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 7- dan.

Early life, amateur shogi and apprentice professional

Funae was born on April 27, 1987, in

Kakogawa, Hyōgo is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 255,523 in 110,380 households and a population density of 1,800 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kakogawa located in southe ...

. He learned how to play shogi from his grandfather when he was about five years old. When he was a second-grade student elementary school student, Funae started to regularly go to the Kakogawa Shogi Center where he met shogi professional Keita Inoue for the first time. Funae finished runner-up to fellow future professional

Issei Takazaki is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7- dan. Early life, amateur shogi and apprentice professional Issei Takazaki was born in Nichinan, Miyazaki on February 12, 1987. As a sixth-grade student at , he defeated Kōhei Funae to win the 2 ...

in the 23rd in 1998. Later that same year, Funae 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 Inoue's guidance at the rank of 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 ...

. Funae steadily advanced through the apprentice school ranks and was promoted to 1-kyū in 2001. His progress, however, slowed at that point and he wasn't promoted to 1-dan until March 2003. Funae was promoted to the rank 3-dan in 2006, and entered the 39th 3-dan League in April 2006. Funae's progress, however, once again slowed and he did not obtain full professional status and the corresponding rank of 4-dan until October 2010 after he finished second in the 47th 3-dan League with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses.

Shogi professional

Funae's first tournament victory as a shogi professional came in 2011 when he defeated Hiroshi Miyamoto (still an apprentice professional 3-dan at the time) 2 games to 1 to win the 1st for young professionals. In MarchApril 2013, Funae was one of five shogi professionals to play against five computer shogi programs in the 2nd Denō Match. Funae played against the program and lost in 184 moves. Funae played Tsutsukana once again in a " revenge match" in December 2013 and this time Funae won in 85 moves. Funae's other tournament victory came in 2016 when he defeated

Shōta Chida is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8-Dan (rank)#Modern usage in shogi, dan. Chida is known for his novel research into shogi opening theory using computer shogi engines. Early life and apprenticeship Shōta Chida was born on April 1 ...

to win the 1st sponsored by Japanese electronics retailer

Yamada Denki is one of the largest consumer electronics retailer chains in Japan. Overview The company was founded in 1973 as a privately owned store. Yamada Denki Co., Ltd. was established in 1983. The current corporation was created on May 21, 1987, by ...

Promotion history

Funae's promotion history is as follows: * 6-

: September 1998 * 3-dan: April 2006 * 4-dan: October 1, 2010 * 5-dan: March 6, 2012 * 6-dan: December 28, 2016 * 7-dan: March 12, 2024

Titles and other championships

Funae has yet to appear in a major title match, but he has won two non-major title tournaments.

Tsume Shogi Solving Competition

Funae won the 7th Tsume Shogi Solving Competition in 2010 while he was still an apprentice professional 3-dan; he was the only participant to finish with a perfect score of 100.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Funae, Kohei
Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players Living people Shogi players from Hyōgo Prefecture 1987 births People from Kakogawa, Hyōgo Kakogawa Seiryū {{Shogi-stub