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 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'Ivoir ...

Early life

Yasuhiro Masuda was born on November 4, 1997 in

Akishima, Tokyo is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 113,542, and a population density of 6500 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Akishima is located on the left ...

. He learned shogi when he was about five years old after his mother brought home a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

box which included a shogi set. Masuda won the upper-grade section of the as an elementary school fourth-grade student in 2007, and the following year finished tied for third place in the . In September 2008, Masuda entered 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 Chin ...

under the guidance of shogi professional

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. Habu ...

. He was promoted to the rank of 3-dan in April 2012, and obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in October 2014 while a second-year high school student after finishing tied for first in the 55th 3-dan League with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses.

Shogi professional

In October 2016, Masuda won his first professional shogi tournament when he defeated

Naohiro Ishida is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 5-dan. Early life and education Ishida was born in Nayoro, Hokkaido on December 5, 1988. He learned how to play shogi at school with friends, and entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice ...

2 games to none to win the 47th title. He repeated the feat the following year when he defeated

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 ...

2 games to none to win the 48th Shinjin-Ō, thus becoming the first repeat winner since

Takeshi Fujii is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a former Ryūō title holder, and a former non-executive director of the Japan Shogi Association. Fujii is known for developing the Fujii System, a class of strategies for Fourth Fil ...

in 1997. Masuda also advanced to the championship match of the 50th Shinjin-Ō tournament in October 2019 against Satoshi Takano and his attempt to become just the second three-time winner of the tournament started promising by winning Game 1; Takano, however, came back to win the next two games and the match. On June 26, 2017, Masuda lost to

Sōta Fujii is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is the current holder of the Eiō, Kisei, Ōi, Ōshō and Ryūō titles. He is the youngest person to be awarded professional status by the Japan Shogi Association and one of only five ...

in Ryūō ranking class game which was streamed live online and had received much pre-game press coverage both within Japan and internationally because a Fujii victory would allow him to set a new professional shogi record of 29 consecutive wins.

Promotion history

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

: September 2008 * 3-dan: April 2012 * 4-dan: October 1, 2014 * 5-dan: January 12, 2018 * 6-dan: May 22, 2018 * 7-dan: February 8, 2023

Titles and other championships

Masuda has yet to appear in a major title match, but he is a two-time winner of the tournament.

Notes

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Masuda, Yasuhiro
*Shogi Fan:
Masuda wins Shinjin Tournament

Masuda wins again the Shinjin tournament
Japanese shogi players Living people Professional shogi players Professional shogi players from Tokyo Metropolis 1997 births People from Akishima, Tokyo Shinjin-Ō {{Shogi-stub