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 8-

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'Ivo ...

. He is also a non-executive director 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 and apprenticeship

Sugimoto was born on November 13, 1968, in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan. In 1980, he finished third in the 5th and entered the

's apprentice school that same year at the rank 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 the guidance of shogi professional . Sugimoto was promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 1985 before obtaining full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in October 1990 after finishing the 7th 3-dan League (April 1990September 1990) with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses.

Shogi professional

Sugimoto became the 57th professional shogi player to win 600 official games when he defeated

Satoru Sakaguchi is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 6- dan. Shogi professional Promotion history Sakaguchi's promotion history is as follows: * 6-kyū is a Japanese language, Japanese term used in modern martial arts as well as in Japanese te ...

in a preliminary round game of the 72nd Ōshō Tournament on January 28, 2022.

Promotion history

The promotion history for Sugimoto is as follows. * 6-

: August 1980 * 1-dan: February 1985 * 4-dan: October 1, 1990 * 5-dan: December 6, 1995 * 6-dan: July 11, 2000 * 7-dan: February 10, 2006 * 8-dan: February 22, 2019

Awards and honors

Sugimoto received the Japan Shogi Association's "25 Years Service Award" in 2015 in recognition of being an active professional for twenty-five years. He received the Shogi Honor Award in January 2022 for winning 600 games since turning professional.

JSA director

Sugimoto is a member of the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors. He was first elected to a two-year term as a non-executive director at the association's 63rd General Meeting in June 2012. He was elected to the board a second time as a non-executive director in June 2021 and re-elected to an additional two-year term in June 2023.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Sugimoto, Masataka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugimoto, Masataka Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players Living people People from Nagoya Professional shogi players from Aichi Prefecture 1968 births