is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 6-

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

Early life and apprenticeship

Honda was born in Kawasaki, Kanagawa on July 5, 1997. He learned how to play shogi from his father when he was about five years old. In September 2009 while he was still an elementary school sixth-grade student, 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 ...

(JSA) apprentice school under the guidance of shogi professional 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 Chi ...

. Honda was promoted to the rank of apprentice professional 3-dan in April 2015. It was around this time that he began to seriously use computer shogi programs into his practice routines, and stated that he believes doing so really helped to improve his game. He obtained full professional status and the corresponding rank of 4-dan on October 1, 2018, after winning the 63rd 3-dan League (AprilSeptember 2018) with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses.

Shogi professional

In December 2019, Honda earned to right to challenge Akira Watanabe for the 45th

Kiō is one of the eight major title tournaments in professional shogi. The word means the 'king of shogi' (棋 ''ki'' 'shogi' + 王 ''ō'' 'king'). Overview The tournament started in 1974 as a continuation of the Saikyōshakettei tournament (最強� ...

title. Honda had advanced through the challenger tournament undefeated and advanced to the two-game challenger determination match against

Daichi Sasaki is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7-dan. Early life Sasaki was born in Tsushima, Nagasaki on May 30, 1995. He learned shogi from his father when he was three years old. As a third-grade elementary school student, he won the Grade ...

. Sasaki had lost in the semi-finals of the challenger tournament, but advanced to the challenger determination match by winning the three-player double-elimination full repechage tournament for the two losers in the semi-final round and the loser in the final round of the challenger tournament to determine the player to face Honda. As the outright winner of the challenger tournament, Honda only needed to defeat Sasaki once to become the challenger for the Kiō title, whereas Sasaki needed to win two games to become challenger. Honda lost the first game between the two held on December 16, 2019, but won the second game held on December 27. Honda's win made him first player to earn the right to challenge for a major title in his first attempt under the current eight-major-title system. It also made him the second fastest player ever to become the challenger for a major title since turning professional at one year and two months, and also made him the first 4-dan professional to become the challenger for a major title since 1992. In the 45th Kiō title match, Honda was unable to stop Watanabe from defending his title, losing the match 3 games to 1.

Promotion history

Honda's promotion history is as follows: * 6-

: September 2009 * 3-dan: April, 2015: * 4-dan: October 1, 2018 * 5-dan: December 27, 2019 * 6-dan: May 1, 2023

Titles and other championships

Honda's only appearance in a major title match was in 2020 when he was the challenger for the 45th

title.

Awards and honors

Honda won the

’s

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 pre ...

for “Best New Player” for the 2019 shogi year (April 2019March 2020).

Personal life

Honda is married to women's shogi professional Kotomi Yamane. The JSA officially announced the couple's marriage on its website on May 2, 2023.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Honda, Kei
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honda, Kei Japanese shogi players Living people People from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Professional shogi players from Kanagawa Prefecture 1997 births