Eiō

The Eiō (叡王) is one of the eight major titles of professional shogi cosponsored by Dwango and the Japan Shogi Association (JSA). The tournament initially started out as a non-title tournament in 2015, but was upgraded to major title status in May 2017. The current Eiō title holder is Takuya Nagase.

Eiō
Native name叡王戦
TypeTitle
Sponsor(s)Dwango
Winner's titleEiō
Reigning championTakuya Nagase
Number of times held4
First held
  • Non-title (2015)
  • Title (2017)
Last held2018
Most times won
Website(s)
JSA tournament website (in Japanese)
Sponsor's tournament website (in Japanese)

The Eiō title match is different from the other seven major title matches in that it allows the two participating players the select the time control for each game from a list of three options. In addition, all of the tournament games are broadcast live on Dwango's online video platform Niconico.

Format

The tournament is open to all active professional shogi players, one women's professional shogi player and one amateur shogi player. It is divided into four parts: women professional and amateur participation determination tournaments, a preliminary tournament, a main tournament and a title match. All of the games are broadcast live on Dwango's online video platform Niconico.[1][2][3]

Women professionals and amateur participants

Separate one-day single-elimination tournaments are held prior to the beginning of the preliminary tournament to determine the woman and amateur participants. Four participants are selected by the sponsors for each tournament: the women's tournament participants are selected from the reigning women professional major title holders and the amateur tournament participants are selected from the reigning major amateur shogi title holders. Each tournament has two rounds with a primary time control of one hour per player using a chess clock system followed by a secondary byo-yomi time control of sixty seconds per move. The tournament pairings are determined by drawing lots, with one of the first round games played in the morning and the other played in the afternoon. The two winners then play each other in the evening to determine which player will advance to the preliminary tournament.[4][5][6]

Preliminary tournament

The preliminary tournament is single-elimination tournament divided into different blocks according to player rank, with all players ranked the same competing against each other; the women's professional and amateur player are placed in the block for player's ranked 4-dan. Each block follows a bracket tournament format with a total of sixteen players advancing to the main tournament. The number of brackets per block varies with the winner of each bracket advancing to the main tournament as follows: four players from the 9-dan block; three players each from the 8-dan, 7-dan and 6-dan blocks; two players from the 5-dan block; and one player from the 4-dan block. The primary time control for the preliminary tournament games is one hour per player using a chess clock system followed by a secondary byo-yomi time control of sixty seconds per move. The preliminary tournament games are typically played between mid-June and the end of October.[2][3]

Main tournament

The main tournament is a single elimination tournament which consists of the sixteen players advancing from the preliminary tournament plus an additional eight players seeded into the main tournament for a total of twenty-four players. The seeded players are determined among the following: (1) the four semifinalists from the previous year's tournament; (2) major title holders (excluding the reigning Eiō title holder); (3) winners of major non-title shogi tournaments; and (4) players who performed exceptionally well in the previous years tournament per consultation with the tournament sponsors. The main tournament pairings are determined by drawing lots and players who win their games advance up through the bracket. The remaining two players from each half of the bracket advance to a best-of-three challenger match, and the winner advances to main title match. The primary time control for the main tournament and challenger match games is three hours per player using a chess clock system followed by a secondary byo-yomi time control of sixty seconds per move. The main tournament games are played between November and January, with the challenger match taking place in February.[2][3]

Title match

The main title match between the reigning Eiō and the challenger is a best-of-seven series with the first player to win four games becoming the Eiō title holder. The title match takes place from April to June, and it is the only one of the best-of-seven major title matches not to follow a two-day-per-game format.[lower-alpha 1] It is also the only major title match in which the games are played at varying primary time controls, with the starting time for each game determined based upon the time control selected. A furigoma or "piece toss" takes place at a pre-tournament publicity event held some weeks before the start of the match to announce the match venues, schedule and other details.[7][8][9] The winner of the furigoma moves first in the first game and then the players alternate for the remaining games. The primary time control for each game is then determined by the players at the same event, with the player scheduled to move first in game one selecting one of the following time controls for the first two games: one hour per player,[lower-alpha 2] three hours per player or five hours per player. The player who moves second in game three selects one of the two remaining time control options for games three and four, and the time control for games five and six will be the last remaining option.[lower-alpha 3] The time control of the seventh and final game of the match will be six hours per player. Regardless of the time control selected for each game, there will also be a secondary byo-yomi time control of sixty seconds per move.[2][3]

History

Shogi Denōsen series
See also: Computer shogi § Computers versus humans

In 2011, Dwango entered into an agreement with the JSA to co-sponsor a series of unofficial games and matches between professional shogi players and top computer shogi programs called the Shogi Denōsen.

The 1st Denōsen took place in 2012 between retired shogi professional Kunio Yonenaga and the program Bonkras, the reigning World Computer Shogi Champion, with the computer winning fairly easily.[10][11] The 2nd Shogi Denōsen in 2013,[12] 3rd Shogi Denōsen in 2014[13] and Shogi Denōsen Final in 2015 each featured a team of five shogi professionals playing against five computer shogi programs. All of the Shōgi Denōsen games were broadcast on Niconico, with the final game of the 3rd Shogi Denōsen being watched by more than 600,000 people.[13]

Eiō and Denō Tournaments established

After the Shogi Denōsen Final finished, Dwango and the JSA announced that there would be no more five-on-five Shogi Denōsen matches, but rather two new tournaments would be sponsored by Dwango—the Eiō Tournament for the professionals and the Denō Tournament for the computers—with the winners of each then playing a two-game match held at a later date called the Denōsen.[14][15]

The name "Eiō" was selected based upon the results of an online poll of Niconico users conducted by Dwango. The kanji "叡" means "clever" or "smart", while the kanji "王" is means "king" or "ruler", i.e. a leader of humans; so, the winner of the Eiō would wise and clever and represent humans against the representative "king" of the computers.[14][16] Entry into the Eiō Tournament was optional and left to the decision of each player.[14]

After the announcement that the 1st Eiō was going to take place, 154 shogi professionals expressed their desire to participate;[16] five shogi professionals—including major title holders Yoshiharu Habu and Akira Watanabe—stated, however, that they would not.[14][15][17] The 1st Eiō Tournament was won by Takayuki Yamasaki in December 2015;[18] he then faced the Denō Tournament winner Ponanza in April–May 2016, but lost both games.[19] The number of professionals participating in the 2nd Eiō Tournament was 158 (defending champion Yamazaki was seeded into the main tournament), but four, including Watanabe once again, decided to opt out.[20] The tournament was won by Amahiko Satō, the then Meijin title holder, in December 2016;[21] he then went on to face Ponanza, who repeated as Denō Tournament winner, in April–May 2017, but lost both games.[22]

End of Denōsen matches and upgrade to major title status

In February 2017, Dwango and the JSA announced the 2nd Denōsen match would be the last to be held since the games between professionals and computers had fulfilled their intended purpose.[23] After the 2nd Denosen match, Dwango announced that had reached an agreement with the JSA to upgrade the Eiō Tournament to major-title status and replace the two-game match against the Denō Tournament winner with a best-of-seven match between the reigning Eiō title holder and the winner of a challenger tournament.[1] Since there would be no reigning title holder at the start of the 3rd Eiō Tournament in 2017, the two finalists of the challenger tournament would play a best-of-seven match to determine the winner of the Eiō title.[1]

The upgrade in status of the Eiō Tournament made it the first new major title match in 34 years and the first to be sponsored by an IT company;[24][25] in addition, the total prize fund for the tournament was also such that it made it the third highest among major title tournaments after only the Ryūō and Meijin.[25] The first winner of the Eiō title was Taichi Takami in May 2018.[26]

Sponsors

The tournament is sponsored by Dwango and the JSA with further support provided by the Kirin Beverage Company, Limited, Takara Leben, Lawson, Inc. and Mecha Comics.[27][28]

Winners

The winners of the Eiō tournament are as follows.

No.YearWinnerRank*ScoreOpponentRank*
Non-title tournament
12015Takayuki Yamasaki8-dan2–0[18]Masataka Gōda9-dan
22016Amahiko Satō9-dan2–0[21]Shōta Chida5-dan
Major title tournament
32017Taichi Takami6-dan4–0[26]Kōta Kanai5-dan
42018Takuya Nagase7-dan4–0[29]Taichi TakamiEiō
  • Note: The "Rank" column indicates the rank held on April 1 of the shogi year (nendo) in which the tournament was held.[16]

Notes
  1. Ryūō, Meijin, Ōi and Oshō title match games are played over a two-day period using a sealed move (or 封じ手 (Fūjjite)) system; the other two major title matches the Kiō and Kisei follow a best-of-five, one-day-per-game format.
  2. Under the one-hour-per-player time control, two games are played in the same day.[7][8]
  3. For example, if the player who moves first in the first game (i.e. the player who is sente) selects the primary control of one hour per player, that will also be the time control for game two. The player who moves second in game three (i.e. the player who is gote) can then select a time control of either three hours or five hours per player for games three and four. The remaining unselected option will then be the time control for games five and six.
gollark: If a task which used to take 100ms takes 50ms now, that's a 50% improvement but I may not even notice.
gollark: There are diminishing returns too.
gollark: That's definitely true.
gollark: If you compare large supercomputers to my phone I think you might be about right.
gollark: Better *how*?

References
  1. "｢Eiōsen｣ Taitorusen ni Shōkaku Shōgikai, Hachi Daitaitoru Jidai e ... Rainen Sangatsu kara Gogatsu ni Nanaban Shōbu" ｢叡王戦｣ タイトル戦に昇格 将棋界, 8大タイトル時代へ...来年3～5月に七番勝負 [Eiō tournament upgraded to major title status as professional shogi enters the era of eight major titles: the best-of-seven title match will take place next March to May.]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). May 20, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  2. "Eiōsen: Kisen Gaiyō" 叡王戦: 棋戦概要 [Eiō tournament outline] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  3. "Eiōsen: Kisen Gaiyō" 叡王戦: 棋戦概要 [Eiō tournament outline] (in Japanese). Dwango. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  4. "Dai Goki Eiōsen Joryū Daihyō Ketteisen" 第5期叡王戦 女流代表決定戦 [5th Eio Tournament Women's Professional Participant Determination Tournament] (in Japanese). Niconico. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  5. "Dai Goki Eiōsen Amachua Daihyō Ketteisen" 第5期叡王戦 アマチュア代表決定戦 [5th Eio Tournament Amateur Participant Determination Tournament] (in Japanese). Niconico. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  6. "Shōgi no Satomi Kana Joryū Yonkan, Eiōsen Dan'ibetsu Yosen Yondansen Shutsujo e" 将棋の里見香奈女流四冠, 叡王戦段位別予選四段戦出場へ [Women's professional 4-crown Kana Satomi advances to 4-dan block of the Eiō Tournament]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). April 1, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  7. "｢Dai Sanki Eiōsen｣ Kesshō Nanaban Shōbu no Taikyo Kaijō nado Shōsai Kōkai" ｢第3期叡王戦｣ 決勝七番勝負の対局会場など詳細公開. Livedoor News (in Japanese). February 22, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  8. "｢Dai Yonki Eiōsen｣ Kesshō Nanaban Shōbu no Taikyo Kaijō nado Shōsai Kōkai" ｢第4期叡王戦｣ 決勝七番勝負の対局会場など詳細公開. Livedoor News (in Japanese). March 15, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  9. "｢Dai Sanki Eiōsen Kesshō Nanaban Shōbu｣ Kisha Happyōkai no Goannai-Furigoma, Taikyokunittei･Kaijō nado Shōsai Kōkai" ｢第3期叡王戦 決勝七番勝負｣ 記者発表会のご案内-振り駒, 対局日程･会場など詳細公開 [Information about the publicity event for the "3rd Eiōsen Best-of-Seven Match"; details about the furigoma, match schedule, match venues, etc. will be made public.] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. February 13, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  10. "Fujitsu's Shogi Software Tops Former Shogi Champion Kunio Yonenaga". Fujitsu. January 16, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  11. Murase, Shinya (January 14, 2012). "Shōgi Sofuto, Yonenaga Motomeijin ni Shōri Kōshiki Taikyoku de Hatsu" 将棋ソフト, 米長元名人に勝利 公式対局で初 [A shogi computer program beats former Meijin Yonenaga for the first victory by a computer over a shogi professional in a sanctioned game.]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  12. "Pro shogi players defeated by computer programs". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. April 22, 2013. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  13. "｢Dai Sankai Shōgi Denōsen｣ Yashiki Kudan ga Haiboku, Puro Kishi ga Isshō Yonpai de Kyonen no Seiseki wo Shitamawaru" ｢第3回将棋電王戦｣ 屋敷九段が敗北, プロ棋士側が1勝4敗で昨年の成績を下回る ["3rd Shogi Denōsen": Yashiki 9-dan loses; pros finish match with 1 win and 4 losses which was worse than last year's result]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). April 12, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  14. "Dowango Shusai no Shinkisen wa ｢Eiōsen｣ ni Yūshōsha ga Konpyūta to Taikyokusuru Shinsei Denōsen Habu Meijin wa Shūtsujōsezu" ドワンゴ主催の新棋戦は｢叡王戦｣に 優勝者がコンピュータと対局する新生電王戦 羽生名人は出場せず [Denō tournament given a make over as a new tournament sponsored by Dwango called the Eiō tournament announced with the winner will playing against a computer; Habu Meijin has stated he will not participate.] (in Japanese). ITmedia News. June 18, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  15. "Dowango Shinkisen ｢Eiōsen｣ Habu Meijin, Watanabe Kiō Fusanka" ドワンゴ新棋戦 ｢叡王戦｣ 羽生名人, 渡辺棋王は不参加 [Habu Meijin and Watanabe Kiō will not be participating in Dwango's new "Eiō tournament".]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). June 18, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  16. "Dowango･Nihon Shōgi Renmei Shinkisen ｢Eiōsen｣ ni Kettei, Hyakugojūyonnin no Puro Kishi ga Entorī Rokugatsu Hatasuka (Do) wa Kudan no Dan'ibetsu Yosen de Kaimaku" ドワンゴ･日本将棋連盟主催 新棋戦名は｢叡王戦｣に決定, 154名のプロ棋士がエントリー 6月20日(土)は九段の段位別予選で開幕 (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. June 18, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  17. "Dai Ikki Eiōsen Dan'ibetsu Yosen" 第1期叡王戦 段位別予選 [1st Eiō Tournament Preliminary Tournament] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  18. "Yamasaki Hachidan ga V, Shogi Sofuto ｢Ponanza｣ to Taikyoku Eiōsen" 山崎八段がV, 将棋ソフト｢ポナンザ｣ と対戦へ　叡王戦 [Shogi Eiō Tournament: Yamasaki 6d wins tournament and will play the computer shogi software Ponanza]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). December 13, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  19. "Denōsen Sofuto no Tsuyosa Kiwadatsu Yamasaki Takayuki Hachidan ni Nirenshō" 電王戦ソフトの強さ際立つ 山崎隆之八段に2連勝 [Computer's strength stands out in consecutive victories over Takayuki Yamasaki 8-dan in the Denōsen match]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). Kyodo News. May 22, 2016. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  20. "Dai Niki Eiōsen Dan'ibetsu Yosen" 第2期叡王戦 段位別予選 [2nd Eiō Tournament Preliminary Tournament] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  21. "Shōgi no Satō Meijin, Raishun Sofuto to Taikyoku Eiōsen Seisu" 将棋の佐藤名人, 来春ソフトと対局 叡王戦制す. The Nikkei (in Japanese). December 11, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  22. "Satō Meijin Kutsujoku, Ponanza ni Renpai" 佐藤名人屈辱, ポナンザに連敗 [Satō Meijin humiliated, loses twice in a row to Ponanza]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). May 20, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  23. "Denōsen wa Kotoshi de Shuryō" 電王戦は今年で終了 [Denōsen will end this year.]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). February 22, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  24. "Shōgi ni Yattsume no Taitoru sen ｢Eiōsen｣ Shisetsu wa Sanjūyonnenburi" 将棋に八つ目のタイトル戦 ｢叡王戦｣ 新設は34年ぶり [Shogi's 8th major title the Eiō is the first new major title match in 34 years.]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). May 20, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  25. "Shōgi ｢Eiōsen｣, Kōshiki Taitorusen ni Shōkaku Dowango Shusai" 将棋 ｢叡王戦｣, 公式タイトル戦に昇格 ドワンゴ主催 [Shogi Eiōsen sponsored by Dwango upgraded to major title status] (in Japanese). ITmedia News. May 20, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  26. Murakami, Kōji (May 26, 2018). "Takami Rokudan ga Hatsu Taitoru Kakutoku Shōgi Eiōsen" 高見六段が初タイトル獲得 将棋叡王戦 [Shogi Eiō Tournament: Takami 6d wins his first major title]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  27. "Eiōsen" 叡王戦 [Eiō tournament] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  28. "Eiōsen" 叡王戦 [Eiō tournament] (in Japanese). Dwango. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  29. Murakami, Kōji (May 11, 2019). "Nagase Shichidan ga Shin Eiō Yonrenshō de Hatsu Taitoru Dasshu" 永瀬七段が新叡王 4連勝で初タイトル奪取 [Nagase 7d captures first major title; wins Eiō title 4–0]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved November 22, 2019.
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