is a retired Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9- dan. He is a former

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of the

Japanese 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 ...

Early life

Kobayashi was born in

Takamatsu, Kagawa 270px, Takamatsu City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popu ...

on March 31, 1957. He entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school in 1972 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 Chin ...

under the guidance of professional shogi player . At first, Kobayashi pursued his apprenticeship at the Japan Shogi Association's school in Tokyo; however, he soon began to have health problems, and moved to

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

to study under Itaya as a

uchi-deshi is a Japanese term for a live-in student/apprentice who trains under and assists a sensei on a full-time basis. The system exists in ''kabuki'', ''rakugo'', ''shogi'', '' igo'', ''aikido'', ''sumo'', ''karate'' and other modern Japanese martial ...

(a live-in apprentice). He was promoted to the rank of apprentice professional 1-dan in 1974 and obtained full-professional status and the rank of 4-dan in December 1975.

Shogi professional

Kobayashi became the 40th professional to win his 600th official game when he defeated in Meijin Class C1 tournament play on June 9, 2009. In March 2018, Kobayashi finished the 76th Meijin Class C2 league (April 2017March 2018) with a record of 3 wins and 7 losses, earning a second consecutive demotion point which meant he was only one point away from automatic demotion to " Free Class" play. As a result, he declared his intention to the Japan Shogi Association to become a Free Class player as of April 2018 rather than risk automatic demotion. Kobayashi retired from professional shogi on March 31, 2022. His career record was 699 wins and 774 loses.

Theoretical contributions

Together with

Masataka Sugimoto is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan. He is also a non-executive director of the Japan Shogi Association. Early life Sugimoto was born on November 13, 1968, in Nagoya, Japan. In 1980, he finished third in the 5th and entered th ...

he was well-known for systematizing

Fourth File Rook In shogi, Fourth File Rook (四間飛車 ''shikenbisha'') is a class of Ranging Rook openings in which the rook is initially positioned on the fourth file if played by White or the sixth file if played by Black. History The earlie ...

josekis before the advent of the

Fujii System In shogi, the Fujii System (藤井システム ''fujii shisutemu'') is a set of Fourth File Rook strategies used against various Static Rook strategies. It was created as a way to attack Static Rook Anaguma castle positions. It is named after Ta ...

, and also as the creator of the Super Fourth File Rook opening (スーパー四間飛車).

JSA director

Kobayashi served on the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors as a

from 1999 to 2004.

Promotion history

The promotion history for Kobayashi is as follows: *1972: 6-

*1974: 1-dan *1975, December 20: 4-dan *1979, April 1: 5-dan *1981, April 1: 6-dan *1983, April 1: 7-dan *1986, April 1: 8-dan *2002, March 1: 9-dan

Titles and other championships

Kobayashi never appeared in a major title match, but he won two non-major shogi championships during his career: the in 1977 and the in 1994.

Awards and honors

Kobayashi received the Japan Shogi Association's "Best New Player" (1980) and "Technique Award" (1990)

Annual Shogi Awards 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 ...

. He also received the association's "25 Years Service Award" in 2000 for being an active professional for twenty-five years and the "Shogi Honor Award" in 2009 for winning 600 official games.

References

External links

* ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Kobayashi, Kenji
* Kobayashi's school website
小林健二九段将棋教室
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobayashi, Kenji 1957 births Japanese shogi players Living people Professional shogi players Retired professional shogi players Professional shogi players from Kagawa Prefecture People from Takamatsu, Kagawa