi | 46th | Yoshiharu Habu (defended) | Yasumitsu Sato | 4-3 |
| Oza | 53rd | Yoshiharu Habu (defended) | Yasumitsu Sato | 3-0 |
| Kio | 30th | Yoshiharu Habu (won title) | Koji Tanigawa | 3-0 |
| Osho | 55th | Yoshiharu Habu (defended) | Yasumitsu Sato | 4-3 |
| Kisei | 76th | Yasumitsu Sato (defended) | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-2 |
In the 18th Ryuo match, Akira Watanabe defeated Kazuki Kimura by four straight wins to defend the title. Japanese sources also note that this defense triggered Watanabe’s promotion to 9-dan.
The 63rd Meijin match went the distance. Toshiyuki Moriuchi defeated Yoshiharu Habu 4-3 to defend the Meijin title, underscoring just how narrow the margin at the very top can be even between long-time rivals.
Yoshiharu Habu defended both the 46th Oi and the 53rd Oza against Yasumitsu Sato, by 4-3 and 3-0 respectively. Earlier in the year, Sato defended the 76th Kisei against Habu 3-2. Their repeated high-stakes matches are one of the clearest through-lines of the 2005 season.