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is a Japanese
professional shogi player A professional shogi player (将棋棋士 ''shōgi kishi'' or プロ棋士 ''puro kishi'' "professional player") is a shogi player who is usually a member of a professional guild of shogi players. There are two categories of professional playe ...
ranked 9- dan. He is a former Ōi title holder. He is also the oldest player to win a major title for the first time.


Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship

Kimura was born in Yotsukaidō,
Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...
on June 23, 1973. He learned how to play shogi at a friend's house when he was in
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
, and started regularly going to a local shogi club when he was a second-grade elementary school student. Kimura first met his future
mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...
shogi professional when the two played a 2-piece handicap game. Kimura soon began taking lessons from Sase at his house, where he occasionally played practice games against Hiroe Nakai, who was another one of Sase's students. In 1985, he advanced to the quarterfinals of the as sixth-grade elementary school student, and later that same year entered the
Japan Shogi Association The , or JSA, is the primary organizing body for professional shogi in Japan. The JSA sets the professional calendar, negotiates sponsorship and media promotion deals, helps organize tournaments and title matches, publishes shogi-related materia ...
's apprentice school under the guidance of Sase. At first, Kimura progressed fairly quickly and was promoted to the rank of 3-dan in the fall of 1990 when he was an eleventh-grade high school student, but it took more than six years before he was able to obtain professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 1997.


Shogi professional

Kimura became the 52nd shogi professional to reach 600 career wins on December 21, 2017. In June 2019, Kimura defeated
Yoshiharu Habu is a professional shogi player and a chess FIDE Master. He is a former holder of the Ryūō, Meijin, Ōi, Ōza, Kiō, Ōshō and Kisei major titles. He was the first person to simultaneously hold seven major professional shogi titles ...
to earn the right to challenge Masayuki Toyoshima for the 60th Ōi title. In the title match against Toyoshima, Kimura lost the first two games before coming back to tie the score at two wins apiece. Toyoshima won Game 5 and needed just one more win to defend his title; Kimura, however, won the last two games to win the match 4 games to 3. The victory not only gave Kimura his first major title, but it also made him the oldest first time winner of a major title at the age of 46 years and 3 months, breaking the record of 37 years and 6 months set by Michio Ariyoshi in 1973. In JuneAugust 2020, Kimura was unable to defend his Ōi title against
Sōta Fujii is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9- dan. He is the current holder of the Kiō, Kisei, Meijin, Ōi, Ōshō, Ōza and Ryūō titles, and a former holder of the Eiō title. He is the youngest person to be awarded professional st ...
, losing the 61st Ōi title match 4 games to none. In SeptemberOctober 2021, Kimura challenged
Takuya Nagase is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-Dan (rank)#Modern usage in shogi, dan. He is a former holder of the Eiō and Ōza (shogi), Ōza titles. Early life and apprentice shogi professional Nagase was born in Yokohama on September 5, 199 ...
for the 69th Ōza title, but lost the match 3 games to 1.


Promotion history

The promotion history for Kimura is as follows: * 6-
kyū is a Japanese language, Japanese term used in modern martial arts as well as in Japanese tea ceremony, tea ceremony, ikebana, flower arranging, Go (game), Go, shogi, academic tests and other similar activities to designate various grades, leve ...
: 1985 * 1-dan: 1988 * 4-dan: April 1, 1997 * 5-dan: April 1, 1999 * 6-dan: December 17, 2001 * 7-dan: April 1, 2003 * 8-dan: April 1, 2007 * 9-dan: June 26, 2017


Titles and other championships

Kimura has appeared in a major title match nine times, and has won one title; he has also won two non-major-title championships during his career.


Awards and honors

Kimura has received a number of Japan Shogi Association
Annual Shogi Awards The Annual Shogi Awards (将棋大賞 ''shōgi taishō'') are a number of prizes awarded yearly by the Japan Shogi Association to professional and amateur shogi players who have achieved particular success. The first Annual Shogi Awards were pre ...
throughout his career. He won the ""Best New Player" award for 19971998; the "Best Winning Percentage" award for 19981999; the "Best Winning Percentage", "Most Games Won" and "Most games Played" awards for 20002001; the "Fighting-spirit" award for 20082009; and, the “Special Award” for 2019.


Year-end prize money and game fee ranking

Kimura has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's nine times since turning professional. *Note: All amounts are given in
Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Th ...
and include prize money and fees earned from official tournaments and games held from January 1 to December 31.


References


External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Kimura, Kazuki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimura, Kazuki 1973 births Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players Living people People from Yotsukaidō Professional shogi players from Chiba Prefecture Ōi (shogi) Shinjin-Ō