The World Open Shogi Championship (WOSC) is an international shogi tournament organised annually by the Federation of European Shogi Associations (FESA). It is held together with the European Shogi Championship and is open to players from all countries, including Japanese professionals and amateurs.
Overview The championship was established in 2013 as an open world-level event separate from the European title competition. Unlike the European Shogi Championship, which is restricted to European players for the title, the World Open Shogi Championship allows participants from any country to compete for the overall title.
FESA promotes shogi through the annual organisation of both the European Shogi Championship and the World Open Shogi Championship, as well as through its international rating system and support for national federations.
The championship has been held in several European countries, including Germany, France, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Spain and Ukraine. Japanese players have frequently dominated the event, although players from Germany and France have also reached the podium.
History
The first World Open Shogi Championship was held in 2000. Since then, the tournament has usually been organised every year alongside the European Shogi Championship. The 2020 edition was not held because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event is usually played in Swiss-system format over several rounds. Side events often include blitz tournaments, team competitions and teaching games with professional players from Japan.
The 2022 edition in Ludwigshafen attracted 87 players. Kasey Nishimoto of Japan won the tournament with a perfect score of 9/9.
Results Sources:https://fesashogi.eu/european-championships/https://fesashogi.eu/old/index.php?mid=3
Year Location 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Players 2000 London Ayumu Sato Chiaki Ito Tony Hosking 82 2001 London Yutaka Ishii Larry Kaufman Thomas Pfaffel 36 2002 Brussels Boris Mirnik Gert Schnider Jochen Drechsler 55 2003 Öckerö Yoshiyuki Uemura Boris Mirnik Gert Schnider 48 2004 Pullach Tsukasa Sera Yuji Kikuta Hideki Tashiro 53 2005 Pardubice Tsukasa Sera Yuji Kikuta Hideki Tashiro 64 2006 Colmar Yuji Kikuta Wan Leung Kai Kimio Takahashi 61 2007 Pardubice Boris Mirnik Tobias Marczewski Kimio Takahashi 35 2008 Pardubice Artem Kolomiyets Karl Wartlick Marc Theeuwen 39 2009 Stockholm Karl Wartlick Kimio Takahashi Yuji Kikuta 32 2010 Debrecen Kimio Takahashi Jean Fortin Frank Roevekamp 39 2011 Ludwigshafen Makoto Kawato Kimio Takahashi Yasuhiko Utsunomiya 82 2012 Kraków Yasuhiko Utsunomiya Kimio Takahashi Makoto Kawato 87 2013 Minsk Takumi Ito Sergey Korchitsky Artem Kolomiyets 92 2014 Budapest Karolina Styczynska Makoto Kawato Thomas Leiter 78 2015 Prague Hideaki Takahashi Makoto Kawato Jean Fortin 119 2016 Amsterdam Hideaki Takahashi Shou Otsuka Kazuki Itoh 121 2017 Kyiv Shun Tokuni Sergey Korchitsky Thomas Leiter 66 2018 Berlin Hideaki Takahashi Thomas Leiter Vincent Tanyan 128 2019 Bratislava Hideaki Takahashi Anton Starykevich Thomas Leiter 104 2021 Minsk Sergey Korchitsky Anton Starykevich Vincent Tanyan 67 2022 Ludwigshafen Kasey Nishimoto Uladzislau Zakrzheuski Jean Fortin 87 2023 Strasbourg Anton Starykevich Thomas Leiter Kasey Nishimoto 136 2024 Barcelona Taichi Kobayashi Kasey Nishimoto Kazushi Shibutani 107 2025 Wrocław Anton Starykevich Kasey Nishimoto Zhuo Loon Lim
See also European Shogi Championship Federation of European Shogi Associations Shogi
References