Former Japanese shogi grasp Hifumi Kato died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo on Thursday. He was 86.
The native of Fukuoka Prefecture was the primary junior highschool scholar to grow to be an expert shogi participant in August 1954, attaining the rank of fourth-dan on the youngest age of 14 years and 7 months.
In 1958, Kato turned the youngest participant to interrupt into the highest A category of shogi rating leagues, or preliminaries for the most important title of Meijin, at 18 years and three months, a title he nonetheless holds. He was referred to as an unprecedented genius.
He earned Meijin on the age of 42 in 1982.
Former shogi grasp Hifumi Kato died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo on Thursday on the age of 86.
| JIJI
Kato misplaced to then 14-year-old Sota Fujii within the teenage sensation’s debut match as a professional in December 2016. Kato was 76 on the time.
He retired on the age of 77 in June 2017, at which level he was the oldest energetic skilled participant.
Kato received or defended main titles a complete of eight instances. He racked up 1,324 wins over his profession, the fourth-highest ever, and amassed 2,505 video games performed and 1,180 losses, each all-time highs.
In 2000, he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon, a Japanese medal of honor given to individuals with nice achievements in academia and sports activities, and chosen as a Individual of Cultural Benefit in 2022.
In 2024, he was inscribed within the Guinness World Data for having the “longest profession as a board recreation puzzle author for a similar journal,” after publishing “Tsume Shogi” puzzles in a month-to-month journal for 65 years.
He ceaselessly made media appearances due to his distinctive, lovable character, and was affectionately often called “Hifumin.”
