Shogi great Habu reaches 1,200-win milestone

August 18, 2012


Shogi professional Yoshiharu Habu continues to exert his dominance over the 81-square board, became only the fifth player on Aug. 17 to have won 1,200 games in his career.

Habu, 41, reached 1,200 wins in the shortest period of time in history and also is the youngest to achieve this feat. He has lost 459 matches in total.

The shogi great has a .723 winning percentage in his career, which began in December 1985.

In terms of combined match wins, Habu trails fourth-ranked Koji Tanigawa, 50, by 12 wins.

The record holder is Yasuharu Oyama (1923-1992) who had 1,433 victories in his career, followed by 1,308 by both Makoto Nakahara, 64, and Hifumi Kato, 72.

Habu has been winning about 45 games a year on average, an amazing record in the shogi world, where 25 wins annually are considered to be at the top of the tournament class.

He currently holds two of the coveted seven shogi championship titles--Oi and Kisei....

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/people/AJ201208180047