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 8- dan. He is the current holder of the

Eiō The is one of the eight major titles of professional shogi cosponsored by Fujiya Co. and the Japan Shogi Association (JSA). The tournament initially started out as a non-title tournament in 2015, but was upgraded to major title status in May 2 ...

title.

Early life, amateur shogi and apprentice professional

Itō was born in

Setagaya is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orchid, and its tree is the '' Ze ...

, Tokyo on October 10, 2002. He learned how to play shogi from his father when he was about five years old. As a second grade elementary school student in 2010, Itō represented Tokyo in the 9th in and finished in second place. At the World Open Shogi Championships held in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

in July 2013, Itō finished 90 to win the tournament as a fifth grade elementary school student. Itō 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 in September 2013 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 ...

when he was a fifth grade elementary school student under the guidance of shogi professional . Itō was promoted to the rank of apprentice professional 3-dan in April 2018 and obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan after winning the 67th 3-dan League (April September 2020) with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses.

Shogi professional

In SeptemberOctober 2021, Itō defeated Yūsei Koga 2 games to none to win the 52nd tournament. Itō's first appearance in a major title match came in OctoberNovember 2023 when he challenged

Sōta Fujii is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9- dan. He is the current holder of the Kiō, Kisei, Meijin, Ōi, Ōshō, Ōza and Ryūō titles, and a former holder of the Eiō title. He is the youngest person to be awarded professional st ...

for the 36th

Ryūō Ryūō (also Ryu-O, Ryu-oh, Ryuuou; in Japanese: 龍王, 竜王, lit. " Dragon King") is an annual Japanese professional shogi tournament and the title of its winner. The current Ryūō title holder is Sōta Fujii. The Ryūō Tournament (''Ryū ...

title. Itō advanced to the title match by defeating Ōza title holder

Takuya Nagase is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-Dan (rank)#Modern usage in shogi, dan. He is a former holder of the Eiō and Ōza (shogi), Ōza titles. Early life and apprentice shogi professional Nagase was born in Yokohama on September 5, 199 ...

2 games to none in the best-of-three challenger match (JulyAugust 2023), but lost the best-of-seven title match to Fujii 4 games to none. By becoming the challenger for the Ryūō title, Itō also satisfied the promotion criteria for 7-dan. In December 2023, Ito defeated

Akihito Hirose is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-Dan (rank)#Modern usage in shogi, dan. He is a former :Ryūō and Ōi (shogi), Ōi title holder, and is also the first shogi professional to win a major title while attending university. Early l ...

to win the challenger's tournament for the 48th Kiō Tournament, and advance to the title match against ; Itō had actually lost to Hirose in an earlier round, but advanced to the finals through the loser's bracket, which meant he needed to win two games in a row as opposed to Hirose who only needing to win one of two games. In the 48th Kiō title match (FebruaryMarch 2024), however, Itō was unable to break through and lost the match 3 games to 0, although four games needed to be played due to Game 1 ending in

impasse A bargaining impasse () occurs when the two sides negotiating an agreement are unable to reach an agreement and become deadlocked. An impasse is almost invariably mutually harmful, either as a result of direct action which may be taken such as a ...

. In March 2024, Itō defeated in the 9th Eiō challenger tournament to advance to the title match against the reigning

. Going into the 9th Eiō title match (AprilJune 2024), Itō had yet to beat Fujii in eleven official games (ten losses and one impasse), which included two defeats in major title matches. In 9th Eiō major title match, Itō started poorly by losing Game 1, but was able to win Games 2, 3 and 5 to win the match 3 games to 2. The victory not only gave Itō his first major title, but it also ended Fujii's consecutive major title match winning streak at 22. Itō's first defense of the Eiō title was a successful one, defeating challenger

Shintarō Saitō is a Japanese professional shogi 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. He learned how to play the game from reading books written by ...

3 games to 2 in the 10th Eiō title match (AprilJune 2025). The win not aonly gave Itō his second major title overall but also qualified him for promotion to 8-dan.

Promotion history

The promotion history for Itō is as follows. * 6-

: September 1, 2013 * 3-dan: April 2018 * 4-dan: October 1, 2020 * 5-dan: March 10, 2022 * 6-dan: April 20, 2023 * 7-dan: August 14, 2023 * 8-dan: June 14, 2025

Titles and other championships

Itō has appeared in four major title matches and has won two major titles. He has also won one non-major title tournament.

Awards and honors

Itō won the Japan Shogi Association's

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" for the April 2022March 2023 shogi year; "Excellent Player", "Most Games Won", "Most Games Played" and the Masuda Award for the April 2023March 2024 shogi year; and "Excellent Player" and "Game of the Year" for the April 2024March 2025 shogi year.

Year-end prize money and game fee ranking

Itō has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's twice: 10th with JPY 17,280,000 in earnings in 2023; and 2nd with JPY 43,640,000 in earnings in 2024.

Notes

References

External links

* ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Itō, Takumi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itō, Takumi Living people 2002 births Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players People from Setagaya Professional shogi players from Tokyo Shinjin-Ō Eiō