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. He is a former Ōza title holder.

Early life and apprentice professional

Shintarō Saitō was born on April 21, 1993, in

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

. He learned how to play the game from reading books written by

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 ...

, and as a third-grade elementary school student played his future mentor shogi professional Mamoru Hatakeyama for the first time in an instructional game. As a fourth-grade student, Saitō personally wrote Hatakeyama asking for formal instruction, and formally 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 ...

in September 2004 under the latter's guidance. Saitō steadily progressed as an apprentice professional, reaching 1-dan in November 2006 and entering the 43rd 3-dan League in April 2008; his progress, however, slowed and it took him eight seasons of 3-dan League play before he was able to obtain professional status and the rank of 4-dan by winning the 50th 3-dan League with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses in March 2012.

Shogi professional

Saitō first appearance in a major title match came in June 2017 when he challenged

for 88th Kisei title. Saitō had defeated

Tetsurō Itodani is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8- dan and former Ryūō title holder. Early life and apprentice professional Itodani was born in Hiroshima, Japan on October 5, 1988. He learned how to play shogi when he was five years old and h ...

the previous April to earn the right to face Habu, but ended up losing the title match 3 games to 1. In July 2018, Saitō defeated Akira Watanabe to become the challenger for the 66th Ōza title against Taichi Nakamura. The title match against Nakamura took place from September 4 to October 30, 2018. Saitō won the first two games to take the lead, but Nakamura won the next two games to tie the match. Saitō then won Game 5 to win his first major title. Saito's first defense of his Ōza title the following year, however, was unsuccessful, losing the 67th Ōza title match to challenger

Takuya Nagase is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-Dan (rank)#Modern usage in shogi, dan. He is a former holder of the Eiō and Ōza (shogi), Ōza titles. Early life and apprentice shogi professional Nagase was born in Yokohama on September 5, 199 ...

3 games to none in October 2019. In AprilJune 2021, Saitō challenged for the latter's Meijin title, but lost the 79th Meijin title match 4 games to 1. In AprilMay 2022, Saitō challenged again for the Meijin title, but lost the 80th Meijin title match by the same score of 4 games to 1. Saito challenged Takumi Itō for the

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 2 ...

title in the 10th Eiō title match (AprilJune 2025), but lost the match 3 games to 2. The win not aonly gave Itō his second major title overall but also qualified him for promotion to 8-dan.

Promotion history

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

: 2004 * 3-dan: April 2008 * 4-dan: April 1, 2012 * 5-dan: March 5, 2013 * 6-dan: April 23, 2015 * 7-dan: March 8, 2017 * 8-dan: February 13, 2020

Titles and other championships

Saitō has appeared in six major title matches to date, and has won one major title.

Awards and honors

Saitō received the Japan Shogi Association

Annual Shogi Awards 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 ...

for "Best New Player" and "Best Winning Percentage" in 2015, and "Best Winning Percentage" award in 2016.

Year-end prize money and game fee ranking

Saitō has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's four times since turning professional: eighth in 2018 with JPY 23,930,000 in earnings; tenth in 2019 with JPY 18,680,000 in earnings; sixth in 2021 with JPY 25,670,000 in earnings; and fifth in 2022 with JPY 23,620,000 in earnings.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Saito, Shintaro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saito, Shintaro 1993 births Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players Living people Shogi players from Nara Prefecture Ōza (shogi) People from Nara, Nara