Masataka Sugimoto

Masataka Sugimoto (杉本 昌隆, Sugimoto Masataka; born November 13, 1968) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan. He is a former non-executive director of the Japan Shogi Association.

Masataka Sugimoto
Sugimoto at November 2019 human shogi [ja] event in Himeji, Japan.
Native name	杉本昌隆
Born	(1968-11-13) November 13, 1968 (age 56)
Hometown	Nagoya
Nationality	Japanese
Career
Achieved professional status	October 1, 1990(1990-10-01) (aged 21)
Badge Number	197
Rank	8-dan
Teacher	Susumu Itaya [ja] (9-dan)
Meijin class	C1
Ryūō class	4
Notable students	Sōta Fujii Yūya Saitō Io Murota Saya Nakazawa Aya Imai
Websites
JSA profile page

Early life and apprenticeship

Sugimoto was born on November 13, 1968, in Nagoya, Japan.^[1] In 1980, he finished third in the 5th Elementary School Student Meijin Tournament [ja] and entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school that same year at the rank 6-kyū under the guidance of shogi professional Susumu Itaya [ja].^[2]

Sugimoto was promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 1985 before obtaining full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in October 1990 after finishing the 7th 3-dan League (April 1990 – September 1990) with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses.^[2][3]

Shogi professional

Sugimoto became the 57th professional shogi player to win 600 official games when he defeated Satoru Sakaguchi in a preliminary round game of the 72nd Ōshō Tournament on January 28, 2022.^[4][5]

Promotion history

The promotion history for Sugimoto is as follows.^[6]

• 6-kyū: August 1980
• 1-dan: February 1985
• 4-dan: October 1, 1990
• 5-dan: December 6, 1995
• 6-dan: July 11, 2000
• 7-dan: February 10, 2006
• 8-dan: February 22, 2019^[7]

Awards and honors

Sugimoto received the Japan Shogi Association's "25 Years Service Award" in 2015 in recognition of being an active professional for twenty-five years.^[2] He received the Shogi Honor Award in January 2022 for winning 600 games since turning professional.^[4][8]

JSA director

Sugimoto is a member of the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors.^[9] He was first elected to a two-year term as a non-executive director at the association's 63rd General Meeting in June 2012.^[10][11] He was elected to the board a second time as a non-executive director in June 2021^[12] and re-elected to an additional two-year term in June 2023.^[13]