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 player ...

, ranked 8- dan. He is a former Ōza title holder.

Early life and apprentice professional

Shintarō Saitō was born on April 21, 1993, in

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

. He learned how to play the game from reading books written by

Yoshiharu Habu is a professional shogi player and a chess FIDE Master. His master is Tatsuya Futakami. He is the only person to simultaneously hold seven major professional shogi titles at the same time and is also the only person to qualify as a lifetime tit ...

, and as a third-grade elementary school student played his future mentor shogi professional Mamoru Hatakeyama for the first time in an instructional game. As a fourth-grade student, Saitō personally wrote Hatakeyama asking for formal instruction, and formally 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 materi ...

's apprentice school at the rank of 6-

kyū is a Japanese term used in modern martial arts as well as in tea ceremony, flower arranging, Go, shogi, academic tests and other similar activities to designate various grades, levels or degrees of proficiency or experience. In Mandarin Ch ...

in September 2004 under the latter's guidance. Saitō steadily progressed as an apprentice professional, reaching 1-dan in November 2006 and entering the 43rd 3-dan League in April 2008; his progress, however, slowed and it took him eight seasons of 3-dan League play before he was able to obtain professional status and the rank of 4-dan by winning the 50th 3-dan League with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses in March 2012.

Shogi professional

Saitō first appearance in a major title match came in June 2017 when he challenged

for 88th Kisei title. Saitō had defeated Tetsurō Itodani the previous April to earn the right to face Habu, but ended up losing the title match 3 games to 1. In July 2018, Saitō defeated Akira Watanabe to become the challenger for the 66th Ōza title against Taichi Nakamura. The title match against Nakamura took place from September 4 to October 30, 2018. Saitō won the first two games to take the lead, but Nakamura won the next two games to tie the match. Saitō then won Game 5 to win his first major title. Saito's first defense of his Ōza title the following year, however, was unsuccessful, losing the 67th Ōza title match to challenger

Takuya Nagase is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9- dan. He is the current holder of the Ōza title and a former holder of the Eiō title. Early life Nagase was born in Yokohama on September 5, 1992. He learned how to play shogi at age six from ...

3 games to none in October 2019. In AprilJune 2021, Saitō challenged for the latter's Meijin title, but lost the 79th Meijin title match 4 games to 1. In AprilMay 2022, Saitō challenged again for the Meijin title, but lost the 80th Meijin title match by the same score of 4 games to 1.

Promotion history

The promotion history for Saitō is as follows: * 6-

: 2004 * 3-dan: April 2008 * 4-dan: April 1, 2012 * 5-dan: March 5, 2013 * 6-dan: April 23, 2015 * 7-dan: March 8, 2017 * 8-dan: February 13, 2020

Titles and other championships

Saitō has appeared in five major title matches to date, and has won one major title.

Awards and honors

Saitō received the 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 ...

for "Best New Player" and "Best Winning Percentage" in 2015, and "Best Winning Percentage" award in 2016.

Year-end prize money and game fee ranking

Saitō has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's four times since turning professional: eighth in 2018 with JPY 23,930,000 in earnings; tenth in 2019 with JPY 18,680,000 in earnings; sixth in 2021 with JPY 25,670,000 in earnings; and fifth in 2022 with JPY 23,620,000 in earnings.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Saito, Shintaro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saito, Shintaro 1993 births Japanese shogi players Living people Professional shogi players from Nara Prefecture Ōza (shogi) People from Nara, Nara