Mio Watanabe

Mio Watanabe
Native name	渡辺弥生
Born	(1979-09-02) September 2, 1979 (age 45)
Hometown	Minamiuonuma, Niigata Prefecture
Career
Achieved professional status	April 1, 2009(2009-04-01) (aged 29)
Badge Number	W-41
Rank	Women's 2-dan
Teacher	Kazuharu Shoshi (7-dan)
Websites
JSA profile page

Mio Watanabe (渡辺 弥生, Watanabe Mio, born September 2, 1979) is a Japanese women's professional shogi player ranked 2-dan.^[1]

Early life

Watanabe was born in Minneapolis in the United States on September 2, 1979.^[2] Her father was an economist and in the United States for work purposes.^[2] She returned to Minamiuonuma, Niigata Prefecture with her family when she was eight years old.^[2] She attended elementary school, junior high school, and senior high school in Niigata Prefecture before enrolling in Tokyo University.

After graduating from Tokyo University in 2002, Watanabe decided to continue her education and was accepted into the university's College of Arts and Sciences.^[2] Although her initial goal was to become a mathematician or mathematical economist, she found that there were many others more gifted than herself in those fields and eventually stopped attending class.^[2] Although Watanabe knew the rules of shogi, she did not start becoming very interested in the game until she had re-enrolled in Tokyo University. She spent lots of time solving tsume shogi problems online and joined the university's shogi club.^[2] Uncertain about her future after deciding to leave college after completing her second year in 2005,^[2] her parents suggested focusing on shogi and she entered the Japan Shogi Association's Women's Professional Apprentice League in 2006 under the guidance of shogi professional Kazuharu Shoshi.^[2] She obtained women's professional status in April 2009.^[2]

Women's shogi professional

Promotion history

Watanabe's promotion history is as follows:^[3]

• 2-kyū: April 1, 2009
• 1-kyū: March 3, 2011
• 1-dan: August 2, 2013
• 2-dan: March 20, 2023

Note: All ranks are women's professional ranks.

Personal life

Watanabe graduated from the Tokyo University's Faculty of Economics [ja] in 2002. She is the first graduate of the university to become a women's professional shogi player.^[2]

References

1. "Joryū Kishi Dētabēsu: Watanabe Mio" 女流棋士データベース: 渡辺弥生 [Women's Professional Shogi Player Database: Mio Watanabe] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
2. "Manabitsuzuketa Todaisotsu Joryūkishi ga Jukensei ni Okuru, Watanabe Mio-ryū ｢Juken Jōseki｣" 学び続けた東大卒女流棋士が受験生に送る, 渡辺弥生流 ｢受験定跡｣ [Women's shogi professional and Tokyo University graduate Mio Watanabe offers students advice on taking university entrance exams with "Mio-style testing taking strategy"]. Sports Hochi (in Japanese). November 3, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
3. "Joryū Kishi Dētabēsu: Watanabe Mio Shōdan Rireki" 女流棋士データベース: 渡辺弥生 昇段履歴 [Women's Professional Shogi Player Database: Mio Watanabe Promotion History] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved March 23, 2023.

External links

• ShogiHub: Watanabe, Mio
• Watanabe, Mio (July 17, 2019). "Nani wo Yattemo Machigai dewa Nai Tōdaisotsu Joryūkishi･Watanabe Mio Intabyū" 何をやっても間違いではない 東大卒女流棋士･渡辺弥生さんインタビュー [Interview with Tokyo University alumnus and women's professional shogi player Mio Watanabe: Regardless of what you try, it's not a mistake]. Tōdai Shimbun Online (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Hiroshi Obara. Interview originally published in April 2018 in Tokyo University's new student memorial album "Freshbook 2018"; photos by Ayako Hori.