Tatsuya Sugai (菅井 竜也, Sugai Tatsuya, born April 17, 1992) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan. He is a former holder of the Ōi title.
Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship
Tatsuya Suga was born on April 17, 1992, in Mitsu, Okayama.[1] He learned how to play shogi from his father when he was about 5 years old.[2] He entered into the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū as a student of shogi professional Keita Inoue in September 2004 and obtained professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 2010 after winning the 46th 3-dan League (October 2009 – March 2010) with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses.[2][3]
Sugai's first appearance in a major title match came in 2017 when he defeated Yoshiharu Habu to win the 58th Ōi title.[6] The following year, however, he was unable to successfully defend his title against Masayuki Toyoshima, losing the 59th Ōi title match 4 games to 3.[7]
In March 2023, Sugai defeated Takuya Nagase in the finals of the 8th Eiō challenger tournament to advance to the 8th Eiō title match (April 2023 – May 2023) against reigning Eiō Sōta Fujii.[10] Although Sugai was able to win Game 2 of the match to even the match at one game apiece, Fujii won the next two games to win match 3 games to 1. The final game of the match, however, included two sennichite games, which meant it took three games that day to reach a conclusive result.[11]
Later in 2023, Sugai won the 73rd Ōshō League (September – November 2024) with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss in his first season of league play. Sugai's win meant he earned the right to challenge Fujii once again, this time for the 73rd Ōshō title.[12] His good form, however, did not continue and he lost the 73rd Ōshō title match (January – February 2024) 4 games to none.[13]
Sugai has appeared in four major title matches to date and has won one title.[15] He has also won four non-title shogi championships during his career.[16]
Awards and honors
Sugai has received the following Japan Shogi Association Annual Shogi Awards: "Best New Player" (2011), "Best Winning Percentage" (2014), "Most Games Won" (2014), “Kōzō Masuda Award” (2014), and "Fighting-spirit" (2021).[17]
Year-end prize money and game fee ranking
Sugai has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's year-end prize money and game fee rankings [ja] five times: 7th with JPY 23,630,000 in earnings in 2017;[18] 9th with JPY 21,930,000 in earnings in 2018;[19] 10th with JPY 16,740,000 in earnings in 2021;[20][21] and 7th with JPY 19,700,000 in earnings in 2022.[22][23] and 7th with JPY 19,590,000 in earnings in 2023.[24]
Notes
^The game was actually played in October 2021, but the final result was not made public until the game was broadcast on the Igo Shogi Channel on December 23, 2021.[9]
