Japanese shogi sensation Sota Fujii was defeated by his challenger for his Eio title on Thursday, losing one of the eight major titles for the first time since securing the full set last October.
Fujii, 21, surrendered the Eio title in his 23rd title match in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture. The challenger, Takumi Ito, 21, won his first crown with three wins and two losses.
In 2020, Fujii became the youngest shogi player to win a major title by claiming the Kisei title at the ages of 17 and 11. He later dominated all eight major titles – Ryuo, Meijin, Oi, Eio, Oza, Kio, Osho and Kisei – in almost three years.
Fujii said Thursday’s result was inevitable because he made many mistakes in the endgames.
Referring to his first title loss, Fujii said he thought it was only a matter of time so he would give his best without worrying too much.
Ito made his debut as a professional shogi player in 2020, four years later than Fujii. Looking back on the five matches with Fujii, Ito said he was lucky as there were many difficult matches overall. “I’m happy to have a result,” he said.
