Cho wins fourth Kisei title in a row
The sixth game of the 23rd Kisei title match was held at the Sapporo Park Hotel on March 10 & 11. The game ended at 6:47 pm on the 11th with Cho, holding white, defeating Kobayashi Koichi by 5.5 points. That made the score 4-2 in Cho's favour, so he won the match. This is his fourth Kisei title in a row and his eighth overall, so he has drawn level with Kobayashi. Of their time allowances of eight hours each, Cho was down to his last minute and Kobayashi had 54 minutes left. Kobayashi was unable to follow up his acquisition of the Tengen title at the end of last year, but he still has a chance of getting a second title in the Judan.
Kobayashi wins NEC Cup
The final of the 18th NEC Cup was held at the Merupark Hall in Minato Ward, Tokyo, on March 6. Playing white, Kobayashi Koichi Tengen defeated O Rissei Oza, forcing him to resign after 184 moves. This is Kobayashi's second NEC title and his first for four years. In the final of the 14th Young Stars tournament, held on the same day, Yamashita Keigo 6-dan defeated So Yokoku 5-dan and so won this title for the first time.
Sakai wins Strongest Amateur Player tournament for 4th year in a row
The best-of-three final of the 8th Japan's Strongest Amateur Player tournament (sponsored by the Hochi Newspaper) was held at the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo from March 5 to 7. Sakai Hideyuki, the title holder, successfully fended off the challenge of Nakazono Seizo, defeating him 2-1. This is Sakai's fourth successive win in this title and matches the record set by Imamura Fumiaki.
Tada first player ever to win the Students Meijin three years in a row
There have been many strong university players in Japan, but until now none has ever succeeded in winning the Student Meijin title three years in a row. That changed this month when Tada Takumi of Keio University defeated Tanaka Nobuhiro (Tokyo University) 2-0 in the best-of-three playoff. The games were played at the Nihon Ki-in on March 4 and 5.
Tight finish looming in Honinbo league
A playoff is inevitable in the 54th Honinbo league, as there are four players on 4-2 after the sixth round, and these four players are slated to meet each other in the final round. In the sixth round, played on March 11, Cho Sonjin 9-dan (White) defeated O Rissei Oza by 2.5 points, Ishida Akira 9-dan (Black) defeated Yamada Kimio 7-dan by resignation, O Meien 9-dan (Black) defeated Ryu Shikun 7-dan by 4.5 points, and Hikosaka Naoto Judan (White) defeated Kobayashi Satoru 9-dan by resignation. These results left Cho, Ishida, Ryu, and Hikosaka tied on 4-2. In the final round, to be played in April, Hikosaka plays Ishida and Ryu plays Cho, so the respective winners will qualify for a playoff. Of these four, only Ryu has ever challenged for a big-three title, so there's a good chance of seeing a new face challenge Cho Chikun.