Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Shogi star Fujii holds all 8 major titles
Shogi, also known as Japanese chess, is a traditional and popular board
game in Japan. Just like chess, the objective of Shogi is to checkmate the
opponent’s king. But unlike chess, whose pieces are distinctly divided by black
and white, Shogi pieces are all in the same color. This allows the use of
captured pieces, which can be returned to the board as the capture’s piece, and
makes the game more complex and challenging. There are eight major titles in the
Japan Shogi Association. On October 11th, a 21-year-old professional
shogi player Sota Fujii won the last title of the eight titles that he hadn’t
possessed and became the first ever shogi player who owns all the eight titles.
Ever since his debut as a professional Shogi player at the age of 14, he has broken
all kinds of records in Shogi history, being the youngest to win this and that,
including the youngest and fastest player to win 50 and 100 official games, and
won his first major title, Kisei, in July 2020 when he was only 17. Since then,
he had won six other major titles in the next three years while defending the
already-won titles successfully before winning the last title this month. Shogi
is no exception from AI influence and Fujii is one of those who use AI for
practice. But in the meantime, Shogi is so complex and human-oriented that AI
predictions during the game are often reversed by human players. Indeed, Fuji
has shown what humans can use and exceed AI.
Enjoy reading the article about Japan’s unprecedented Shogi champion.
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