Sota Fujii Ryūō Meijin defeats Takuya Nagase to take the title and complete his eight crowns.

In the 71st championship match, in which Sota Fujii Ryuo Meijin challenges Takuya Nagase's title, the fourth game, which saw Nagase with one win and Fujii Ryuo Meijin with two wins, will be held in Kyoto City on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. It was held at the Westin Miyako Hotel Kyoto, and Meijin Ryuo Fujii won with 138 moves. By winning the 'throne,' Master Ryuo Fujii has won all eight major titles in the shogi world, making him the first player in history to win eight titles.

Championship broadcast site

This championship will be a match for Oza Nagase, who has held the title for four terms, and will receive the title of ``Honorary Championship'' by winning the title for five consecutive terms, and has seven titles: Meijin, Ryuo, Oi, Eiou, Kioh, Osho, and Kisei. For Master Ryuo Fujii, it was a match in which he could achieve his ``eighth crown.''

The fighting style has become a kaku kawari format which is said to give an advantage to the first mover, and while Nagase Oza spends almost no time consuming his moves from the beginning, showing his deep research, Fujii Ryuo Meijin is thinking long and hard from the beginning. At one point, there was a nearly 3-hour difference in battery life.

Championship match broadcast blog: Ryuo Fujii/Meijin, long thoughts from the morning
https://kifulog.shogi.or.jp/ouza/2023/10/post-76b4.html

The situation slowly turned in favor of Nagase Oza, and although there were some moments in the match when Fujii Ryuo Meijin had the advantage, Fujii Ryuo Meijin ran out of time first and was cornered in a one-minute shogi game.

However, after that, Nagase Oza also ran out of time, and both players engaged in a one-minute shogi game.

Championship match broadcast blog: Countdown to both sides
https://kifulog.shogi.or.jp/ouza/2023/10/post-4459.html

In the final stage, when Nagase was in the winning position, there was a reversal in the battle, and the situation quickly turned to Fujii Ryuo Meijin's winning side, making it difficult for Nagase to turn the tables again, and Nagase gave up. This was the birth of Fujii Hakkan.

Championship match broadcast blog: Sota Fujii's eight crowns are born
https://kifulog.shogi.or.jp/ouza/2023/10/post-e69e.html

This is the first time that there have been eight titles in the Shogi world since Eio was added in 2015, and since 2015 no player has held all the titles at the same time, so Meijin Ryuo Fujii is the first player in history to hold eight titles. Become an achiever. Furthermore, Yoshiharu Hanyu, 9th Dan, achieved his seventh crown in 1996, when the Eio Tournament had not yet been held.

·Press conference
A press conference was held from around 22:45.

Organizer/Nihon Keizai Shimbun:
First of all, please tell us your honest thoughts on achieving the eight crowns.

Sota Fujii eight crowns:
I never thought I would be able to achieve this kind of result, so I'm happy about that. There were a lot of difficult shogi games in this series, and I feel like I lacked some areas in terms of my ability. I believe that I need to work even harder from now on to develop skills commensurate with my position.

Nikkei Shimbun:
Do you feel a sense of accomplishment after winning eight titles?

Fujii:
Of course, I'm very happy, but that wasn't my goal, so I will continue to work hard, and I hope I can use the experience of the championship match as inspiration for my future endeavors.

Nikkei Shimbun:
This is the first time that Hanyu has won all the titles since 9-dan Hanyu won seven titles. When you achieved your seven crowns, you said, ``I didn't feel like I was able to match that level,'' but now that you've won all the crowns, you've tied Hanyu's 9-dan rank?

Fujii:
I thought it would be a while before I would have the opportunity to take on the challenge of winning all the titles, so I'm really happy that I was able to achieve it this time. Of course, I think it can be said that I was able to match Mr. Hanyu's record for winning all titles, but in Mr. Hanyu's case, he has continued to be active as a top player, so I will do my best to continue being active in the future. I wish I could.

Nikkei Shimbun:
I think there were a lot of heated battles in this series, including Nagate Shogi and reverse Shogi. What did you think of the content?

Fujii:
I think all of them were difficult shogi games. Especially in the third game and the final game, there were times when we clearly lost, so I don't think it would have been strange for the score to have been the other way around, so I think it was a lucky result in that respect as well.

Nikkei Shimbun:
His opponent was Nagase Oza, who had him pull up while playing shogi for practice. Please let me know if you feel any strength while fighting.

Fujii:
I felt that he was well-prepared for every match, and even after he left research, there were many accurate points, and there were many times when I felt the strength of Nagase Oza. I think it was a series that I learned a lot from.

Mainichi Shimbun:
By winning eight championships, we will no longer have to play qualifying rounds or league games as long as it is for the title game. In this regard, how do you plan to study specifically to stay motivated?

Fujii:
I felt like there were a lot of things lacking in this series, so I would like to improve on those and improve my skills. I think the number of games played may be uneven depending on the season due to the lack of qualifying rounds, so I would like to think about how to compensate for this in the future.

Tokyo Shimbun:
I'm sure there are some players who describe Mr. Fujii as the strongest player of all time, but how does Mr. Fujii feel about being praised in such terms?

Fujii:
I can't make a general comparison with someone from a different era, but I'm glad to hear that. I often learn a lot from watching other people play shogi, so I hope to continue learning from that kind of thing in the future.

Kyodo News:
Regarding the sense of fulfillment of achieving eight crowns, you answered that eight crowns are not your goal, but what are your future goals as a shogi player?Although there is still a long way to go, what are your goals as a shogi player? ?

Fujii:
First of all, I want to improve my skills and then play shogi that is interesting, so that's what I want to aim for. Even in the main game, there were times when I couldn't maintain my balance at a difficult mid-game point, so I think if I can maintain my balance well at those points, I'll be able to play shogi in a different way.

Green City Cable TV:
Could you give a message to your hometown, Seto City?

Fujii:
The local people have supported me and cheered me on since before I became a shogi player, and that has always been a source of encouragement for me, so I'm very grateful. I'm also happy that there will be a place in Seto City where people can watch my shogi. In the future, I hope to be able to do something that will cheer up the local people, and to be able to play shogi.

Broadcast every day:
This is the first time in history that the team has won eight titles and is attracting attention. There was a saying that ``I want to make shogi interesting,'' but what is the fun of shogi?

(Laughs) I don't think I can say that in one word, but I think the fun part of shogi is that you can take the pieces you capture and use them as pieces, and as you progress from the middle to the end, it becomes more complex. . I feel like it would be great if I could encounter various situations.

NHK:
Achieved eight crowns in about seven years after being promoted to fourth dan. Looking back on your debut, how do you rate it? I would also like to know if you would like to tell anyone about your achievement of winning eight titles.

Fujii:
Looking back since I became 4th Dan, I feel that time has flown by in the blink of an eye. Especially since I was able to compete in title matches, I wonder if I was able to achieve better results than I expected. I feel that. I haven't reported it yet, but I hope to be able to tell my family and mentor later.

Nikkan Sports:
When the team won the five titles, the venue had a view of Mt. Fuji, so the image of climbing was described as ``just before the tree line''. Have you reached the tree line for yourself?

Fujii:
In terms of results, I am better than I was back then, but in terms of my ability, I think I still have as many challenges to overcome as I did back then, so I don't think I can see the top yet. I think so.

Nikkan Sports:
Does it still look like it's overgrown?

Fujii:
I'm still trying to figure out how to become stronger, so I hope to progress through trial and error.

Yomiuri Shimbun:
I have heard that your goals for the future include ``playing interesting shogi'' and ``improving your shogi skills,'' but please let me know if there are any specific goals you have in mind, such as consecutive championships or a permanent title.

Fujii:
When a title match starts, I always think that I want to get a good result there, but I don't think about winning in the next title match in the long term, so from a long-term perspective, I'm thinking of ``playing interesting shogi.'' I think that would be the main goal.

ABEMA:
The first time ABEMA met was at 'The Seventh Game of Fire .' I remember that I had six wins against strong seniors, and the only one I lost to was Nagase 6-dan at the time. I think it is a match of fate that the match with eight titles on the line will be against Nagase Oza. What kind of shogi life has this past six years been for Fujii Hakkan?

Fujii:
Immediately after I became a pro, I was given a plan to prepare a game for myself, and in it I was able to play against players who I would not normally be able to play as a new 4-dan player, and I believe that this was a valuable experience for me. From there, I was taught by Nagase Oza in the form of VS, and I think I was able to grow through that experience. In this series, I felt the strength of Oza Nagase and the areas I was lacking in myself, so I hope to continue to grow stronger by studying the strengths of other people, including Oza Nagase. Masu

ABEMA:
ABEMA, Go Shogi Channel, and Nihon Keizai Shimbun will be broadcasting the event. Please convey the joy of achieving the 8th title to the camera.

Fujii:
First of all, thank you for watching the game. In the championship game, the third and fourth games were both very difficult, and to be honest, I still haven't really felt the feeling of achieving the eight crowns. I think this championship match was a valuable opportunity for me to truly challenge for the eight crowns, and I'm glad I was able to seize it. I hope to continue to work hard and show everyone good shogi.

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