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, amateur shogi and apprentice professional

Abe was born in

Hirosaki is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town for ...

, Aomori Prefecture on October 25, 1994. He learned how to play shogi from his father when he was five years old. As an elementary school student, Abe was interested in both Go and shogi. He was a big fan of the

manga series Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

'' Hikaru no Go'' and actually wanted to become a Go professional, but switched his focus to shogi after finding Go too difficult to learn. He started attending a formal shogi class at local department store when he was a fourth grade elementary school student, and won the 5th in 2006 as a sixth-grader. Later that same year, he was accepted into the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school as a student of shogi professional Osamu Nakamura at the rank of 6- kyū. Abe advanced through the apprentice school fairly smoothly, being promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 2008, and then to 3-dan in 2009. He obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan after tying for first place in the 48th 3-dan League (October 2010March 2011) in 2011 with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses.

Shogi professional

In 2013, Abe was one of five shogi professionals selected to play against five computer shogi programs in the 2nd Denōsen exhibition match . Abe defeated the computer program in the first game of the match, which turned out to be the only victory scored by the shogi professionals. In October 2014, Abe defeated Yūki Sasaki to 2 games to 1 to win the 45th tournament.

Promotion history

Abe's promotion history is as follows. * 6- kyū: September 2006 * 3-dan: April 2009 * 4-dan: April 1, 2011 * 5-dan: November 4, 2014 * 6-dan: November 5, 2015 * 7-dan: January 28, 2022

Titles and other championships

Abe has yet to appear in a major title match, but he has won one non-major title championship.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info· Abe, Koru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Koru Japanese shogi players Living people Professional shogi players from Aomori Prefecture 1994 births People from Hirosaki Shinjin-Ō