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 9-

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 ...

. He is a

Lifetime Meijin is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word ''meijin'' (名 ''mei'' "excellent, artful", 人 ''jin'' "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field (t ...

who won the title eight times, and also a former

Ryūō Ryūō (also Ryu-O, Ryu-oh, Ryuuou; in Japanese 龍王, 竜王, lit. "Dragon King") is an annual Japanese professional shogi tournament and the title of its winner. The current Ryūō title holder is Sōta Fujii. The Ryūō Tournament (''Ryūō-s ...

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� ...

and Ōshō title holder. He is also a former

senior managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of 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 ...

Early life

Moriuchi was born on October 10, 1970, in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

. His

grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic ...

was shogi professional , who died about ten years before Moriuchi was born. When Moriuchi was young and would visit his grandmother's house, she would show him old issues of '' Shogi World'' that she had kept, and this is when Moriuchi first became interested in shogi. Moriuchi started playing in shogi tournaments as an elementary school student and it was there that his rivalry with

Yoshiharu Habu is a professional shogi player and a chess FIDE Master. His master is Tatsuya Futakami. He is the only person to simultaneously hold seven major professional shogi titles at the same time and is also the only person to qualify as a lifetime tit ...

began. Habu lived in neighboring

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and was the same age, so the two often participated in the same tournaments. Moriuchi even went to watch Habu win a tournament whose entry was limited to Tokyo residents only. The following year, Moriuchi defeated Habu in the finals of the same tournament after it had been changed to an open tournament allowing anyone to participate. In 1982, Moriuchi finished tied for third in the 7th . Both Moriuchi and Habu advanced to the semi-finals held in Tokyo which were broadcast on television. Moriuchi, however, lost his semi-final game, whereas Habu won his and then subsequently the final to become the "7th Elementary School Shōgi Meijin". That same year, Moriuchi entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school with 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 ...

as a

protegee Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

of shogi professional . He was awarded professional status and the rank of 4-dan in May 1987.

Shogi professional

In 1987, Moriuchi won his first professional shogi tournament when he defeated 2 games to none to win the 18th , but was unable to repeat as champion the following year when he lost the 19th Shinjin-Ō to Habu 2 games to none in the first match between the two as professionals. Moriuchi would, however, win the tournament again in 1991 (against

Taku Morishita is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a former director of the Japanese Shogi Association, and is currently serving as an executive director. He was the challenger for the Meijin title in 1995 against Yoshiharu Habu. H ...

, 20) and 1993 (against

Yasumitsu Satō is a Japanese professional shogi player from Yawata City in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. He is currently the president of the Japan Shogi Association. He became a professional in 1987 and is ranked 9-dan. He has won 13 major titles, is a former M ...

, 21). In 1988, Moriuchi defeated then

Meijin is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word ''meijin'' (名 ''mei'' "excellent, artful", 人 ''jin'' "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field (t ...

Koji Tanigawa Koji, Kōji, Kohji or Kouji may refer to: *Kōji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Kōji (Heian period) (康治), Japanese era, 1142–1144 *Kōji (Muromachi period) (弘治), Japanese era, 1555–1558 *Koji orange, a Japanese citrus ...

2 games to 1 to win the 7th . The victory was a much discussed through the year in professional shogi circles because Moriuch ranked 4-dan at the time had defeated the reigning Meijin in a match. Tanigawa would get his chance for revenge against Moriuchi in 19th All Nihon Pro Tournament final in 2000, but was defeated 3 games to 2. Moriuchi's first appearance in a major title match was the 54th Meijin Match in June 1996. Moriuchi was promoted to the Class A League for the first time in 1995 and went on to win the league in his first season with a 72 record to advance to the title match against Habu. Although both players were the same age and had been rivals since elementary school, Habu was much more establish as a professional and was also a 7-crown title holder (i.e., simultaneously held all seven major titles) at the time. Moriuchi ended up losing the matchi 41. Moriuchi became the fifteenth shogi professional to win 800 official games when he defeated

in Game 2 of 69th Meijin title match on April 21, 2011. In March 2017, Moriuchi voluntarily declared himself as a '' free class'' player, thus leaving the Meijin tournament league.

Playing style

Moriuchi is considered an all-around player proficient at both Static Rook and Ranging Rook strategies. Although he's widely known as defensively strong player, his style often called "iron-clad" or "steel defense"; in the opinion of shogi professionals

Hirotaka Nozuki Hirotaka Nozuki (野月浩貴 ''Nozuki '' 'Nodzuki Hirotaka,'' born July 4, 1973) is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8-dan. Early life Hirotaka Nozuki was born in Kita-ku, Sapporo on July 4, 1973. He won the 10th tournament ...

and

Akihito Hirose is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8- dan. He is a former :Ryūō and Ōi title holder, and is also the first shogi professional to win a major title while attending university. Early life and education Hirose was born in Kōtō ...

, however, his most characteristic trait is his ability to switch from defense to attack. His so-called "strong" style is often contrasted with the "gentle" one of

. Moriuchi is also well known for the Moriuchi

Fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

variation which is characterized by pushing the pawn at the ninth file with P. 9d instead of the traditional P-8e, followed then by a knight jump to 9-c and then 8e.

Promotion history

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

: 1982 * 1-dan: 1985 * 4-dan: May 13, 1987 * 5-dan: June 2, 1990 * 6-dan: April 1, 1992 * 7-dan: April 1, 1994 * 8-dan: April 1, 1995 * 9-dan: May 17, 2002

Titles and other championships

Moriuchi has appeared in major title matches a total of 25 times. He has won the

title eight times, thus qualifying for the

title. He has also won the

title twice, and the

and the Ōshō titles once each. In addition to major titles, Moriuchi has won thirteen other shogi championships during his career.

Major titles

Other championships

Note: Tournaments marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer held.

Year-end shogi prize money and game fee ranking

Moriuchi has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's twenty-one times since 1993, and in the "Top 3" nine of those times. *Note: All amounts are given in

Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...

and include prize money and fees earned from official tournaments and games held from January 1 to December 31.

Awards and honors

Moriuchi has received a number of awards and honors throughout his career for his accomplishments both on an off the shogi board. These include awards given out annually by the JSA for performance in official games as well as other JSA awards for career accomplishments, and awards received from governmental organizations, etc. for contributions made to Japanese society.

Annual Shogi Awards

*16th Annual Awards (April 1988March 1989): Best New Player *19th Annual Awards (April 1991March 1992): Best Winning Percentage, Most Games Won, Most Games Played, Distinguished Service Award *21st Annual Awards (April 1993March 1994): Technique Award *24th Annual Awards (April 1996March 1997): Technique Award *29th Annual Awards (April 2001March 2002): Fighting-spirit Award *30th Annual Awards (April 2002March 2003): Technique Award *31st Annual Awards (April 2003March 2004): Player of the Year, Most Games Won, Most Games Played *33rd Annual Awards (April 2005March 2006): Excellent Player *38th Annual Awards (April 2010March 2011): Game of the Year Special Prize *41st Annual Awards (April 2013March 2014): Player of the Year

Other awards

*2004: Shogi Honor Award (Awarded by the JSA in recognition of winning 600 official games as a professional) *2011: Shogi Honor Fighting-spirit Award (Awarded by JSA in recognition of winning 800 official games as a professional) *2012: 25 Years Service Award (Awarded by the JSA in recognition of being an active professional for twenty-five years) *2017:

Medal with Purple Ribbon are medals awarded by the Government of Japan. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and we ...

: (Awarded by the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

to individuals who have done meritorious deeds or have achieved excellence in their profession)

JSA director

Moriuchi was selected to be the

of the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors for a two-year term at the association's 68th General Meeting on May 29, 2017. In April 2019, he announced that he would not seek re-election when his term expired in June 2019.

Other board games

Moriuchi also plays chess and backgammon. He been playing in chess tournaments since 1998, and his chess

Elo score The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The Elo system was invented as an improved ch ...

is 2310 (

FIDE Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating an ...

level) . In August 2014, he tied for fourth in the 39th Backgammon World Championship held in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...