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

Kanai was born on May 25, 1986, in

Ageo, Saitama 260px, Ageo Maruyama Park is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 229,517 in 103,709 households and a population density of 5000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ageo i ...

. He learned how to play shogi from his grandfather when he was about six years old. In August 1999, 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 Chi ...

under the guidance of shogi professional . He was promoted to the rank of 3-dan in 2003, and obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 2007 after the tying for first place with

Masayuki Toyoshima is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a former holder of the Ryūō, Meijin, Ōi, Kisei and Eiō titles. Toyoshima, together with Akira Inaba, Tetsurō Itodani and Akihiro Murata, is one of four Kansai-based young s ...

in the 40th 3-dan League (October 2006March 2007) with a record of 14 wins and 4 losses. Kanai had a record of three wins and four losses after seven games in the 40th 3-dan League before winning his next eleven games to gain professional status.

Promotion history

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

: 1999 * 4-dan: April 1, 2007 * 5-dan: March 9, 2010 * 6-dan: March 9, 2016

Titles and other championships

Kanai's only appearance to date in a major title match came in 2018 when he was defeated 4 games to none by Taichi Takami in the 3rd

Eiō The is one of the eight major titles of professional shogi cosponsored by Fujiya Co. and the Japan Shogi Association (JSA). The tournament initially started out as a non-title tournament in 2015, but was upgraded to major title status in May 20 ...

title match.

Awards and honors

Kanai received the Japan Shogi Association'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 ...

s "Most Consecutive Games Won" for 2008 and "Special Game of the Year" for 2009.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Kanai, Kota
Japanese shogi players Living people Professional shogi players from Saitama Prefecture People from Ageo, Saitama 1986 births {{Shogi-stub