Takuya Nagase (永瀬 拓矢,Nagase Takuya, born September 5, 1992) is a Japaneseprofessional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is a former holder of theEiō andŌza titles.
Nagase was born inYokohama on September 5, 1992.[1] He learned how to play shogi at age six from his grandfather, and entered the Japan Shogi Association'sapprentice school in 2004 at the rank of 6-kyū under the guidance of shogi professionalTerutaka Yasue [ja].[2] He was promoted to 1-dan in 2007[2] and participated in the3-dan League for the first time in April 2008,[3] finishing with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses.[4]
Nagase obtained professional status and the rank of 4-dan on October 1, 2009, after winning the 45th 3-dan League (April 2009 – September 2009) with a record of 14 wins and 4 losses.[3][5]
In October 2012, Nagase won his first tournament since turning professional when he defeatedShingo Itō 2 games to none to win the 2ndKakogawa Seiryū Tournament [ja],[6] and followed that up by defeatingTetsuya Fujimori a few days later to win the 43rdShinjin-Ō [ja] by the score of 2 games to 1.[7][8]
Nagase's first appearance in a major title match came in June 2016 when he challengedYoshiharu Habu for the 87thKisei title. Nagase defeatedYasuaki Murayama in the challenger tournament final to advance to the title match against Habu,[9][10] and was actually leading the best-of-five match 2 games to 1 before losing the final two games.[11][12]
In December 2017, Nagase defeatedReo Kurosawa in the 43rdKiō challenger match to earn the right to challengeAkira Watanabe for the title.[13] Nagase, however, was unable to capture his first major title, losing the match to Wantabe 3 games to 2 in March 2018.[14]
In February 2019, Nagase defeatedTatsuya Sugai 2 games to 1 in the challenger playoff round for the 4thEiō tournament to earn the right to challengeTaichi Takami for the title.[15] In the April–May 2019 title match, Nagase defeated Takami 4 games to none to win his first major title.[16]
In July 2019, Nagase defeated the reigningMejinMasayuki Toyoshima in the final of the challenger tournament for the 67thŌza title to earn the right to challenge the defending ŌzaShintarō Saitō.[17] On October 1, 2019, Nagase won Game 3 of the 67th Ōza title match to complete a three game swept of Saitō. The win not only gave Nagase his first Ōza title and made him a 2-crown major title holder for the first time, but also meant he satisfied thepromotion criteria for the rank of 8-dan.[18][19]
Nagase was unable to defend hisEiō title in 2020, losing the 5thEiō title match to challengerMasayuki Toyoshima on September 21, 2020, 4 games to 3. The two players actually needed nine games to determine the best-of-seven match because two of the games ended inimpasse.[20]
Nagase successfully defended his Ōza title in October 2020 by defeatingToshiaki Kubo in the 68th Ōza title match 3 games to 2. The win also meant that Nagase satisfied the criteria for promotion to 9-dan.[21]
Nagase challenged the reigningŌshōAkira Watanabe for the 70th Ōshō title in January to March 2021, but lost the match 4 games to 2.[22]
In September–October 2021, Nagase successfully defended his Ōza title by defeatingKazuki Kimura 3 games to 1.[23]
Nagase has appeared in a major title match fourteen times and has won five titles;[31] in addition, he has won three non-major-title championships during his career.[32]
Nagase received the JSA'sAnnual Shogi Award for "Most Consecutive Games Won" in 2011 and 2013. He also received the awards for "Best New Player" and "Best Winning Percentage"in 2012,[33] and the “Fighting Spirit” and “Most Consecutive Games Won” awards in 2020.[34]
Nagase has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA'syear-end prize money and game fee rankings [ja] six times since turning professional: 4th place withJPY 46,780,000 in earnings for 2019;[35] 3rd place with JPY 46,210,000 in earnings for 2020;[36] 4th place with JPY 46,680,000 in earnings for 2021;[37][38] 4th place with JPY 48,210,000 in earnings for 2022;[39][40] 3rd place with JPY 35,090,000 in earnings for 2023;[41] and 3rd place with JPY 30,260,000 in earnings for 2024.[42]
