61st NHK Cup (shogi)

The 61st NHK Cup, or as it is officially known the 61st NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament (第61回NHK杯テレビ将棋トーナメント, dairokujūikkai 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 3, 2011, and ended on March 18, 2012. The 50-player single elimination tournament was won by Yoshiharu Habu. All of the tournament games were shown each Sunday morning 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 139 shogi professionals competed in eighteen preliminary tournaments to qualify for the main tournament. These tournaments were one-day tournaments held at the Tokyo Shogi Kaikan and the Kansai Shogi Kaikan, but were not televised. 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 women's professional seed was determined by a play-in game between Kana Satomi and Tomomi Kai, which was won by Kai.

Brackets from two of the preliminary tournaments are shown below.

7-player preliminary tournament won by Tatsuya Sugai 4d

8-player preliminary tournament won by Takuya Nagase 4d

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. Then, the final byōyomi time control of 30 seconds per move then began.^[1] Sente was determined prior to each game by piece toss.

The 50 players listed below qualified for the main tournament.

No. Player Rank/Title A1 Tadahisa Maruyama 9d A2 Tomomi Kai F3d[a] A3 Akira Shima 9d A4 Takahiro Toyokawa 7d A5 Hiroshi Kobayashi 7d A6 Kazuki Kimura 8d A7 Kōji Tanigawa 9d A8 Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d A9 Keiji Mori [ja] 9d A10 Hiroki Nakata 8d A11 Shūji Muranaka 6d A12 Hiroyuki Miura 8d A13 Masataka Gōda 9d A14 Kōta Kanai 5d A15 Osamu Nakamura 9d A16 Yasumitsu Satō 9d A17 Takuya Nagase 4d A18 Akihito Hirose Ōi A19 Chikara Akutsu 7d A20 Yoshiyuki Kubota 6d A21 Kōhei Funae 4d A22 Yasuaki Murayama 5d A23 Daisuke Katagami 6d A24 Makoto Tobe 6d A25 Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup

No. Player Rank/Title B1 Akira Watanabe Ryūō B2 Amahiko Satō 6d B3 Masayuki Toyoshima 6d B4 Kōzō Arimori 7d B5 Kenjirō Abe 5d B6 Michio Takahashi 9d B7 Takeshi Fujii 9d B8 Akio Ishikawa 7d B9 Kōichi Fukaura 9d B10 Hisashi Namekata 9d B11 Tatsuya Sugai 4d B12 Keita Inoue 9d B13 Toshiaki Kubo 2 crown [b] B14 Yūsuke Tōyama 5d B15 Daisuke Suzuki 8d B16 Takayuki Yamasaki 7d B17 Mitsunori Makino 4d B18 Toshiyuki Moriuchi 9d B19 Masataka Sugimoto 7d B20 Yūsuke Ina 6d B21 Taichi Nakamura 5d B22 Ayumu Matsuo 7d B23 Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d B24 Tadao Kitajima 6d B25 Tetsurō Itodani 5d

Notes:

• "No." represents the bracket position of the player in their respective block and "Rank/Title" represents the rank or title(s) held by the player when the original bracket was finalized. A dan/kyū grading system is used for ranking players.
• Players whose names are in bold were seeded directly into the main tournament and are as follows:^[c]

1. 60th NHK Cup (four players): Habu (champion), Itodani (runner-up), Maruyama (semifinalist) and Watanabe (semifinalist).
2. Seven major titleholders (two players): Hirose (Ōi) and Kubo (Ōshō and Kiō)^[d]
3. Class A (seven players): Miura, Takahashi, Moriuchi, Kimura, Tanigawa, Gōda, Fujii
4. Class B1 (thirteen players): Inoue, Y. Satō, Fukaura, Namekata, Matsuo, Yamasaki, Yashiki, Suzuki, Toyokawa, Sugimoto, Hatakeyama, Nakamura, and Nakata
5. Other tournament winners (one player): Abe (Shinjin-Ō)
6. Female professional (one player): Kai
7. Others with outstanding records (four players): Kubota (Class B2), Tobe (Class B2), Murayama (Class C1), and Toyoshima (Class C1)^[e]

Among these 32 seeds, the following 14 were given byes in Round 1 and began play in Round 2: Habu, Itodani, Maruyama, Watanabe, Takahashi, Fujii, Inoue, Kubo, Moriuchi, Hirose, Gōda, Miura, Tanigawa, and Kimura.

• The remaining players qualified by winning preliminary tournaments.

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

61st 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 commentary during the broadcast.^[1] "No. of moves" refers to the total number of moves played in the game.^[f]

Round 1

A total of 18 games were played in round 1. Play began on April 3, 2011, and ended on July 31, 2011. The 18 preliminary tournament winners were paired against 18 seeded players.

No.	Block	Sente	Gote[g]	No. of moves	Date	Guest Analyst
1	B	Taichi Nakamura 5d	Ayumu Matsu 7d	108	April 3, 2011	Manabu Senzaki 8d
2	B	Yūsuke Tōyama 5d	Daisuke Suzuki 8d	85	April 10, 2011	Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d
3	A	Osamu Nakamura 9d	Kōta Kanai 5d	126	April 17, 2011	Takanori Hashimoto 7d
4	B	Masataka Sugimoto 7d	Yūsuke Ina 6d	157	April 24, 2011	Kenji Kobayashi 9d
5	A	Kōhei Funae 4d	Yasuaki Murayama 5d	80	May 1, 2011	Keita Inoue 9d
6	B	Amahiko Satō 6d	Masayuki Toyoshima 6d	102	May 8, 2011	Eiji Iijima 7d
7	A	Hiroki Nakata 8d	Shūji Muranaka 6d	110	May 15, 2011	Akira Shima 9d
8	A	Chikara Akutsu 7d	Yoshiyuki Kubota 6d	97	May 22, 2011	Ayumu Matsuo 7d
9	B	Tadao Kitajima 6d	Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d	115	May 29, 2011	Daisuke Nakagawa 8d
10	A	Takuya Nagase 5d	Yasumitsu Satō 9d	131	June 5, 2011	Daisuke Suzuki 8d
11	B	Kenjirō Abe 5d	Kōzō Arimori 7d	75	June 12, 2011	Takeshi Fujii 9d
12	A	Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d	Keiji Mori 9d	153	June 19, 2011	Yoshikazu Minami 9d
13	B	Kōichi Fukaura 9d	Akio Ishikawa 6d	130	June 26, 2011	Osamu Nakamura 9d
14	B	Hisashi Namekata 8d	Tatsuya Sugai 4d	120	July 3, 2011	Toshiaki Kubo 2 crown
15	A	Takahiro Toyokawa 7d	Hiroshi Kobayashi 7d	96	July 10, 2011	Takashi Abe 8d
16	A	Daisuke Katagami 6d	Makoto Tobe 6d	142	July 17, 2011	Akihito Hirose ōi
17	B	Mitsunori Makino 4d	Takayuki Yamasaki 7d	114	July 24, 2011	Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d
18	A	Akira Shima 9d	Tomomi Kai W3d	75	July 31, 2011	Chikara Akutsu 7d

Round 2

A total of 16 games were played in round 2. Play began on August 7, 2011, and ended on November 27, 2011. The 18 winners from round 1 were joined by the 14 players who had received round 1 byes.

No.	Block	Sente	Gote	No. of moves	Date	Guest Analyst
1	B	Masayuki Toyoshima 6d	Akira Watanabe Ryūō	150	August 7, 2011	Yasumitsu Satō 9d
2	A	Shūji Muranaka 6d	Hiroyuki Miura 8d	102	August 14, 2011	Kazuki Kimura 8d
3	B	Tetsurō Itodani 5d	Tadao Kitajima 6d	126	August 21, 2011	Daisuke Katagami 6d
4	B	Ayumu Matsuo 7d	Masataka Sugimoto 7d	137	August 28, 2011	Masayuki Toyoshima 6d
5	A	Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d	Kōji Tanigawa 9d	115	September 4, 2011	Kunio Naitō 9d
6	B	Tatsuya Sugai 5d	Keita Inoue 9d	111	September 11, 2011	Akira Watanabe Ryūō
7	A	Masataka Gōda 9d	Kōta Kanai 5d	109	September 18, 2011	Taku Morishita 9d
8	B	Kōichi Fukaura 9d	Takeshi Fujii 9d	109	October 2, 2011	Toshiyuki Moriuchi Meijin [h]
9	B	Takayuki Yamasaki 7d	Toshiyuki Moriuchi Meijin	100	October 9, 2011	Kōji Tanigawa
10	A	Hiroshi Kobayashi 7d	Kazuki Kimura 8d	126	October 16, 2011	Takanori Hashimoto 7d
11	B	Toshiaki Kubo 2 crown	Yūsuke Tōyama 5d	69	October 23, 2011	Makoto Tobe 6d
12	A	Tadahisa Maruyama 9d	Akira Shima	115	October 30, 2011	Masataka Gōda 9d
13	A	Takuya Nagase 4d	Akihito Hirose 7d[i]	136	November 6, 2011	Yūsuke Tōyama 5d
14	A	Chikara Akutsu 7d	Yasuaki Murayama 5d	103	November 13, 2011	Hirotaka Nozuki 7d
15	A	Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup	Makoto Tobe 6d	107	November 20, 2011	Manabu Senzaki 8d
16	B	Michio Takahashi 9d	Kenjirō Abe 5d	86	November 27, 2011	Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d

Round 3

Play began on December 4, 2011, and ended on January 29, 2012. Sugai, Kitajima and Akutsu were the only preliminary tournament winners make it as far as round 3. Kubo vs. Moriuchi (round 3, game 4) was the first pairing of major titleholders in the tournament.

No.	Block	Sente	Gote	No. of moves	Date	Guest Analyst
1	B	Ayumu Matsuo 7d	Tadao Kitajima 6d	97	December 4, 2011	Takahiro Toyokawa 7d
2	A	Masataka Gōda 9d	Akihito Hirose 7d	103	December 11, 2011	Daisuke Suzuki 8d
3	A	Tadahisa Maruyama 9d	Kazuki Kimura 8d	104	December 18, 2011	Ayumu Matsuo 7d
4	B	Toshiaki Kubo 2 crown	Toshiyuki Moriuchi Meijin	109	December 25, 2011	Kunio Yonenaga Lifetime Kisei
5	B	Akira Watanabe Ryūō	Kenjirō Abe 5d	63	January 8, 2012	Kazuki Kimura 8d
6	A	Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d	Hiroyuki Miura 8d	67	January 15, 2012	Takayuki Yamasaki 7d
7	A	Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup	Chikara Akutsu 7d	137	January 22, 2012	Taku Morishita 9d
8	B	Kōichi Fukaura 9d	Tatsuya Sugai 5d	148	January 29, 2012	Keita Inoue 9d

Quarterfinals

The eight remaining players were paired off against each other with play beginning on February 5 and ending on February 26, 2012. The last remaining preliminary tournament winner (Sugai) was joined by three major titleholders (Habu, Watanabe, and Kubo), two Class A players (Kimura and Gōda) and two Class B1 players (Hatakeyama and Matsuo). Sugai's feat was even more impressive because he had only become a professional in April 2010, and this was his first time participating in the NHK Cup tournament.

No.	Block	Sente	Gote	No. of moves	Date	Guest Analyst
1	B	Toshiaki Kubo 2 crown	Ayumu Matsuo 7d	101	February 5, 2012	Akihito Hirose 7d
2	A	Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup	Masataka Gōda 9d	99	February 12, 2012	Kōichi Fukaura 9d
3	A	Kazuki Kimura 8d	Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d	114	February 19, 2012	Michio Takahashi 9d
4	B	Akira Watanabe Ryūō	Tatsuya Sugai 5d	93	February 26, 2012	Makoto Tobe 6d

Semifinals

The two remaining players from each block with paired against each other to determine the respective block winners. The 1st semifinal game between Akira Watanabe Ryūō (sente) and Toshiaki Kubo 2 crown (gote) was broadcast on March 4, 2012. Watanabe won the game in 127 moves. The guest analyst was Kōji Tanigawa 9d. The 2nd semifinal game was between Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d (sente) and Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup (gote). The game was broadcast on March 11, 2012, and won by Habu in 108 moves. The guest analyst was Osamu Nakamura 9d.

Finals

After 112 preliminary tournament games and 48 main tournament games involving 172 players, Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup and Akira Watanabe Ryūō met in the final which was broadcast on March 18, 2012. Habu had won the tournament the previous three years (58th NHK Cup – 60th NHK Cup) and was riding a 19 NHK Cup game winning streak; Watanabe, on the other hand, was looking for his first NHK Cup championship to add to the major titles he had already won. A victory over Watanabe would also be Habu's tenth NHK Cup title overall, thus making him the first player to qualify for the title of "Lifetime NHK Cup Champion". The piece toss before the game resulted in Habu being sente and he won the game in 147 moves, thus becoming the 61st NHK Cup Champion、the first player to win the tournament 4 times in a row ^[j] and the first "Lifetime NHK Cup Champion".^[6] The guest analyst for the final match were Toshiyuki Moriuchi Meijin and the hosts were NHK announcer Taiga Sekiguchi [ja] and female professional Rieko Yauchi. A radio broadcast of the final aired on March 20, 2012. The host was NHK announcer Nobuo Murakami and the guest analysts were Kunio Yonenaga Lifetime Kisei, Kōji Tanigawa 9d and Takanori Hashimoto 8d.^[7]

61st NHK Cup Final (147. Gx9c)
Gote: Akira Watanabe Ryūō

☖ pieces in hand: 銀 桂 歩(6)

9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
									1
		角				銀		王	2
金	香	角							3
玉		歩		歩	銀	桂	歩	歩	4
	香				歩			香	5
	金	歩		歩		竜	桂		6
歩			金		歩				7
					銀				8
香	桂								9

☗ pieces in hand: 飛 金 歩(3)

Sente: Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup

The game score and a diagram showing the final position is given below.^[8]
Sente: Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup
Gote: Akira Watanabe Ryūō
Opening: Double Fortress (相矢倉)
1.P-7f, 2. P-8d, 3. S-6h, 4. P-3d, 5. P-6f, 6. S-6b, 7. P-5f, 8. P-5d, 9. S-4h, 10. P-4b, 11. G-5h, 12. G-3b, 13. G-7h, 14. K-4a, 15. K-6i, 16. G-5b, 17. S-7g, 18. S-3c, 19. B-7i, 20. B-3a, 21. P-3f, 22. P-4d, 23 G5h-6g, 24. P-7c, 25. S-3g, 26. B-6d, 27. B-6h, 28. G5b-4c, 29. K-7i, 30. K-3a, 31. K-8h, 32. K-2b, 33. S-4f, 34. S-5c, 35. N-3g, 36. P-9d, 37. P-1f, 38. P-1d, 39. P-2f, 40. B-7c, 41. R-3h, 42. S-2d, 43. L-1h, 44. P-9e, 45. P-6e, 46. P-8e, 47. N-2e, 48. S-4b, 49. P-3e, 50. Sx3e, 51. Sx3e, 52. Px3e, 53. P-1e, 54. S*3g, 55. R-3i, 56. Px1e, 57. P-6d, 58. Bx6d, 59. Lx1e, 60. Lx1e, 61. S*6e, 62. Sx2f+, 63. Sx6d, 64. Px6d, 65. Rx3e, 66. S*2d, 67. N-1c+, 68. Nx1c, 69. P*1d, 70. Sx3e, 71. Bx3e, 72. P*1b, 73. Px1c+, 74. Px1c, 75. B*7a, 76. +S-2e, 77. B3ex4d, 78. Gx4d, 79. Bx4d+, 80. S-3c, 81. +B-7a, 82. R-4b, 83. P*3d, 84. Sx3d, 85. N*4f, 86. R*3i, 87. S*4h, 88. R-3f+, 89. +Bx8a, 90. P*4e, 91. Nx3d, 92. +Rx3d, 93. +Bx9a, 94. P-8f, 95. +Bx6d, 96. Px8g+, 97. Kx8g, 98. P*8e, 99. K-8h, 100. N*8f, 101. G7h-6h, 102. P-9f, 103. P*3e, 104. +Sx3e, 105. P*3f, 106. +Sx3f, 107. L*3i, 108. N*9e, 109. N*2f 110. +R-3e 111. Sx8f, 112. R-6b, 113. Sx9e, 114. Rx6d, 115. Lx3f, 116. +Rx3f, 117. S*4d, 118. P-1d, 119. N*3d, 120. K-1b, 121. S*3c, 122. L*8f, 123. Sx8f, 124. Px8f, 125. N*2d, 126. Px2d, 127. Sx3b, 128. P-8g+, 129. Kx8g, 130. L*8a, 131. P*8d, 132. Lx8d, 133. P*8e, 134. Rx6g+, 135. Gx6g, 136. Lx8e+, 137. Kx9f, 138. G*8f, 139. K-9e, 140. B*7c, 141. G*8d, 142. P*9d, 143. Kx9d, 144. B*7b, 145. L*8c, 146. P*9c, 147. Gx9c gote resigns (diagram)

The final tournament bracket is shown below.

61st NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament bracket (final)

Other

• Sente won 29 (almost 60%) of the 49 games.
• The average number of moves per main tournament game was 106. The most moves played in a single game was 157 (Rd. 1, Sugimoto 7d vs. Ina 6d) while the fewest moves played was 63 (Rd. 3, Watanabe Ryūō vs. Abe 5d).
• 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^[9] or time forfeits.
• The age breakdown (age at start of the tournament) for the players who qualified was as follows: 10–19 years old, 2 players; 20–29 years old, 15 players; 30–39 years old, 14 players; 40–49 years old, 17 players; 50–59 years old, 1 player; 60 years old or older, 1 player. The oldest player was Keiji Mori 9d (64 years old) and the youngest players were Tatsuya Sugai 4d and Takuya Nagase 4d (both 18 years old).^[k]
• For only the second time in the history of a tournament, a "student" was paired against their "teacher" when Tatsuya Sugai played Keita Inoue in Rd. 2. ^[l] The only other time this had occurred to date was when Daisuke Nakagawa beat his teacher Kunio Yonenaga in quarterfinals of the 45th NHK Cup (1995).

See also

• 62nd NHK Cup (shogi)
• 63rd NHK Cup (shogi)
• 64th NHK Cup (shogi)

Notes

1. "W3d" stands for "Women's professional 3 dan".
2. Kubo held both the Kiō and ōshō when the tournament bracket was finalized.
3. Players overlapping multiple categories are only listed once.
4. The other major titleholders at the end of the previous year were Habu (Meijin, ōza, and Kisei), and Watanabe (Ryūō)
5. Based upon JSA 2010 calendar year rankings in the following three categories: games played, games won, and winning percentage.^[3]
6. Unlike in chess where moves are numbered in pairs, moves in shogi numbered individually so a game that lasts 51 moves means that sente made 26 moves and gote made 25 moves.^{[citation needed]}
7. Gote (後手) refers to "the player who moves second".
8. Moriuchi defeated the reigning Meijin Habu four games to three to become the 69th Meijin in June 2011.^[4]
9. Hirose lost his ōi title to Habu four games to three in September 2011.^[5]
10. No other player has won the tournament more than twice in a row and only two other players besides Habu (Yasumitsu Satō and Yasuharu Oyama) have defended their title and repeated as champion
11. Nagase was born in September 1992, and Sugai was born in April 1992
12. A young amateur player aspiring to become a professional typically asks a more experienced professional to formally become their sponsor (i.e., teacher/mentor) and help them through the process. In some cases, the "student" may even decide to go live with their "teacher" and family.

References

1. "Dai Rokujūikkai NHK Terebi Shōgi Tōnamento" 第61回NHKテレビ将棋トーナメント [61st NHK TV Shogi Tournament] (in Japanese). NHK. Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
2. "Dai Rokujūikkai NHKhaisen Yosen" 第61回NHK杯戦予選 [61st NHK Cup preliminaries] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
3. "Nisenjūnendo Kishi Seiseki･Kiroku" 2010年度棋士成績・記録 [2010 Shogi Year Player Rankings and Records] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
4. Dai Rokujūkyūki Shōgi Meijinsen Nanabanshōbu Zenkiroku—Moriuchi, Meijin'i Dakkan 第69期 将棋名人戦七番勝負全記録—森内, 名人位奪還 [Complete Record of the 69th Shogi Meijin Seven Game Match—Moriuchi Wins Back the Meijin Title] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Asahi Shimbun. August 2011. ISBN 978-4-0210-0198-7.
5. "Dai Gojūniki Ōisen - Habu ga Gyakuten de Dakkan" 第52期王位戦—羽生が逆転で奪還 [52nd Ōi Title Match—Habu Comes From Behind To Reclaim Title]. Hokkaido Shimbun (in Japanese). Sapporo, Japan: The Hokkaido Shimbun Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
6. "羽生善治二冠, 名誉NHK杯に! (Habu Yoshiharu Nikan, Meiyo NHKhai ni!)" [Habu 2 Crown, Lifetime NHK Cup Champion!] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Asscoation. March 19, 2012. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
7. "Rajio NHKhai Shōgi Tōnamento Dai Rokujūikkai Kesshōsen" ラジオNHK杯将棋トーナメント第61回決勝戦 [Radio NHK Cup Shogi Tournament 61st Final] (in Japanese). NHK. March 20, 2012. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
8. "NHK hai Terebi Shōgi Tōnamento Kifu, Nisenjūninen Sangatsu Jūhachinichi Dai Rokujūiikai NHKhai Kesshō" NHK杯テレビ将棋トーナメント棋譜, 2012年3月18日第61回NHK杯決勝 [NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament game score, 61st NHK Cup Final (March 18, 2012)] (in Japanese). NHK. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
9. "5. Hansoku ni tsuite" 5.反則について [5. Rules violations] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2018.