63rd NHK Cup (shogi)

The 63rd NHK Cup, or as it is officially known the 63rd NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament (第63回NHK杯テレビ将棋トーナメント, dairokujūsankai enueichikeihai terebi shōgi tōnamento) was a professional shogi tournament organized by the Japan Shogi Association and sponsored by Japan's public broadcaster |NHK. Play began on April 7, 2013, and ended on March 23, 2014. The 50-player single elimination tournament was won by Masataka Gōda. All of the tournament games were shown on NHK-E. The host (司会者, shikaisha) during the NHK-E broadcasts was female professional Rieko Yauchi.[1]

Participants

Preliminary tournaments

A total of 130 professional shogi players competed in 18 preliminary tournaments to qualify for the main tournament. These tournaments were non-televised one-day tournaments held at the Tokyo Shogi Kaikan and the Kansai Shogi Kaikan. Each tournament consisted of seven or eight players. The initial time control for each player was 20 minutes followed by a 30-second byōyomi.[2]

The female professional seed was Hatsumi Ueda. Brackets from two of the preliminary tournaments are shown below.

7-player preliminary tournament won by Taichi Takami 4d
8-player preliminary tournament won by Kōta Kanai 5d

Main tournament

The first time control for main tournament games was ten minutes per player. Once this was used up, a second time control of 10 one-minute periods of "thinking time" (考慮時間, kōryō jikan) began. Each player was given 30 seconds to make their move. If they did so, then no thinking time periods were used. If, however, they did not, a thinking time period began and they then had up to one minute (more specifically 59 seconds) to make a move before entering the next thinking time period. This process was repeated until a player had used all ten thinking time periods when the final byōyomi time control of 30 seconds per move began.[3] Sente was determined prior to each game by piece toss.

The 50 players listed below qualified for the main tournament.

No.NameRank/Title
A1Akira WatanabeNHK Cup
A2Shōji Segawa5d
A3Akihito Hirose7d
A4Yasuaki Murayama6d
A5Kōru Abe4d
A6Amahiko Satō7d
A7Takayuki Yamasaki7d
A8Yasumitsu Satōōshō
A9Tomohiro Murata6d
A10Masayuki Toyoshima7d
A11Kazuhiro Nishikawa4d
A12Hatsumi UedaW3d[lower-alpha 1]
A13Kōji Tanigawa9d
A14Kōichi Fukaura9d
A15Kōhei Funae5d
A16Tetsurō Itodani6d
A17Daisuke Nakagawa8d
A18Ayumu Matsuo7d
A19Toshiyuki MoriuchiMeijin
A20Michio Takahashi9d
A21Taichi Nakamura6d
A22Hirotaka Nozuki7d
A23Kōji Horiguchi7d
A24Takuya Nagase5d
A25Masataka GōdaKiō
No.NameRank/Title
B1Yoshiharu Habu3 crown[lower-alpha 2]
B2Kensuke Kitahama7d
B3Kazuki Kimura8d
B4Masahiko Urano8d
B5Tadashi Ōishi4d
B6Hisashi Namekata8d
B7Manabu Senzaki8d
B8 Nobuyuki Yashiki9d
B9Mamoru Hatakeyama7d
B10Keiji Mori9d
B11Hiroki Nakata8d
B12Yūki Sasaki4d
B13Takanori Hashimoto8d
B14Tadahisa Maruyama9d
B15Taichi Takami4d
B16Eiji Iijima7d
B17Keita Inoue9d
B18Kōta Kanai5d
B19Toshiaki Kubo9d
B20Hiroyuki Miura8d
B21Chikara Akutsu7d
B22Isao Nakata7d
B23Hiroki Iizuka7d
B24Issei Takazaki6d
B25Daisuke Suzuki8d

Notes:

  • "No." represents the bracket position of the player in their respective block and "Rank/Title" represents the rank or titles held by the player when the original bracket finalized. A dan/kyū (段級, dankyū) grading system is used for ranking players.
  • Players whose names are in bold were seeded directly into the main tournament as follows:[lower-alpha 3]
  1. 62nd NHK Cup (four players): Watanabe (champion), Habu (runner-up), Suzuki (semifinalist) and Gōda (semifinalist).
  2. Seven major titleholders (two players): Moriuchi (Meijin) and Satō (ōshō)[lower-alpha 4]
  3. Class A (six players): Miura, Tanigawa, Yashiki, Takahashi, Hashimoto and Fukaura
  4. Class B1 (twelve players): Maruyama, Kubo, Akutsu, Kimura, Namekata, Yamasaki, Inoue, Matsuo, Nakata, Hatakeyama, Hirose and Iizuka
  5. Other tournament winners (one player): Nagase (Shinjin-Ō)
  6. Women's professional (one player): Ueda Women's 3 dan (Mynavi Women's Shogi Open Champion)
  7. Others with outstanding records (six players): Iijima (Class B2), Toyoshima (Class B2), Murayama (Class C1), Itodani (Class C1), Nakamura (Class C1), Ōishi (Class C2)[lower-alpha 5]
Among these 32 seeds, the following 14 were given byes in round 1 and began play in round 2: Watanabe, Habu, Suzuki, Gōda, Moriuchi, Satō, Miura, Tanigawa, Yashiki, Takahashi, Hashimoto, Fukaura, Maruyama, and Kubo.
  • The remaining players qualified by winning preliminary tournaments.

The bracket at the start of the tournament is shown below.

 63rd NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament bracket (start)

Results

Winners are listed in bold. "Date" refers to the date the game was broadcast. Dan and titles are as of the date the game was broadcast. "Guest Analyst" refers to the kishi who provided expert commentary during the broadcast.[1] "No. of moves" refers to the total number of moves played in the game.[lower-alpha 6]

Round 1

A total of 18 games were played in round 1. Play began on April 7, 2013, and ended on August 8, 2013. The 18 preliminary tournament winners were paired against 18 seeded players.

No.BlockSenteGote[lower-alpha 7]No. of movesDateGuest Analyst
1ATaichi Nakamura 6dHirotaka Nozuki 7d165April 7, 2013Chikara Akutsu 7d
2BEiji Iijima 7dTaichi Takami 4d97April 14, 2013Kiyokazu Katsumata 6d
3AKōji Horiguchi 7dTakuya Nagase 5d106April 21, 2013Osamu Nakamura 9d
4BKeiji Mori 9dMamoru Hatakeyama 7d109April 28, 2013Bungo Fukusaki 9d
5BHiroki Nakata 8dYūki Sasaki 4d105May 5, 2013Kazuo Ishida 9d
6ADaisuke Nakagawa 8dAyumu Matsuo 7d184May 12, 2013Takahiro Toyokawa 7d
7BTadashi Ōishi 5dMasahiko Urano 8d113May 19, 2013Isao Nakata 7d
8AAmahiko Satō 7dTakayuki Yamasaki 7d155May 26, 2013Akira Inaba 6d
9BHisashi Namekata 8dManabu Senzaki 8d119June 2, 2013Yoshiharu Habu 3 crown
10BKensuke Kitahama 8dKazuki Kimura 8d150June 9, 2013Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d
11BIsao Nakata 7dChikara Akutsu 7d120June 16, 2013Masahiko Urano 8d
12BKōta Kanai 4dKeita Inoue 9d119June 23, 2013Tadao Kitajima 6d
13AYasuaki Murayama 6dKōru Abe 4d143June 30, 2013Taichi Nakamura 6d
14ATetsurō Itodani 6dKōhei Funae 5d176July 7, 2013Takayuki Yamasaki 7d
15BIssei Takazaki 6dHiroki Iizuka 7d119July 14, 2013Daisuke Nakagawa 8d
16AAkihito Hirose 7dShōji Seigawa 5d151July 21, 2013Eiji Iijima 7d
17ATomohiro Murata 6dMasayuki Toyoshima 7d138July 28, 2013Takashi Abe 8d
18AHatsumi Ueda W3dKazuhiro Nishikawa 4d112August 4, 2013Makoto Tobe 6d

Round 2

A total of 16 games were played in round 2. Play began on August 11, 2013, and ended on November 24, 2013. The 18 winners from round 1 were joined by the 14 players who had received round 1 byes.

No.BlockSenteGoteNo. of movesDateGuest Analyst
1BKeiji Mori 9dNobuyuki Yashiki 9d96August 11, 2013Michio Takahashi 9d
2AToshiyuki Moriuchi MeijinAyumu Matsuo 7d125August 18, 2013Hirotaka Nozuki 7d
3ATaichi Nakamura 6dMichio Takahashi 9d104August 25, 2013Kōichi Fukaura 9d
4BEiji Iijima 7dTadahisa Maruyama 9d88September 1, 2013Akira Watanabe NHK Cup
5AAmahiko Satō 7dYasuaki Murayama 6d120September 8, 2013Kazuki Kimura 8d
6BKōta Kanai 5dToshiaki Kubo 9d117September 15, 2013Takeshi Fujii 9d
7BDaisuke Suzuki 8dIssei Takazaki 6d212September 22, 2013Manabu Senzaki 8d
8AMasayuki Toyoshima 7dYasumitsu Satō 9d103September 29, 2013Kōji Tanigawa 9d
9AAkira Watanabe NHK CupAkihito Hirose 7d98October 6, 2013Amahiko Satō 7d
10BHiroki Nakata 8dTakanori Hashimoto 8d117October 13, 2013Ayumu Matsuo 7d
11AKōji Tanigawa 9dKazuhiro Nishikawa 4d124October 20, 2013Toshiaki Kubo 9d
12BYoshiharu Habu 3 crownKazuki Kimura 8d131October 27, 2013Yasumitsu Satō 9d
13AMasataka Gōda 9dTakuya Nagase 6d105November 3, 2013Taku Morishita 9d
14BHiroyuki Miura 9dChikara Akutsu 7d99November 10, 2013Hisashi Namekata 8d
15BTadashi Ōishi 6dHisashi Namekata 8d77November 17, 2013Kensuke Kitahama 8d
16AKōhei Funae 5dKōichi Fukaura 9d85November 24, 2013Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d

Round 3

Play began on December 1, 2013, and ended on January 26, 2014. Out of the 18 preliminary tournament winners, only the following four made it to round 3: Kanai 5d, Nishikawa 4d, Takazaki 6d and Funae 5d

No.BlockSenteGoteNo. of movesDateGuest Analyst
1BTadahisa Maruyama 9dKōta Kanai 5d149December 1, 2013Masataka Gōda 9d
2AAkihito Hirose 7dYasuaki Murayama 6d124December 8, 2013Daisuke Suzuki 8d
3AMasataka Gōda 9dMichio Takahashi 9d81December 15, 2013Osamu Nakamura 9d
4BYoshiharu Habu 3 crownTadashi Ōishi 6d126December 22, 2013Takayuki Yamasaki 8d
5BHiroyuki Miura 9dIssei Takazaki 6d163January 5, 2014Akihito Hirose 7d
6BNobuyuki Yashiki 9dHiroki Nakata 8d129January 12, 2014Akira Shima 9d
7AToshiyuki Moriuchi 2 crown[lower-alpha 8]Kōhei Funae 5d117January 19, 2014Takashi Abe 8d
8AMasayuki Toyoshima 7dKazuhiro Nishikawa 4d154January 26, 2014Akira Inaba 7d

Quarterfinals

The eight remaining players were paired off against each other with play beginning on February 2 and ending on February 23, 2014. Only one major titleholder, Moriuchi 2 crown, made it as far as the quarterfinals.

No.BlockSenteGoteNo. of movesDateGuest Analyst
1AToshiyuki Moriuchi 2 CrownMasataka Gōda 9d120February 2, 2014Yasumitsu Satō 9d
2BTadahisa Maruyama 9dHiroyuki Miura 9d117February 9, 2014Kazuki Kimura 8d
3AYoshiaki Murayama 6dKazuhiro Nishikawa 4d117February 16, 2014Chikara Akutsu 8d
4BTadashi Ōishi 6dNobuyuki Yashiki 9d102February 23, 2014Masayuki Toyoshima 7d

Semifinals

The two remaining players from each block with paired against each other to determine the respective block winners. The 1st semifinal game between Kazuhiro Nishikawa 4d (sente) and Masataka Gōda 9d (gote) was broadcast on March 2, 2014. Gōda won the game in 128 moves, thus stopping Nishikawa's NHK Cup winning streak at six.[lower-alpha 9] The guest analyst was Kunio Naitō 9d. The 2nd semifinal game was between Tadashi Ōishi 6d (sente) and Tadahisa Maruyama 9d (gote). The game was broadcast on March 9, 2014, and won by Maruyama in 104 moves. The guest analyst was Daisuke Katagami 6d.

Finals

After 112 preliminary tournament games and 48 main tournament games involving 162 players, Tadashisa Maruyama 9d and Masataka Gōda 9d met in the final broadcast on March 23, 2014. This was the second NHK Cup final appearance for both players: Maruyama defeated Akira Watanabe to win the 55th NHK Cup (2005) and Gōda was runner-up to Daisuke Suzuki in the 49th NHK Cup (1999). The piece toss before the game resulted in Maruyama being sente. Gōda won the game in 82 moves, thus winning the tournament for the first time and becoming the 63rd NHK Cup Champion.[6] The guest analysts for the final match were Toshiyuki Moriuchi 2-crown and Keita Inoue 9d and the hosts of the final were NHK announcer Ryō Nagano and women's professional Rieko Yauchi.

63rd NHK Cup Final (82. Sx7g+)
Gote: Masataka Gōda 9d
☖ pieces in hand: Pieces-in-hand: 桂(2)
987654321 
竜   金王 桂香1
  と銀 銀金歩 2
  歩歩歩歩銀 歩3
歩      歩 4
  飛   歩  5
歩  歩 香歩 角6
  全 歩歩  歩7
 玉       8
香   金   香9
☗ pieces in hand: 角 金 桂 歩(2)
Sente: Tadahisa Maruyama 9d

The game score and a diagram showing the final position is given below.[7]
Sente: Tadahisa Maruyama 9d
Gote: Masataka Gōda 9d
Opening: Yokufudori
1. P-2f, 2. P-3d, 3. P-7f, 4. P-8d, 5. P-2e, 6. P-8e, 7. G-7h, 8. G-3b, 9. P-2d, 10. Px2d, 11. Rx2d, 12. P-8f, 13. Px8f, 14. Rx8f, 15. Rx3d, 16. B-3c, 17. K-5h, 18. K-4a, 19. P-3f, 20. G-5a, 21. N-3g, 22. S-6b, 23. S-3h, 24. S-2b, 25. P-9f, 26. P-9d, 27. N-4e, 28. P*3g, 29. Sx3g, 30. Bx8h+, 31. Sx8h, 32. B*5e, 33. B*7g, 34. Rx7f, 35. R-8d, 36. Bx3g+, 37. Rx8a+, 38. R-7e, 39. G-4h, 40. +Bx4h, 41. Kx4h, 42. Rx4e, 43. B*3d, 44. R-7e, 45. K-5h, 46. S-3c, 47. B-1f, 48. N*6e, 49. P*2d, 50. P*2b, 51. +Rx9a, 52. Nx7g+, 53. Sx7g, 54. B*3g, 55. N*3e, 56. P*3d, 57. L*4f, 58. S*4b, 59. P*7b, 60. Px3e, 61. P-6f, 62. N*8e, 63. P-7a+, 64. Nx7g+, 65. Nx7g, 66. S*7f, 67. N*8i, 68. G*5i, 69. K-6h, 70. B-4h+, 71. +P-7b, 72. +B-5h, 73. K-7i, 74. +B-6i, 75. K-8h, 76. +Bx7h, 77. Kx7h, 78. G*6g, 79. K-8h, 80. Gx7g, 81. Nx7g, 82. Sx7g+, sente resigns (diagram)

The final tournament bracket is shown below.

63rd NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament bracket (final)

Other
  • Sente won 27 (a little more than 55%) of the 49 games.
  • The average number of moves for the main tournament games was 122. The most moves played in a single game was 212 (Rd. 2, Suzuki 8d vs. Takazaki 6d) while the fewest moves played was 77 (Rd. 2, Ōishi 6d vs. Namekata 8d).
  • There were no replays resulting from repetition (千日手, sennichite) or impasse (持将棋, jishōgi), and there were no disqualifications due to illegal moves[8] or time forfeits.
  • The age breakdown (age at start of the tournament) for the players who qualified was as follows: 10–19 years old, 3 players; 20–29 years old, 14 players; 30–39 years old, 15 players; 40–49 years old, 15 players; 50–59 years old, 2 players; 60+ years old, 1 player. The oldest player was Keiji Mori 9d (67 years old) and the youngest player was Kōru Abe 4d (18 years old).

See also

Notes
  1. "W3d" stands for "Women's professional 3 dan".
  2. The Japanese character 冠 means "crown" and is commonly used as an honorific suffix attached to the names of multiple major titleholders; Therefore, "3 crown" (三冠, sankan) means that the player currently holds three major titles. Players holding only one major title are commonly referred to by their title. Non major titleholders are referred to by their rank ("dan").
  3. Players overlapping multiple categories are only listed once.
  4. The other major titleholders at the end of the previous year were Habu (ōza, ōi, and Kisei), Watanabe (Ryūō), and Gōda (Kiō).
  5. Based upon JSA 2012 calendar year rankings in the following three categories: games played, games won, and winning percentage.[4]
  6. Unlike in chess where moves are numbered in pairs, moves in shogi are numbered individually. So, a game that lasts 51 moves means that sente made 26 moves and gote made 25 moves.
  7. Gote (後手) refers to "the player who moves second".
  8. Challenger Moriuchi defeated defending champion Watanabe in Game 5 of the 26th Ryūō Tournament on November 29, 2013, to take the Ryūō title and, thus become a "2 crown".[5]
  9. Nishikawa won three games to win his preliminary tournament, and then his first three main tournament games.

References
  1. "Dai Rokujūsankai NHK Terebi Shōgi tōnamento" 第63回NHKテレビ将棋トーナメント [63rd NHK TV Shogi Tournament] (in Japanese). NHK. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  2. "Dai Rokujūsankai NHK Haisen Yosen" 第63回NHK杯戦予選 [63rd NHK Cup preliminaries] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  3. "Taikyoku no Ruru" 対局のルール [Game rules] (in Japanese). NHK. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  4. "Nisenjūninendo Kishi Seiseki･Kiroku" 2012年度棋士成績・記録 [2012 Shogi Year Player Rankings and Records] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  5. "Dai Nijūrokki Ryūōsen" 第26期竜王戦 [26th Ryuo Tournament] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  6. "Gōda Kudan, Hatsu V Shōgi NHKhai" 郷田九段, 初V 将棋NHK杯 [Gōda 9 dan, First-time Champion, Shōgi NHK Cup]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). March 25, 2014. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  7. "NHKhai Terebi Shōgi Tōnamento Kifu, 2014nen 3gatsu 23nichi Dai 63kai NHKhai Kesshō" NHK杯テレビ将棋トーナメント棋譜, 2014年3月23日第63回NHK杯決勝 [NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament game score, 63rd NHK Cup Final (March 23, 2014)] (in Japanese). NHK. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  8. "Hansoku ni Tsuite" 5.反則について [Rules violations] (in Japanese). 日本将棋連盟 [Japan Shogi Association]. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
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