Sota Fujii triple crown wins Ryuo and achieves the youngest quadruple crown in history

Sota Fujii triple crown (throne, Eio, Kisei) at the 4th game of the 34th Ryuo match, which was held for two days on November 12th (Friday) and November 13th (Saturday), 2021. defeated Masayuki Toyoshima Ryuo. Since the Fujii triple crown has already won 3 times, this wins the Ryuo. He was the youngest player ever to win the quadruple crown.

Ryuo Battle: Go Shogi: News: Yomiuri Shimbun Online
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/igoshougi/ryuoh/

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http://live.shogi.or.jp/ryuou/

November 12-13, 2021 Game 7 Round 4 Masayuki Toyoshima Ryuo vs. Sota Fujii Triple Crown | 34th Ryuo Battle
http://live.shogi.or.jp/ryuou/kifu/34/ryuou202111120101.html

34th Ryuo Battle Seventh Game 4th Station: Toyoshima Ryuo vs. Fujii Triple Crown Large Board Commentary Live Broadcast-YouTube


Ryuo is the title with the highest prize money in the shogi world, and is on par with a master. Masayuki Toyoshima won the title at the 32nd Ryuo Battle held in 2019. In 2020, he defended his title against Yoshiharu Hanyu's 9th dan challenge, and in 2021, he won the triple crown as a challenger, Sota Fujii.

The 4th match of the 7th game held at ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture from November 12th (Friday) to November 13th (Saturday) proceeded with a 'Kakugawari' battle style.

Ryuo Battle Broadcast Plus: The battle style is a corner change
https://kifulog.shogi.or.jp/ryuou/2021/11/post-e51c.html

With the pieces colliding violently, they advanced to 73 moves on the first day, and Fujii Triple Crown sealed the move.

Ryuo Battle Broadcast plus: Fujii triple crown seals the 74th move
https://kifulog.shogi.or.jp/ryuou/2021/11/74-1a15.html

Although the situation progressed slightly with Fujii's triple crown advantage, there was also a scene where Ryuo Toyoshima could reverse the situation. However, Ii-kun's face was difficult, and in the end, Fujii Triple Crown, who held firmly even after the countdown began with 10 minutes remaining, defeated Ryuo Toyoshima and won Ryuo.

In July 2020, Fujii triple crown won Kisei at the age of 17, the youngest ever. He then took the throne in August 2020. The 2021 Kisei match, which was celebrated as a double crown, defeated the challenger Akira Watanabe and succeeded in defending it for the first time. In the 2021 throne match, he welcomed Ryuo Toyoshima as a challenger and successfully defended with 4 wins and 1 loss. In the Eio match, which was held in parallel with the throne match, he won the title with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses against Shono Toyoshima, and won the triple crown.

As of 2021, there are eight major titles in the shogi world, half of which are occupied by Fujii's four crowns. Other titles are held by Akira Watanabe (Kioh/Osho) and Takuya Nagase.

The interview video of the new dragon king is below.

[Uncut] The youngest four crowns in history Sota Fujii New Ryuo interviews - YouTube


The questions and answers at the conference are as follows.

Yomiuri Shimbun Watanabe:
You received the highest title of Ryuo today, so please tell us how you feel about it.

Sota Fujii New Dragon King (hereinafter referred to as Fujii):
There are still some things that I don't really feel, but I'm very honored because the Ryuo is the highest title.

Yomiuri Shimbun:
This year, I have continued to have a title match against a very strong shogi player named Toyoshima. Among them, the throne, Eio, Kono Ryuo, I won all the shogi games and got good results. Mr. Fujii, what do you think is the reason for these results?

Fujii:
In the match against Toyoshima Ryuo, we were pushed down in many games throughout the match, so I feel that we were lucky to be able to get a good result.

Yomiuri Shimbun:
Immediately after the end of the game, when I was told that I was ranked number 1 with Ryuo, I said that the content would be suitable for that. As a shogi player, what kind of direction or goals do you have going forward?

Fujii:
This time, I was able to win the title of Ryuo, and I feel the weight of the title, and I would like to play shogi that is worthy of it. As a goal, after all, I think that I should work with the goal of 'become stronger' as before.

Chunichi Shimbun Okamura:
With the acquisition of Ryuo this time, I think that I have become the top in the order of all players in the Japan Shogi Association. Hierarchy is a relative measure of how you compare to other shogi players, but Fujii Shikan always seeks absolute strength. Still, I think the top of the order is one big milestone as a shogi player. What is your impression about that?

Fujii:
I wasn't really conscious of that, but...I think it's an honor to be number 1, and at the same time, it's also a sobering feeling.

Sankei Shimbun Nakajima:
From the throne match, to the Eio match, the Ryuo match, and the 19th match against Toyoshima-sensei. I think it's also a relationship that Mr. Fujii has taught me since I was in elementary school. Mr. Fujii, could you tell us if you have gained anything or experienced anything from this 19th match?

Fujii:
Throughout the course, there were quite a few times when I was pointed at a good move that I wasn't aware of, or when I wasn't aware of it, it was a bad move.

Sankei Shimbun:
One more thing, today is the birthday of my master Sugimoto Hachidan. I think the victory turned out to be a good present, but could you say something about whether you were aware that it was your birthday and that you were able to win because it was your master's birthday?

Fujii:
I didn't even know it was my master's birthday. I've really been indebted to you so far, so I think it's the first time I've been able to do something like a present.

Nikkan Sports Matsuura:
I have two questions. First, some people say that you have won four of the eight crowns, and that you are one of the strongest players. How do you feel about that?

Fujii:
So far this term, we have achieved good results, but there are many issues in terms of content.

Nikkan Sports:
One more point, the prize money for the Ryuo match is the highest in the shogi world, 44 million yen. Could you please let me know?

Fujii:
No... I didn't think about it at all (laughs)

Nikkan Sports:
You don't even want to buy Nagoya Castle, do you? (smile)

Fujii:
Yes, I would like to think about it slowly.

Asahi Shimbun Murase:
There are two points. First of all, you said earlier that your goal is to become stronger in the future. You said that you were getting good results this term.

Fujii:
This year, I'm focusing on the early stages, so I feel that I've been able to improve more than before.

Asahi Shimbun:
In terms of the main station, I think it was a difficult shogi until the end, but Ryuo Toyoshima in particular was thinking for 99 minutes. It's called the tension at the last minute, but how did you feel about that today when you were fighting? Did you think it was pretty bad? can you tell me if it was

Fujii:
I thought that the head office would be okay around the sealing hand, but after that, I didn't know the specific procedure, and I thought that it would be tough if the procedure was exhausted when I became a rook. In the end, there were many cases where the two sides would get stuck or not, so it wasn't like I was reading it all the way through.

Asahi Shimbun:
Didn't you know? (unclear because the microphone is off)

Fujii:
If anything, I thought that there were a lot of changes in losing here, but I didn't know exactly which order was the best for the first move.

NHK Iwata:
I have two questions. First, you said earlier that you still don't have the ability to match the title, but what do you feel is lacking in ability?

Fujii:
I feel that my skills are lacking every time I play one game, and there are situations where I can't make good decisions in each game, so I think I need to reduce those situations.

NHK:
Another thing, I think you're currently participating in the league that decides who will challenge the Osho match. It's a bit early, but please tell us if you have any aspirations or enthusiasm toward winning your fifth title.

Fujii:
As for the King League, we've been playing at a good pace so far, so I'd like to focus on the remaining two games.

ABEMA Fujisaki:
He became Ryuo and won the four crowns, but I think that shogi fans would like to see more of Ryuo Fujii's wonderful games. Is there a shogi game that you yourself want to play with these rules?

Fujii:
Is it a rule? I have the impression that the current rules of shogi are very well-balanced with each move, so I think the current rules are the most well-balanced.

ABEMA:
What does shogi mean to Ryuo Fujii in a nutshell?

Fujii:
Shogi is really deep, and no matter how much you think about it, you can't understand it, but I think that it really gives you new discoveries every time you play something.

ABEMA:
As Ryuoh, please say a few words to all the viewers around the world and to my teacher who is celebrating his birthday today.

Fujii:
Thank you for watching the match today. I think there were a lot of difficult phases in the final stage of the game, so it's still hard to get a real feel for it, but in the future, as Ryuoh, I'd like to work harder than ever to show you an interesting shogi game. I look forward to working with you.