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.

Early life and apprenticeship

Takashi Abe was born in

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

on August 25, 1967. Although it was said that Abe was more passionate about " yakyū" than shogi as a young boy, he 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 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 ...

under the guidance of shogi professional during his second year of junior high school in December 1981. Abe rapidly progressed through the apprentice school, being promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 1983 and then obtaining full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in June 1985, just 3 years and 7 months after becoming an apprentice.

Shogi professional

In 1986, Abe participated in a special three-game match against

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 ...

called the ", which was a special project pitting the most promising young professional from Western Japan (the 17-year-old Abe) against the most promising young professional from Eastern Japan (the 15-year-old Habu). Even though Abe ended up losing the match, his play received high praise with professional even stating that Abe was more talented than Habu. Abe's first shogi championship as a professional came in 1993 when he defeated Hiroki Nakata 3 games to 2 to win the 12th . Abe's only appearance in a major title match to date came in 2002 when he challenged Habu for the 15th Ryūō title. Abe advanced to the title match by defeating his 12th All Nihon Pro opponent Nakata 2 games to 1 to win the best-of-three challenger playoff. In the title match against Habu, Abe lost the first two games before winning the next three to take a 3 games to 2 lead. Habu, however, went on to win Games 6 and 7 to defend his title. On August 31, 2007, Abe defeated Keita Inoue in a Meijin Class B1 ranking game to become the 34th shogi professional to win 600 official games. Abe became the 22nd professional to win 800 official games when he defeated

Yasuaki Murayama is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8- dan. Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship Yasuaki Murayama was born on May 9, 1984, in Hino, Tokyo. He learned how to play shogi from his grandfather when he was 5 years old, and won the ...

in a 68th Ōza tournament preminary round game on January 30, 2020. He was awarded the "" as a result, and become the first player to receive the award while still currently ranked 8-dan.

Promotion history

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

: 1981 * 1-dan: 1983 * 4-dan: June 10, 1985 * 5-dan: August 11, 1989 * 6-dan: November 16, 1992 * 7-dan: June 6, 1997 * 8-dan: February 16, 2005 * 9-dan: July 15, 2020

Titles and other championships

Abe's only appearance in a major title match was in 2002 when he was the challenger for the Ryūō title. Abe has won two non-major shogi championships during his career: the 12th (1993) and the 20th (19992000).

Awards and honors

Abe 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 "Most Games Won" and "Most Games Played" in 1996. In addition, Abe received the JSA's "Shogi Honor Award" in 2007 for winning 600 games as a professional, the "25 Years Service Award" in 2010 for being an active professional for 25 years, and the "" in 2020 for winning 800 games as a professional.

Year-end prize money and game fee ranking

Abe has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's three times since 1993: he earned a total of JPY 24,780,000 to rank seventh in 1994, JPY 25,630,000 to rank ninth in 2002 and JPY 20,490,000 to rank eighth in 2003.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Abe, Takashi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Takashi 1967 births Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players Living people Shogi players from Osaka Prefecture