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 player ...

ranked 7- dan.

Early life and apprenticeship

Hiroaki Yokoyama was born on October 16, 1980, in Tama, Tokyo. He was accepted into 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 term used in modern martial arts as well as in tea ceremony, flower arranging, Go, shogi, academic tests and other similar activities to designate various grades, levels or degrees of proficiency or experience. In Mandarin Ch ...

as a student of shogi professional in August 1993, was promoted to 1-dan in July 1999, and finally obtained full professional status and corresponding rank of 4-dan in October 2002.

Shogi professional

Promotion history

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

: 1993 * 1-dan: 1999 * 4-dan: October 1, 2002 * 5-dan: October 30, 2007 * 6-dan: December 7, 2012 * 7-dan: September 11, 2019

Awards and honors

Yokoyama received the Japan Shogi Association's 42nd

Annual Shogi Award 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 pr ...

for "Most Consecutive Victories" for April 2014March 2015.

Personal life

Yokoyama is a graduate of

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...

. He has been married to LPSA professional Saori Shimai since July 2011.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Yokoyama, Hiroaki
1980 births Japanese shogi players Living people Chuo University alumni Professional shogi players from Tokyo Metropolis People from Tama, Tokyo {{Shogi-stub