J:COM Cup Children's Shogi Tournament
J:COM has held the "J:COM Cup March Comes In like a Lion Children's Shogi Tournament" since 2012, hoping that elementary and junior high school students will know the fun of shogi and that it will be a gateway to success for elementary and junior high school students who aim to become shogi players in the future. It is held.
Until now, regional tournaments were held only in J:COM service areas, but from 2019, they will be held in the Tokai and Chugoku areas. Going forward, we will continue to help create opportunities for children to aim to become professional shogi players through this tournament.
Organizer: Organizer: J:COM, Go&Shogi Channel / Co-organizer: Japan Shogi Association / Cooperation: Hakusensha
*"Past tournament records" and "Special programs on past national tournaments" have been moved to the official website of the Children's Shogi Tournament.
Official site here
About the tournament
This tournament is divided into a "Exchange Class" for beginners and a "National Class" aiming for the national tournament.
Gorgeous professional shogi players will come to each regional tournament, and in addition to tournament games, you can enjoy events such as professional shogi coaching games and large-scale commentary.
- *From the perspective of preventing the spread of new coronavirus infection, some events such as "exchange classes" have been canceled.
National class game
Exchange class game
Professional shogi player instruction game
Large board commentary
Manga "March Comes In like a Lion"
browsing corner
App "Shogi Wars"
Experience corner
Thoughts put into the tournament
"J:COM Cup March Comes In like a Lion Children's Shogi Tournament" will be held for the 13th time this year. I would like to introduce the reason why this tournament was born.
The award ceremony for the 1st tournament
From the top left, the late Yonenaga Eisei Kisei, J:COM Taguchi
Bottom row Ehoto Osogaguchi (1st tournament Recipient)
The “J:COM Cup March Comes In like a Lion Children's Shogi Tournament” will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2021.
While I think it is a great honor for everyone involved in the tournament to call me the “creator” of the tournament, this tournament was born from the words of the late Kisei Yonenaga (former president of the Japan Shogi Association). I can't help but remember.
More than 10 years ago, at an enthronement ceremony party, when I greeted Chairman Yonenaga (then, the same applies hereinafter), as soon as I saw his business card, he said, ``J:COM, isn't it? "They said. Later, when I visited Chairman Yonenaga at the Shogi Kaikan because he wanted to have a leisurely talk, he asked me if I could have a title match. I also knew that there were several title fights, including the "Meijin Championship," but I had no way of knowing about the sponsors or management, so I took it home for the time being. After that, we talked about various things, and it came to fruition as the current children's shogi tournament. There are special features not found in other tournaments, such as advancing from regional qualifiers to national tournaments regardless of elementary and junior high school students. Thanks to the support of the players, it has become a success and is now positioned as one of the gateways to becoming a professional shogi player.
After that, Chairman Yonenaga was stricken with illness and was away from official occasions, but he attended the award ceremony of the first tournament held at Sky Tree in 2012 as a guest of honor. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly in December of that year, and I regard this tournament as a testament to Mr. Yonenaga. In order for the shogi world to flourish more and more, I believe that it is my responsibility to hold this tournament again and again as a tournament that can contribute even a little to the growth of children who aim to become professional shogi players. increase.
Kazuhiro Taguchi Managing Corporate Officer JCOM Co., Ltd.
Shoreikai support and “J:COM Award” presentation
Supporting Shoreikai and presenting the “J:COM Award” to young people who are responsible for the Japanese shogi world
J:COM makes a donation every year so that it can be used for the operation of Shoreikai player training organization within the Japan Shogi Association. We are the first company to support Shoreikai. In addition, the "J:COM Award" will be presented as an item that can be used to praise the dedication and efforts of those who are newly promoted to 4th dan, and can support their success as a shogi player. We presented a suit tailoring ticket in 2021, hoping that you will wear it at the next big game.
The "J:COM Award" will be presented mainly at the venue of the "J:COM Cup March Comes In like a Lion Children's Shogi Tournament" in the hope that it will become a target for children participating in the tournament. .
Normally, 4 students from Shoreikai become professional shogi players each year, and in principle, the age limit is 26 years old. J:COM will continue to support young people who are single-mindedly working toward the narrow gate of becoming a professional shogi player.
Reference: August 3, 2021 News Release (309KB)
J:COM Award Recipient
- ※Titles omitted
| Award year | Shoreikai 3rd Dan League | New 4th Dan Promoter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 73rd | Kenta Miyajima | Hirotoshi Ueno |
| 72nd | Naoki Koyama | Morimoto Saito | |
| Kanta Sagi | ー | ||
| Shogi player transfer exam | Leo Koyama | ||
| 2022 | 71st | Nagisa Fujimoto | Yuuya Saito |
| 70th | Leo Okabe | Tokuda Kenshi | |
| 2021 | 69th | Yuki Yokoyama | Mikio Kariyama |
| 68th | Akihiro Ida | Akihiro Takada | |
2023 presentation ceremony
Kenta Miyajima 4th Dan
(2023/11/19 Shogi Day in Kansai)
From left: J:COM Taguchi, Kenta Miyajima 4th Dan, Hirotoshi Ueno 4th Dan
Award comment
I started playing shogi when I was 6 years old. I first learned it from my grandfather. My parents enthusiastically supported me by allowing me to attend children's classes 5 days a week, researching competitions, etc. I also became a member of Gifu Prefecture's Elementary School Masters and advanced to the national competition, but at the time I was most happy to win and to have the opportunity to compete against the strong players.
I remember feeling very jealous when I learned that the J:COM Cup started just the year after I joined Shoreikai. At that time, there weren't many events where you could go from a local tournament to a national tournament, so I felt it was a good opportunity to compete against strong opponents.
Regarding the J:COM Award, as I was competing in Shoreikai, I heard about the existence of such an award from my close friends, Mr. Maki and Mr. Saito, and I thought that if you become a 4th dan, something like this could happen. That was one of my motivations.
The most difficult time for me was when I was stagnant at Shodan for about 3 years and 10 months. I was passed by my peers, and even by younger players such as Fujii Hakkan, and it was very difficult for me to see my growth.
I feel that what enabled us to overcome such a period was the introduction of AI research. Perhaps I was suited to AI research, as I was able to move up from 1st dan to 2nd dan, and then to 3rd dan without any wasted stars.
During my time at Shoreikai, I once served as the recorder for the Fujii Hakkan, and I often had the opportunity to listen to him speak after a game in the players' room, and I feel that this experience was useful in the Sandan League as well.
I was starting to think that I might never become a shogi player, and I was also thinking about what I would do after I left the club at the age of 26, so when I became a shogi player, I was more relieved than happy. After being promoted, my desire to move to a higher level has become stronger day by day, and I feel that I have to work even harder from now on.
Up until now, I have been steadily surpassed by others, so from now on I want to surpass those around me. First of all, my immediate goal is to get through the rankings for one period and become 5th dan. I want to make steady progress every day.
In particular, I would like to thank Professor Shingo Sawada for his advice, including from a spiritual standpoint. Sensei Sawada is the organizer of the Tokai training group, has many disciples, puts effort into spreading the word, and is an admired person who is also active at the top. I wish I could be like that too.
I usually take a break by watching sports. I played baseball in elementary school and basketball in junior high school, and I like sports and moving my body. I don't have a lot of opportunities to do it myself these days, but I really like watching Japanese players who are doing well at the top, especially overseas.
As with anything, I think the most important thing is to enjoy shogi. This will affect the quality and the amount of time you can devote yourself to it. For me, it was rare for me to feel like playing shogi was fun during Shoreikai. However, I feel that the reason I have been able to continue playing shogi is because my love for shogi has never changed. Maybe I can say this because I became a shogi player, but I feel lucky to have found something that I'm passionate about.
From left: J:COM Taguchi, Kenta Miyajima 4th Dan, Hirotoshi Ueno 4th Dan
Hirotoshi Ueno 4th Dan
(2023/11/19 Shogi Day in Kansai)
From left: J:COM Taguchi, Hirotoshi Ueno 4th Dan
Award comment
I had heard about the J:COM Award from my seniors who had won it in the past. I've been appearing in public more often, so I'm happy to be able to receive a suit tailoring ticket. I'm also happy to receive pieces. (* Presented to J:COM Cup national tournament participants)
I started playing shogi when I was 5 years old, taught by my father who was a 2nd dan amateur chess player. He started attending the Kakogawa Shogi Club when he was in the first grade of elementary school and continued to improve his skills.
The biggest tournament I participated in when I was a child was in the lower grade division of the Kurashiki Osho Tournament when I was in third grade. After winning the national championship here, I started thinking about becoming a professional athlete.
I remember that I won second place in the 4th J:COM Cup, which I participated in when I was in 6th grade. I think the special feature of J:COM Cup is that both elementary school and junior high school students can participate, but my opponent in the final was my classmate, and even though I thought, ``I don't want to lose to elementary school students,'' I was disappointed that I lost in the end. I remember that.
I joined Shoreikai the month after the tournament and reached 3rd Dan in my third year of junior high school. I thought I would be able to turn professional right away, but I struggled in the third-dan league and it took me five years to get through. That period was difficult.
My hometown, Kakogawa, is known as a shogi player's town, so shogi is also popular. The voices of support there were very encouraging, and I feel that I was able to do my best by following in the example of other players from the Inoue clan.
After graduating from high school and deciding not to go to university and just focus on shogi, I worked hard with the strong feeling that I had no choice but to improve, and I started spending more time studying shogi. I believe that my skills have improved as I have been receiving more lessons from my seniors at the Kansai Shogi Kaikan and participating in more study groups.
The Inoue clan holds research meetings twice a month in Kakogawa. This is a place where Shoreikai mainly participate and work hard together. When someone else was promoted, I felt that I couldn't give up, and it inspired me to follow in the footsteps of Kariyama and Fujimoto.
Even when we weren't getting results in the third-dan league, Mr. Inoue always said to me, ``Ueno-kun, you'll be fine.'' Even though he had many other disciples, he cared for each one of them individually, and I'm grateful for that. I am.
I was able to leave a record as the fastest winner in the Rookie of the Year match, and I feel that this was because I was able to reach the finals as a third-dan.The experience of struggling in the third-dan league was put to good use, and I steadily improved my ability. I accept that this is the result of this.
I've only played in the Rookie of the Year tournament so far, so I want to do well in other shogi tournaments in the future, and I want to do my best to win the title.
I also feel that I want to aim for Professor Sota Fujii. Fujii-sensei is one year older than me, but I feel that he is far away from me. I think it's amazing that you always have a desire to improve.
I will be competing against Fujii-sensei in a commemorative match for winning the Rookie of the Year Championship, so I want to do my best.
My hobby is watching sports. I'm a Hanshin baseball fan and enjoy watching games on TV as a way to relax.
I think the secret to becoming stronger is to play against lots of different people. I think it's good to find a rival close to you, or to challenge someone older than you. I want the children who are playing shogi to try their best to play shogi with various people through various tournaments.
From left: J:COM Taguchi, Hirotoshi Ueno 4th Dan
