is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is a former holder of the Tenth Dan, Ōi, and Kiō titles.
Early life and apprenticeship Takahashi was born on April 23, 1960, in Tokyo. He learned how to play shogi when he was twelve years old, and entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school when he was fifteen years old at the rank of 6-kyū as a protegee of shogi professional in 1975.
Takahashi was promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 1977 and then 3-dan in 1979 before obtaining full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in June 1980.
Shogi professional Takahashi is a member of the so-called Shōwa 55 group (), a group of eight strong players that became professionals between April 1, 1980, and March 31, 1981, (Year 55 of the Shōwa period) and won numerous shogi tournaments. Others in the group include Yoshikazu Minami, Osamu Nakamura, Akira Shima, Yasuaki Tsukada, Hiroshi Kamiya, Masaki Izumi, and . Promotion history Takahashi's promotion history is as follows: 6-kyū: 1975 1-dan: 1977 4-dan: June 4, 1980 5-dan: April 1, 1982 6-dan: April 1, 1984 7-dan: November 17, 1986 8-dan: April 1, 1989 9-dan: April 1, 1990
Titles and other championships Takahashi has appeared in major title matches a total of ten times and has won five titles. In addition to major titles, he has won three other shogi championships during his career.
Major titles Title Years Number of times overall Ōi 1983, 1985–86 3 Kiō 1986 1 *Tenth Dan 1997 1 Note: Tournaments marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer held.
Other championships Tournament Years Number of times19881*1986, 19922 Note: Tournaments marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer held.
Awards and honors Takahashi received the Japan Shogi Association Annual Shogi Awards for "Best New Player" (1983), the "Technique Award" (1985), "Player of the Year" (1986) and "Most Games Played" (1987). He also received the association's "Shogi Honor Award" in 2000 for winning 600 official games, the "25 Years Service Award" in 2005 for being an active professional for twenty-five years, and the "Shogi Honor Fighting-spirit Award" in 2014 for winning 800 official games.
Year-end prize money and game fee ranking Takahashi has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's four times since 1993. His highest finish came in 1996 when he finished fourth. Year Amount Rank 1994 ¥22,310,000 8th 1995 ¥9,660,000 9th 1996 ¥31,110,000 4th 1997 ¥19,240,000 10th Note: All amounts are given in Japanese yen and include prize money and fees earned from official tournaments and games held from January 1 to December 31.
Notes
References
External links ShogiHub: Professional Player Info · Takahashi, Michio