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 9-

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

. He is a former

Meijin is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word ''meijin'' (名 ''mei'' "excellent, artful", 人 ''jin'' "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field (t ...

and

Kiō is one of the eight major title tournaments in professional shogi. The word means the 'king of shogi' (棋 ''ki'' 'shogi' + 王 ''ō'' 'king'). Overview The tournament started in 1974 as a continuation of the Saikyōshakettei tournament (最強� ...

title holder.

Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship

Maruyama was born in

Kisarazu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 136,023 in 63,431 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kisarazu is located in the midwest ...

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

on September 5, 1970. He won the 9th in 1984, and the following 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 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 Chin ...

as a

protegee Mentorship is the 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 personal and p ...

of shogi professional . He was promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 1986 and achieved professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 1990.

Shogi professional

Maruyama's first tournament championship as a professional came in came in 1994 when he defeated

Masataka Gōda is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a former major title holder, having won the Ōi, Kisei, Kiō and Ōshō titles throughout his career. Early life Gōda was born on March 17, 1971, in Suginami, Tokyo. He learned ho ...

2 games to none to win the 25th tournament. Maruyama successfully defended his championship the following year by defeating

Kōichi Fukaura is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a three-time winner of the Ōi tournament, and also a former member of the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors. Early life Fukaura was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki on February 14 ...

2 games to 1 in the 26th Shinjin-Ō match which made him the first person to win the tournament in consecutive years. Maruyama, however, was unable to repeat his success for a third consecutive year when he lost the 27th Shinjin-Ō match 2 games to 1 to

Takeshi Fujii is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a former Ryūō title holder, and a former non-executive director of the Japan Shogi Association. Fujii is known for developing the Fujii System, a class of strategies for Fourth Fil ...

in 1996 . Maruyama's first appearance in a major title match came in 1999 when he challenged

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 ...

for the 47th Ōza title. Maruyama lost the match 3 games to 1.

Theoretical contributions

Maruyama invented the Maruyama Vaccine (丸山ワクチン maruyama wakuchin) variation for

Static Rook Static Rook (居飛車 ''ibisha'') openings in shogi typically have the player's rook at its start position, which is the second file (on the 28 square) for Black and the eighth file (on the 82 square) for White. Explanation Static Rook is a ...

positions playing against

Cheerful Central Rook In shogi, Cheerful Central Rook (ゴキゲン中飛車 ''gokigen nakabisha'', also Gokigen Central Rook or Go-As-You-Please Central Rook) is a type of Central Rook opening in which the Central Rook player's bishop diagonal remains open. This is ...

opponents.

Promotion history

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

: 1985 * 1-dan: 1986 * 4-dan: April 1, 1990 * 5-dan: April 1, 1992 * 6-dan: April 1, 1995 * 7-dan: April 1, 1997 * 8-dan: April 1, 1998 * 9-dan: June 28, 2000

Titles and other championships

Maruyama has appeared in major title matches a total of ten times and has won three major titles. In addition to major titles, he has won twelve other shogi championships during his career.

Major titles

Other championships

Note: Tournaments marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer held.

Awards and honors

Maruyama has received a number of awards and honors throughout his career for his accomplishments both on an off the shogi board. These include the

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 ...

given out by the JSA for performance in official games as well as other JSA awards for career accomplishments, and awards received from governmental organizations, etc. for contributions made to Japanese society.

Annual Shogi Awards

*22nd Annual Awards (April 1994March 1995): Best New Player, Most Consecutive Games Won *23rd Annual Awards (April 1995March 1996): Most Games Won, Most Consecutive Games Won *27th Annual Awards (April 1999March 2000): Most Games Won, Most Games Played, Most Consecutive Games Won, Technique Award *28th Annual Awards (April 2000March 2001): Distinguished Service Award *30th Annual Awards (April 2002March 2003): Distinguished Service Award *39th Annual Awards (April 2011March 2012): Game of the Year *46th Annual Awards (April 2018March 2019): Masuda Special Prize

Other awards

*2000, November: Kisarazu City Meritorius Citizen Award *2007: Shogi Honor Fighting-spirit Award (Awarded by JSA in recognition of winning 600 official games as a professional) *2014: Shogi Honor Fighting-spirit Award (Awarded by JSA in recognition of winning 800 official games as a professional) *2015: 25 Years Service Award (Awarded by the JSA in recognition of being an active professional for twenty-five years)

Year-end prize money and game fee ranking

Maruyama has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's seventeen times since 1993. His highest finish was third in 2001 with in

JPY The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and th ...

57,270,000 in earnings.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Maruyama, Tadahisa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maruyama, Tadahisa 1970 births People from Kisarazu Japanese shogi players Living people Meijin (shogi) Kiō Waseda University alumni Professional shogi players from Chiba Prefecture Shinjin-Ō