Youngest Pro Shogi Player Fujii Sets Record Streak at 29 Wins

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)--Sota Fujii, the youngest professional shogi player, set an unprecedented record on Monday, marking the 29th official straight win since his debut in December last year. Fujii, the 14-year-old shogi sensation holding the rank of fourth dan, rewrote a record winning streak for the first time in 30 years by defeating fourth-dan Yasuhiro Masuda, 19, the only other teenage pro player, in the first round of the Ryuo tournament. The match started at a Shogi center in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward at 10 a.m. (one a.m. GMT), swamped with media reporters hoping to witness the historic moment. Fujii survived the seesaw game with Masuda, the 2016 rookie champion, which lasted more than 10 hours including a lunch break. "It's a special pleasure for me to become the sole record holder," Fujii told a press conference. "I was very surprised, too," he said, adding he want to be a player who can vie for championships. Fujii became a professional shogi player in October last year at the age of 14 years and two months, rewriting the youngest player record for the first time in 62 years. On Wednesday, the junior high school third grader in Seto, Aichi Prefecture, matched the then record 28th winning streak marked by 56-year-old eighth-dan Hiroshi Kamiya in 1987, after defeating several veteran players, including ninth-dan Hifumi Kato in the debut game. Fujii is set to meet with fifth-dan Yuki Sasaki, 22, on Sunday in the second round of the Ryuo tournament, for the 30th straight win. END