Makoto Nakahara

Makoto Nakahara (中原 誠, Nakahara Makoto; born September 2, 1947) is a Japanese retired professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 9-dan.^[1] He was one of the strongest shogi players of the Shōwa period (1926–1989) and holds the titles of Lifetime Kisei, Lifetime Meijin, Lifetime 10-dan [ja], Lifetime Ōi, and Lifetime Ōza.

Makoto Nakahara
Born	(1947-09-02) September 2, 1947 (age 77)
Hometown	Shiogama
Nationality	Japanese
Career
Achieved professional status	October 1, 1965(1965-10-01) (aged 18)
Badge Number	92
Rank	9-dan
Retired	March 31, 2009(2009-03-31) (aged 61)
Teacher	Toshio Takayanagi [ja] (Honorary 9-dan)
Lifetime titles	Lifetime Meijin Lifetime Tenth Dan Lifetime Ōi Lifetime Ōza Lifetime Kisei
Major titles won	64
Tournaments won	28
Career record	1308–782 (.626)
Notable students	Hisashi Ogura Shūji Satō Hideyuki Takano Manabu Kumasaka [ja] Tomomi Kai
Websites
JSA profile page

Shogi professional

Nakahara retired from professional shogi in March 2009 at age 61 for health reasons.^[2][3]

Theoretical contributions

Nakahara won the Kōzō Masuda Award in 1996 for developing the "Nakahara castle" (中原囲い (Nakahara Gakoi)) as a counter strategy to the Side Pawn Capture opening.^[4][5]

☖ pieces in hand: –

9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
									1
									2
									3
									4
									5
		歩							6
歩	歩		歩	歩	歩				7
		金			銀				8
香	桂	銀	玉	金					9

☗ pieces in hand: –

The "Nakahara castle" is a type of castling strategy often used in Side Pawn Capture games to defend against rook drops.

Major titles and other championships

Nakahara appeared in 91 major title matches and won 64 major titles during his career. He won the Kisei title sixteen times, the Meijin title fifteen times, the 10-dan title [ja] eleven times, the Ōi title eight times, the Osho title seven times, Oza title six times, and the Kioh title once. He holds the titles of Lifetime Kisei, Lifetime Meijin, Lifetime 10-dan [ja], Lifetime Ōi, and Lifetime Ōza.^[6]

In addition to major titles, Nakahara won 28 other shogi championships throughout his career.^[7]

Major titles

Title	Years	Number of times overall
Meijin	1972–81, 1985–87, 1990–92	15
Kisei	1968–1969, 1970–1972, 1977–1979, 1988-1989[a]	16
*10-dan title [ja][b]	1971–73, 1975–80, 1983–84	11
Ōi	1973–78, 1980–81	8
Osho	1972–1977, 1984	7
Ōza	1983–86, 1988–89	6
Kiō	1979	1

• Note: Tournaments marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer held.

JSA president

Nakahara served as the president of the Japan Shogi Association from May 2003 until May 2005.

Notes

1. The Kisei title was held twice yearly up until 1994. Nakahara won the title three times from 1968 to 1969, four times from 1970 to 1972, five times from 1977 to 1979 and three times from 1988 to 1989.
2. The 10-dan title was replaced by the Ryūō title in 1988.