Keita Inoue

Keita Inoue (井上 慶太, Inoue Keita; born January 17, 1964) is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a former executive director of the Japan Shogi Association.

Keita Inoue
Inoue at a human shogi [ja] event in November 2016.
Native name	井上慶太
Born	(1964-01-17) January 17, 1964 (age 61)
Hometown	Ashiya, Hyōgo
Career
Achieved professional status	February 4, 1983(1983-02-04) (aged 19)
Badge Number	157
Rank	9-dan
Teacher	Masakazu Wakamatsu [ja] (8-dan)
Tournaments won	2
Meijin class	C1
Ryūō class	5
Notable students	Akira Inaba Tatsuya Sugai Kōhei Funae Wakamu Deguchi Tomoki Yokoyama Mikio Kariyama Nagisa Fujimoto Hirotoshi Ueno} Toshiki Sumisaki [ja] Nanami Naka
Websites
JSA profile page

Early life and apprenticeship

Keita Inoue was born on January 17, 1964, in Ashiya, Hyōgo.^[1] In October 1979, he entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū under the sponsorship of shogi professional Masakazu Wakamatsu [ja].^[2] He was promoted to 1-dan in 1981, and obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in February 1983.^[2]

Shogi professional

Inoue's first tournament victory as a professional came in October 1985 when he defeated Taku Morishita 2 games to 1 to win the 16th Shinjin-Ō [ja] tournament.^[2][3] The following year, he also won the 9th Young Lions [ja] tournament.^[2][4]

On October 28, 2008, Inoue defeated Kunio Naitō in an Ōi tournament preliminary round game to become the 37th professional to win 600 official games.^[5]

On March 28, 2018, Inoue defeated Sōta Fujii in a third round preliminary round game for the 68th Ōshō Tournament. The game was broadcast live by the Igo & Shogi Channel as part of its "Shogi Premium" service.^[6] Inoue's victory not only made him the first player aged 50 or older to defeat Fujii in an official game, but also stopped Fujii's 16 game winning streak.^[7]

Promotion history

The promotion history for Inoue is as follows:^[8]

• 6-kyū: 1979
• 1-dan: 1981
• 4-dan: February 4, 1983
• 5-dan: March 27, 1987
• 6-dan: July 12, 1991
• 7-dan: April 1, 1996
• 8-dan: April 1, 1997
• 9-dan: March 3, 2011

Titles and other championships

Inoue has yet to make an appearance in a major title match, but he has won two non-major shogi championships during his career: the Shinjin-Ō [ja] in 1985 and the Young Lions [ja] in 1986.^[9]

Awards and honors

Inoue received the Japan Shogi Association Annual Shogi Award for "Best Winning Percentage" in 1993.^[10] He also received the association's "Shogi Honor Award" in 2008 in recognition of winning 600 official games as a professional.^[11]

JSA director and other offices

Inoue has served on the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors since 2015. From June 2015 until June 2017, he served as a non-executive director.^[12] He was re-elected to the board for another two-year term in June 2017, but this time as an executive director.^[13] He was re-elected for additional two-year terms as executive director in June 2019,^[14] June 2021^[15] and June 2023.^[16]

Inoue served as a vice-president of the Shogi Professional Players' Association [ja] from April 2011 until June 2015,^[17][18] and also as the manager of the Kansai branch of the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school from April 2001 until March 2004.^[2]