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 playe ...

ranked 9- dan. He is a former major title holder, having won the Ōi, Kisei, Kiō and Ōshō titles throughout his career.

Early life and apprenticeship

Gōda was born on March 17, 1971, in

Suginami is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Suginami City in English. As of June 1, 2022, Suginami has an estimated population of 588,354 and a population density of 17,274 pe ...

, Tokyo. He learned how to play shogi from his father when he was three years old. In December 1982, he 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 language, Japanese term used in modern martial arts as well as in Japanese tea ceremony, tea ceremony, ikebana, flower arranging, Go (game), Go, shogi, academic tests and other similar activities to designate various grades, leve ...

under guidance of shogi professional . He was promoted to the rank of apprentice professional 1-dan in May 1985, and obtained professional status and the rank of 4-dan in February 1990.

Shogi professional

Gōda's first appearance in a major title match came in May 1992 when he challenged

Kōji Tanigawa is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9- dan. He is the 17th Lifetime Meijin and also a former president of the Japan Shogi Association (JSA). Early life Kōji Tanigawa was born in Kobe on April 6, 1962. He entered the Japan Shogi Asso ...

for the 60th Kisei title. Although Goda lost the match 3 games to 1, he was at the time only the second 4-dan to be the challenger for a major title. Later in September of that same year, Gōda and Tanigawa met once again in the 33rd Ōi title match, with Gōda winning the match 4 games to 2 to become the first 4-dan to win a major title. In December 1992, Gōda met Tanigawa for the third time in the 61st Kisei title match, with Tanigawa winning by the score of 3 games to 0, with one game ending in

impasse A bargaining impasse () occurs when the two sides negotiating an agreement are unable to reach an agreement and become deadlocked. An impasse is almost invariably mutually harmful, either as a result of direct action which may be taken such as a ...

. Gōda won his next major title in 1998, defeating Nobuyuki Yashiki 3 games to 0 to win the 69th Kisei title. He was unable to retain the title the following year, losing to 3 games to none. In 2001, he regained the Kisei title by narrowly defeating

Yoshiharu Habu is a professional shogi player and a chess FIDE Master. He is a former holder of the Ryūō, Meijin, Ōi, Ōza, Kiō, Ōshō and Kisei major titles. He was the first person to simultaneously hold seven major professional shogi titles ...

by 3 games to 2. However, the following year he was again unable to defend his title, losing to Yasumitsu Satō by the same score of 3 games to 2. In 2011, Gōda won the 37th Kiō title by defeating Toshiaki Kubo 3 games to 1. He was unable to successfully defend his Kiō title the next year, losing to Akira Watanabe 3 games to 1. In 2014, Gōda won the 64th Ōshō title by defeating 4 games to 3. At 44 years old, he became the oldest first-time winner of the Ōshō title. The following year, 23 years after winning his first major title, he completed his first successful major title defense by defeating 4 games to 2. However, in 2016, Gōda was defeated by 4 games to 2 and lost his Ōshō title. On October 3, 2007, Gōda defeated to become the 36th shogi professional to win 600 official games, and on October 17, 2015, he defeated Masayuki Toyoshima to become the 18th shogi professional to win 800 official games.

Promotion history

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

: 1982 * 1-dan: 1985 * 4-dan: April 1, 1990 * 5-dan: October 1, 1992 * 6-dan: November 20, 1995 * 7-dan: April 1, 1998 * 8-dan: April 1, 1999 * 9-dan: August 6, 2001

Titles and other championships

Gōda has appeared in major title matches a total of eighteen times, and has won six major titles. In addition to major titles, Gōda has won seven other shogi championships during his career.

Major titles

Other championships

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

Awards and honors

Gōda 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

*20th Annual Awards (April 1992March 1993): Best New Player, Distinguished Service Award *22nd Annual Awards (April 1994March 1995): Most Games Won, Most Games Played, Distinguished Service Award *23rd Annual Awards (April 1995March 1996): Distinguished Service Award *25th Annual Awards (April 1997March 1998): Best Winning Percentage, Most Games Won, Most Games Played, Fighting-spirit Award *26th Annual Awards (April 1998March 1999): Fighting-spirit Award *29th Annual Awards (April 2001March 2002): Distinguished Service Award *39th Annual Awards (April 2011March 2012): Fighting-spirit Award *41st Annual Awards (April 2013March 2014): Fighting-spirit Award *42nd Annual Awards (April 2014March 2015): Fighting-spirit Award

Other awards

*2007: Shogi Honor Award (Awarded by the JSA in recognition of winning 600 official games as a professional) *2015: 25 Years Service Award (Awarded by the JSA in recognition of being an active professional for twenty-five years), Shogi Honor Fighting-spirit Award (Awarded by JSA in recognition of winning 800 official games as a professional)

Year-end shogi prize money and game fee ranking

Gōda has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's eighteen times since 1993.

Notes

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Goda, Masataka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goda, Masataka 1971 births Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players Living people Professional shogi players from Tokyo Kisei (shogi) Ōi (shogi) Kiō Ōshō People from Suginami Ginga NHK Cup (shogi)