was 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 ...

and president of

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 ...

from May 2005 to December 18, 2012. He received an honorary title Lifetime Kisei due to his remarkable results in the Kisei title tournament. He was a former

Meijin is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi player, professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word ( "excellent, artful", "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field (the ...

and 10- dan.

Biography

Yonenaga was born in Masuho, Yamanashi in 1943. He became a disciple of shogi professional Yūji Sase and moved to Tokyo to live with his teacher to become a professional. Yonenaga became a professional in 1963 and was promoted to 9-dan in 1979. Yonenaga was regarded as one of the best shogi players through the 1970s and 1980s. He won Kisei, his first titleholder championship in 1973 and dominated four of the seven shogi titles in 1984. He was awarded the Best Shogi Player of the Year thrice (1978, 1983 and 1984), though he had not won a

title, then regarded the supreme tournament, for decades. He finally won Meijin in 1993 when he was 49 (the oldest on record), but he was defeated by

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 ...

the next year. Yonenaga retired in 2003. He was also an education board member for

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. In 2008, Yonenaga announced he had suffered

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

since 2008 spring. He reported his cancer diagnosis on his website occasionally which later turned into a book ''Cancer Note'' (published in 2009). Yonenaga was one of early shogi professionals who played with computer shogi publicly. In 2012 after he had already retired, Yonenaga played a game with , a computer shogi software, and lost. Yonenaga authored his last book ''I lost'' about this game. Yonenaga died on December 18, 2012, from prostate cancer at a hospital in Tokyo.

Titles and other championships

Honours

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (2003) * Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2013)

References

External links

* YouTube: Nifu T
Interview with Kunio Yonenaga
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yonenaga, Kunio Japanese shogi players Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Professional shogi players from Yamanashi Prefecture 1943 births 2012 deaths Meijin (shogi) Tenth Dan Kisei (shogi) Ōi (shogi) Kiō Ōshō Lifetime titles Recipients of the Kōzō Masuda Award Presidents of the Japan Shogi Association NHK Cup (shogi)