Mamoru Hatakeyama

Mamoru Hatakeyama (畠山 鎮, Hatakeyama Mamoru; born June 3, 1969) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan.

Mamoru Hatakeyama
Hatakeyama at a human shogi [ja] event in November 2018.
Native name	畠山鎮
Born	(1969-06-03) June 3, 1969 (age 56)
Hometown	Kanagawa Prefecture
Nationality	Japanese
Career
Achieved professional status	October 1, 1989(1989-10-01) (aged 20)
Badge Number	192
Rank	8-dan
Teacher	Masayuki Moriyasu [ja] (7-dan)
Meijin class	C1
Ryūō class	5
Notable students	Shintarō Saitō Takayuki Kuroda
Websites
JSA profile page

Early life and apprenticeship

Hatakeyama was born in Kanagawa Prefecture on June 3, 1969.^[1] He earned how to play shogi when he was seven years old after watching his eldest brother playing against his father.^[2] Although he and his twin brother Naruyuki learned the game at the same age, he always seem to following in Naruyuki's footsteps.^[2]

He entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school in 1984 as apprentice to shogi professional Masayuki Moriyasu [ja] at the rank of 6-kyū, even though Naruyuki had entered a year earlier and was already ranked 3-kyū.^[3][2] Hatakeyama was promoted to 1-dan in 1986 (the same year as Naruyuki), and to full-professional status and the rank of 4-dan in October 1989 along with Naruyuki after both brothers finished the 5th 3-dan League (April 1989 – September 1989) with records of 12 wins and 6 losses.^[3][2]

Shogi professional

In 2003, Hatakeyama became the first shogi professional to lose an official NHK Cup NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament game to a female shogi professional when he was defeated by Hiroe Nakai in Round 1 of the 53rd NHK Cup.^[4][5][6]

On September 11, 2023, Hatakeyama became the 60th professional player to win 600 official games.^[7]

Promotion history

Hatakeyama's promotion history is as follows:^[8]

• 6-kyū: 1984
• 1-dan: 1986
• 4-dan: October 1, 1989
• 5-dan: December 24, 1993
• 6-dan: April 27, 1999
• 7-dan: April 1, 2006
• 8-dan: September 12, 2019

Awards and honors

In 2014, Hatakeyama received the Japan Shogi Association's "25 Years Service Award" for being an active professional for twenty-five years.^[3][9] In September 2023, he was awarded the JSA's "Shogi Honor Award"for winning 600 official games.^[9]

Personal life

Hatakeyama's twin brother Naruyuki is also a professional shogi player. They are the only twins to become professional in history and both became (4-dan) professionals on the same day.^[3][2]