The 62nd NHK Cup, or as it is officially known the was a professional shogi tournament organized by the Japan Shogi Association and sponsored by Japan's public broadcaster NHK. Play began on April 8, 2012, and ended on March 17, 2013. The 50-player single elimination tournament was won by Akira Watanabe. All of the tournament games were shown on NHK-E. The during the NHK-E broadcasts was female professional Rieko Yauchi.
Participants
Preliminary tournaments A total of 127 professional shogi players competed in 18 preliminary tournaments to qualify for the main tournament. These tournaments were non-televised one-day tournaments held at the Tokyo Shogi Kaikan and the Kansai Shogi Kaikan. Each tournament consisted of seven or eight players. The initial time control for each player was 20 minutes followed by a 30-second byōyomi.
The women's professional seed was determined by a single-game playoff between Hatsumi Ueda and Tomomi Kai, which was won by Kai.
Below are the bracket from two of the preliminary tournaments.
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 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. 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 Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup A2 Atsushi Miyata 6d A3 Takanori Hashimoto8d A4 Kensuke Kitahama7d A5 Takayuki Yamasaki7d A6 Shōji Segawa4d A7 Hiroki Nakata8d A8Toshiyuki MoriuchiMeijin A9 Chikara Akutsu7d A10 Shingo Hirafuji7d A11 Osamu Nakamura 9d A12 Kenjirō Abe5d A13 Takeshi Fujii9d A14 Hiroyuki Miura8d A15 Tatsuya Sugai5d A16 Masataka Sugimoto7d A17 Hiroshi Kamiya7d A18 Takuya Nagase4d A19 Kazuki Kimura8d A20 Masataka GōdaKiō A21 Kōru Abe4d A22 Mitsunori Makino4d A23 Yoshikazu Minami9d A24 Hisashi Namekata8d A25 Toshiaki Kubo9d No. Player Rank/Title B1 Akira Watanabe Ryūō B2 Keita Kadokura4d B3 Kōichi Fukaura9d B4 Hiroshi Kobayashi7d B5Taichi Nakamura5d B6 Toshiyuki Nakao5d B7 Ayumu Matsuo7d B8 Tadahisa Maruyama9d B9 Tadashi Ōishi4d B10 Akira Inaba 5d B11 Amahiko Satō6d B12 Kazutoshi Satō 5d B13 Yasumitsu Satōōshō B14 Kōji Tanigawa9d B15 Sakio Chiba6d B16 Daisuke Suzuki8d B17 Akira Shima9d B18 Keita Inoue 9d B19 Michio Takahashi9d B20 Nobuyuki Yashiki9d B21 Tomomi KaiW4d B22 Hirotaka Nozuki7d B23 Shin'ya Satō6d B24 Masayuki Toyoshima6d B25 Mamoru Hatakeyama7d
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 grading system is used for ranking players. Players whose names are in bold were seeded directly into the main tournament and are as follows: 61st NHK Cup (four players): Habu (champion), Watanabe (runner-up), Kubo (semifinalist) and Hatakeyama (semifinalist). Seven major titleholders (two players): Moriuchi (Meijin) and Gōda (Kiō) Class A (six players): Y. Satō, Miura, Tanigawa, Yashiki, Takahashi, and Maruyama Class B1 (twelve players): Kimura, Fujii, Fukaura, Matsuo, Namekata, Yamasaki, Suzuki, Nakata, Inoue, Nakamura, Hashimoto and Akutsu Other tournament winners (two players): A. Satō (Shinjin-Ō) and Sugai (Daiwa Cup) Women's professional (one player): Kai Women's 4 dan (Women's ōi) Others with outstanding records (five players): Toyoshima (Class C1), Nakamura (Class C2), Ōishi (Class C2), Nagase (Class C2) and Makino (Class C2) Among these 32 seeds, the following 14 were given byes in round 1 and began play in round 2: Habu, Watanabe, Kubo, Hatakeyama, Moriuchi, Gōda, Y. Satō, Miura, Tanigawa, Yashiki, Takahashi, Maruyama, Kimura and Fujii. The remaining players qualified by winning preliminary tournaments.
The bracket at the start of the tournament in shown below.
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. "No. of moves" refers to the total number of moves played in the game.
Round 1 A total of 18 games were played in round 1. Play began on April 8, 2012, and ended on August 12, 2012. The 18 preliminary tournament winners were paired against 18 seeded players.
No. Block Sente Gote No. of moves Date Guest Analyst 1BTadashi Ōishi 4dAkira Inaba 5d 96 April 8, 2012 Takayuki Yamasaki 7d2 A Kōru Abe 4d Mitsunori Makino 4d167 April 15, 2012 Osamu Nakamura 9d3 B Shinya Satō 6d Masayuki Toyoshima 7d 106 April 22, 2012 Amahiko Satō 7d4 B Hiroshi Kobayashi 7d Taichi Nakamura 6d 80 April 29, 2012 Eiji Iijima 7d5 B Sakio Chiba 6d Daisuke Suzuki 8d 184 May 6, 2012 Tadao Kitajima 6d6 A Yoshikazu Minami 9d Hisashi Namekata 8d 112 May 13, 2012 Bungo Fukusaki 9d7 A Takuya Nagase 4d Hiroshi Kamiya 7d 67 May 20, 2012 Akira Shima 9d8 A Hiroki Nakata 8d Shōji Seigawa 4d103 May 27, 2012 Takahiro Toyokawa 7d9 A Osamu Nakamura 9d Kenjirō Abe 5d 106 June 3, 2012 Hirouki Miura 8d10B Ayumu Matsuo 7d Toshiyuki Nakao 5d 129 June 10, 2012 Teruichi Aono 9d 11B Kōichi Fukaura 9d Keita Kadokura 4d 85 June 17, 2012 9d12B Amahiko Satō 7d Kazutoshi Satō 5d 131 June 24, 2012 Makoto Tobe 6d 13B Keita Inoue 9d Akira Shima 9d 86July 1, 2012 Yoshikazu Minami 9d 14B Tomomi Kai W-4d Hirotaka Notsuki 7d 86 July 8, 2012 Yūsuke Tōyama 5d 15AMasataka Sugimoto 7d Tatsuya Sugai 5d115 July 15, 2012 Takashi Abe 8d16A Takanori Hashimoto 8d Atsushi Miyata 6d 133 July 22, 2012 Akira Watanabe Ryūō17AShingo Hirafuji 7d Chikara Akutsu 7d 112 July 29, 2012 Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d 18AKensuke Kitahama 7d Takayuki Yamasaki 7d 86August 5, 2012 Masayuki Toyoshima 7d
Round 2 A total of 16 games were played in round 2. Play began on August 12, 2012, and ended on November 25, 2012. 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 1AKenjirō Abe 5d Takeshi Fujii 9d 94 August 12, 2012 9d2 B Akira Watanabe Ryūō Kōichi Fukaura 9d87 August 19, 2012 Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d3 B Daisuke Suzuki 8d Kōji Tanigawa 9d 89 August 26, 2012 Masataka Sugimoto 7d4 AHisashi Namekata 8d Toshiaki Kubo 9d 131 September 2, 2012 Masahiko Urano 7d5 A Kōru Abe 4d Masataka Gōda Kiō 94 September 9, 2012 Yasumitsu Satō ōshō6 B Masayuki Toyoshima 7d Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d 130 September 16, 2012 Akira Inaba 6d7 B Taichi Nakamura 6d Ayumu Matsuo 7d 117 September 23, 2012 Kazuki Kimura 8d8 BNobuyuki Yashiki 9d Hirotaka Nozuki 7d87 September 30, 2012 Makoto Chūza 7d9 A Kazuki Kimura 8d Takuya Nagase 5d 87 October 7, 2012 Akihito Hirose 7d10B Amahiko Satō 7d Yasumitsu Satō ōshō 115 October 14, 2012 Manabu Senzaki 8d 11B Michio Takahashi 9d Akira Shima 9d 95 October 21, 2012 Toshiyuki Moriuchi Meijin12A Takanori Hashimoto 8d Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup134 October 28, 2012 Chikara Akutsu 7d 13BAkira Inaba 6d Tadahisa Maruyama 9d 179November 4, 2012 Keita Inoue 9d 14A Hiroyuki Miura 8d Masataka Sugimoto 7d 157 November 11, 2012 Daisuke Suzuki 8d 15ATakayuki Yamasaki 7dHiroki Nakata 8d 123 November 18, 2012 Michio Takahashi 9d16AChikara Akutsu 7d Toshiyuki Moriuchi Meijin106 November 25, 2012 Yasumitsu Satō ōshō
Round 3 Play began on December 2, 2012, and ended on January 27, 2013. Out of the 18 preliminary tournament winners, only Akira Inaba 6d made it as far as round 3.
No. Block Sente Gote No. of moves Date Guest Analyst 1AYoshiharu Habu NHK Cup Takayuki Yamasaki 7d85 December 2, 2012 Taku Morishita 9d2 B Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d119 December 9, 2012 Hiroyuki Miura 8d3 BAmahiko Satō 7d Akira Inaba 6d 123 December 16, 2012 Taichi Nakamura 6d4 A Hiroyuki Miura 8d Kazuki Kimura 8d 117 December 23, 2012 Hirotaka Nozuki 7d5 B Michio Takahashi 9d Daisuke Suzuki 8d 100 January 6, 2013 Takeshi Fujii 9d6 BTaichi Nakamura 6d Akira Watanabe Ryūō 136 January 13, 2013 Yasuaki Murayama 6d7 A Takeshi Fujii 9d Toshiyuki Moriuchi Meijin 102 January 20, 2013 Kōichi Fukaura 9d8 A Hisashi Namekata 8d Masataka Gōda Kiō 122 January 27, 2013 Takanori Hashimoto 8d
Quarterfinals The eight remaining players were paired off against each other with play beginning on February 3 and ending on February 24, 2013. Four major titleholders (Watanabe, Moriuchi, Habu, and Gōda) as well as four former NHK Cup Champions (Habu, Moriuchi, Miura, and Suzuki) made it as far as the quarterfinals.
No. Block Sente Gote No. of moves Date Guest Analyst 1AYoshiharu Habu NHK Cup Toshiyuki Moriuchi Meijin107 February 3, 2013 Akira Shima 9d2 B Akira Watanabe Ryūō Amahiko Satō 7d81 February 10, 2013 Chikara Akutsu 7d3 B Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d Daisuke Suzuki 8d 142 February 17, 2013 Toshiaki Kubo 9d4 A Hiroyuki Miura 8d Masataka Gōda Kiō 100 February 24, 2013 Tadahisa Maruyama 9d
Semifinals The two remaining players from each block with paired against each other to determine the respective block winners. The 1st semifinal game between Daisuke Suzuki 8d (sente) and Akira Watanabe Ryūō (gote) was broadcast on March 3, 2013. Watanabe won the game in 122 moves. The guest analyst was Taku Morishita 9d. The 2nd semifinal game was between Masataka Gōda Kiō (sente) and Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup (gote). The game was broadcast on March 10, 2013, and won by Habu in 116 moves. The guest analyst was Manabu Senzaki 8d.
Finals
After 109 preliminary tournament games and 48 main tournament games involving 160 players, Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup and Akira Watanabe Ryūō met in the final which was broadcast on March 17, 2013. Habu had won the tournament the previous four years and was on 24 NHK Cup game winning streak; Watanabe, on the other hand, was looking for his first NHK Cup championship and also to avoid losing to Habu in the finals for the second year in a row. The piece toss before the game resulted in Watanabe being sente and he won the game in 109 moves, thus becoming the 62nd NHK Cup Champion. The guest analyst for the final match were Takeshi Fujii 9 dan and the hosts were NHK announcer and female professional Rieko Yauchi. A radio broadcast of the final aired on May 3, 2013. The host was NHK announcer and the guest analysts were Akira Shima 9d, Kazuki Kimura 8d and Takanori Hashimoto 8d.
The game score and a diagram showing the final position is given below. Sente: Akira Watanabe Ryūō Gote: Yoshiharu Habu NHK Cup Opening: Fortress 1.P-76 P-34, 2. P-26 P-44, 3. P-25 B-33, 4. S-38 P-84, 5. S-78 P-85, 6. S-77 S-22, 7. P-56 B-42, 8. B-79 S-33, 9. G-78 G-32, 10. K-69 P-54, 11. P-36 G-52, 12 S-37 G52-43, 13. P-35 B-64, 14. Px34 Sx34, 15. P-46 K-41, 16. P-24 Px24, 17. Rx24 K-31, 18. R-28 P*34, 19. B-68 N-33, 20. K-79 S-62, 21. K-88 P-73, 22. P-66 P-75, 23. Px75 Bx75, 24. P*76 B-64, 25. G-58 S-73, 26. G58-67 S-34, 27. P*36 Px36, 28. Sx36 P*35, 29. S-47 N-73, 30. N-37 P-94, 31. P*24 P*22, 32. P-96 L-93, 33. B-57 R-92, 34. P-16 B-53, 35. P-65 Sx65, 36. B-84 P*72, 37. P-55 Px55, 38. P*52 K-42, 39. S-66 S-74, 40. P-51+ P-86, 41. Px86 Kx51, 42. R-58 P*87, 43. K-79 S-83, 44. B-75 Bx75, 45. Px75 B*27, 46. P*54 B-49+, 47. Rx55 P*52, 48. P-74 +B-48, 49. B*56 R-82, 50. Px73+ Px73, 51. N*65 K-62, 52. N-77 S-84, 53. P-85 +Bx37, 54. Px84 N*64, 55. P-83+, Gote resigns (diagram)
The final tournament bracket is shown below.
Other Sente won 26 (a little more than 53%) of the 49 games. The average number of moves per main tournament game was 112. The most moves played in a single game was 184 (Rd. 1, Chiba 6d vs. Suzuki 8d) while the fewest moves played was 67 (Rd. 1, Nagase 4d vs. Kamiya 7d).