Kunio Yonenaga Explained

Kunio Yonenaga
Native Name:米長 邦雄
Born:June 10, 1943
Hometown:Masuho, Yamanashi
Nationality:Japanese
Badge No:92
Rank:9-dan
Teacher Rank:Honorary 9-dan
Retirementdate:[1]
Lifetime Titles:Lifetime Kisei
No Titles:19
Tournaments:16
Wins:1103
Losses:800
Winloss Ref:[2]
Jsa:85

was a Japanese professional shogi player and president of Japan Shogi Association[3] (May, 2005 - December 18, 2012[4]).He received an honorary title Lifetime Kisei due to his remarkable results in the Kisei title tournament. He is a former Meijin and 10-dan.

Biography

Yonenaga was born in Masuho, Yamanashi in 1943. He became a disciple of shogi professional Yūji Sase and moved to Tokyo to live with his teacher to become a professional.

Yonenaga became a professional in 1963, and was promoted to 9 dan in 1979. Yonenaga was regarded as one of the best shogi players through the 1970s and 1980s. He won Kisei, his first titleholder championship in 1973 and dominated four of the seven shogi titles in 1984. He was awarded as Best Shogi Player of the Year thrice (1978, 1983 and 1984), though he had not won a Meijin title, then regarded the supreme tournament, for decades. He finally won Meijin in 1993 when he was 49 (the oldest on record), but he was defeated by Yoshiharu Habu the next year. Yonenaga retired in 2003.

He was also an education board member for Tokyo.[5]

In 2008 Yonenaga announced he had suffered cancer since 2008 spring.[6] He reported his cancer diagnosis on his website occasionally which later turned into a book Cancer Note (published in 2009).

Yonenaga was one of early shogi professionals who played with computer shogi publicly. In 2012 when was retired, he played a game with, a computer shogi software, and lost. Yonenaga authored his last book I lost about this game.

Yonenaga died on December 18, 2012 from prostate cancer at a hospital in Tokyo.

Titles and other championships

Title Years Held
Meijin1993
10 dan1984–1985
Kisei1973, 1980, 1983–1985
Oi1979
Kioh1979, 1981—1984
Osho1983–1984, 1990
Title Years Held
NHK Cup1979
Nihon Series1980, 1984, 1986
-

Honours

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Yonenaga Kunio Eisei Kisei, Intai. ja:米長邦雄永世棋聖, 引退. ja. Lifetime Kisei Kunio Yonenaga retires. December 2003. Japan Shogi Association. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070807074543/http://www.shogi.or.jp/osirase/news/2003-12.html#yonenaga-intai. August 7, 2007. September 6, 2018.
  2. Web site: Yonenaga Kunio Eisei Kisei (Kishi Bangō Hachijūgo). ja:米長邦雄 永世棋聖 (棋士番号85). ja. Kunio Yonenaga Lifetime Kisei (Badge No. 85). Japan Shogi Association. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20060531202355/http://www.shogi.or.jp/syoukai/intai/yonenaga.html. May 31, 2006. September 6, 2018.
  3. http://www.researchsea.com/html/article.php/aid/4001/cid/1/research/riken_and_fujitsu_host_symposium_on____shogi_intuition_____japanese_chess__research.html?PHPSESSID=q2c0bnc4brqpmn6siod8trdd44 RIKEN and Fujitsu host symposium on ‘shogi intuition’ (Japanese chess) research
  4. Web site: 組織概要[創立・沿革]. About Us. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141006120701/http://www.shogi.or.jp/aboutus/history.html. 2014-10-06.
  5. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/16/international/asia/16tokyo.html Tokyo's Flag Law: Proud Patriotism, or Indoctrination?
  6. Web site: 癌ノート. 2013-04-01. Cancer Note. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121227234402/http://www.yonenaga.net/gan.html. 2012-12-27.