Shogi master Habu ties record number of victories

May 24, 2019

Tokyo--Yoshiharu Habu, a 48-year-old Japanese shogi master, Thursday tied the record number of victories in official professional games.

The ninth-dan holder marked his 1,433rd victory by defeating ninth-dan Koji Tanigawa, 57, in a league match to choose the challenger for the Oi title. Habu now reached the all-time high struck by deceased 15th Meijin Yasuharu Oyama.

Habu's next official shogi match is set for May 30.

After making a debut as the third professional junior high school shogi player in 1985, Habu became the first-ever player to monopolize all seven major titles in 1996 and qualified for the "eisei" lifetime holder of the seven titles in 2017.

He has so far won a record 99 tournament titles. Jiji Press