The 64th NHK Cup, or as it is officially known the was a professional shogi tournament organized by the Japan Shogi Association and sponsored by Japan's public broadcaster NHK. Play began on April 6, 2014, and ended on March 22, 2015. The 50-player single elimination tournament was won by Toshiyuki Moriuchi. All of the tournament games were shown on NHK-E. The during the NHK-E broadcasts was female professional Ichiyo Shimizu.
Participants Preliminary tournaments A total of 128 shogi professionals competed in 18 preliminary tournaments to qualify for the main tournament. These tournaments were untelevised one-day tournaments held at the Tokyo Shogi Kaikan and Kansai Shogi Kaikan. Each tournament consisted of seven or eight players. The initial time control for each player was 20 minutes followed by a 30-second byōyomi.
The female professional seed was determined by a single-game playoff between Tomomi Kai 2-crown (Women's ōi and Kurashiki Tōka) and Manao Kagawa (Women's ōshō), which was won by Kagawa. Brackets from two of the preliminary tournaments are shown below.
Main tournament The first time control for main tournament games was ten minutes per player. Once this was used up, a second time control of 10 one-minute periods of began. Each player was given 30 seconds to make their move. If they did so, then no thinking time periods were used. If, however, they did not, a thinking time period began and they then had up to one minute (more specifically 59 seconds) to make a move before entering the next thinking time period. This process was repeated until a player had used all ten thinking time periods when the final byōyomi time control of 30 seconds per move began. Sente was determined prior to each game by piece toss.
The 50 players listed below qualified for the main tournament.
No. Name Rank/Title A1 Masataka Gōda (23) NHK Cup A2 Kōji Tosa (12) 7d A3 Takanori Hashimoto (10) 8d A4 Manao Kagawa (1) W3d A5 (1) 5d A6 Shin'ichi Satō (1) 4d A7 Mamoru Hatakeyama (17) 7d A8 Kōji Tanigawa (35) 9d A9 Hiroshi Kobayashi (9) 7d A10 Daisuke Suzuki (18) 8d A11 Kōru Abe (3) 4d A12 Kōta Kanai (4) 5d A13 Toshiaki Kubo (19) 9d A14 Hisashi Namekata (18) 8d A15 Shingo Sawada (2) 5d A16 Takuya Nagase (4) 6d A17 Takeshi Fujii (20) 9d A18 Hiromu Watanabe (1) 4d A19 Yasumitsu Satō (26) 9d A20 Akira Watanabe (13) 2 crown A21 Takashi Abe (20) 8d A22 Yūki Sasaki (2) 4d A23 Akira Inaba (2) 7d A24 Kōsuke Tamura (10) 7d A25 Tadashi Ōishi (4) 6d No. Name Rank/Title B1 Tadahisa Maruyama (24) 9d B2 Ryōsuke Nakamura (2) 5d B3 Ayumu Matsuo (11) 7d B4 Chikara Akutsu (10) 8d B5 Yūji Masuda (4) 6d B6 Issei Takazaki (4) 6d B7 Tatsuya Sugai (3) 5d B8 Yoshiharu Habu (29) 3 crown B9 Takeshi Kawakami (6) 6d B10 Michio Takahashi (34) 9d B11 Kazuki Kimura (16) 8d B12 Amahiko Satō (6) 7d B13 Toshiyuki Moriuchi (26) 2 crown B14 Hiroyuki Miura (19) 9d B15 Kensuke Kitahama (14) 8d B16 Masayuki Toyoshima (6) 7d B17 Akihito Hirose (8) 8d B18 Taku Morishita (24) 9d B19 Kōichi Fukaura (22) 9d B20 Nobuyuki Yashiki (18) 9d B21 Kōzō Arimori (4) 6d B22 Takayuki Yamasaki (14) 8d B23 Hiroki Iizuka (6) 7d B24 Yasuaki Tsukada (22) 9d B25 Kazuhiro Nishikawa (3) 4d
Notes: "No." represents the bracket position of the player in their respective block and "Rank/Title" represents the rank or titles held by the player when the original bracket finalized. A dan/ grading system is used for ranking players. The number in parentheses after each player's name represents the number of times said player has appeared in the main tournament. Players whose names are in bold were seeded directly into the main tournament as follows: 63rd NHK Cup (four players): Gōda (champion), Maruyama (runner-up), Ōishi (semifinalist) and Nishikawa (semifinalist). Seven major titleholders (three players): Moriuchi (Meijin and Ryūō), Habu (ōza, ōi, and Kisei), Watanabe (Kiō and ōshō) Class A (seven players): Miura, Yashiki, Y. Satō, Fukaura, Tanigawa, Namekata and Kubo Class B1 (twelve players): Takahashi, Hashimoto, Yamasaki, Matsuo, Kimura, Hatakeyama, Hirose, Akutsu, Suzuki, Iizuka, Fujii and Toyoshima Other tournament winners (two players): Inaba (Ginga-sen), Sasaki (Kakogawa Seiryū-sen) Women's professional (one player): Kagawa (Women's ōshō) Others with outstanding records (three players): Sugai (Class C1), Nagase (Class C2) and K. Abe (Class C2) Among these 32 seeds, the following 14 were given byes in round 1 and began play in round 2: Gōda, Maruyama, Ōishi, Nishikawa, Moriuchi, Habu, Watanabe, Miura, Yashiki, Y. Satō, Fukaura, Tanigawa, Namekata and Kubo. The remaining players qualified by winning preliminary tournaments.
The bracket at the start of the tournament is shown below.
Results Round 1 A total of 18 games were played in round 1. Play began on April 6, 2014, and ended on August 3, 2014. The 18 preliminary tournament winners were paired against 18 seeded players. Out of the four players who qualified for the main tournament for the first time, only Manabu Kumasaka was able to make it to the second round. Namekata and Sawada actually had to play two games before a winner was determined. The first game between the two lasted more than two hours before ending in impasse after 252 moves. A second game with sente-gote reversed was then played at a time control of 5 one-minute "thinking periods" followed by a byōyomi of 30 seconds per move and Namekata won in 88 moves.
No. Block Sente Gote No. of moves Date Guest Analyst 1 B Ayumu Matsuo 7dRyōsuke Nakamura 5d 101 April 6, 2014 Masataka Gōda NHK Cup 2 A Kōsuke Tamura 7d Akira Inaba 7d 100 April 13, 2014 Isao Nakata 7d 3 A Kōta Kanai 5d Kōru Abe 4d 223 April 20, 2014 Yasuaki Murayama 7d 4 B Michio Takahashi 9d Takeshi Kawakami 6d 103 April 27, 2014 Hisashi Namekata 8d 5 A Takuya Nagase 6d Shingo Sawada 5d 104 May 4, 2014 Tadashi Ōishi 6d 6 A Yūki Sasaki 5d Takashi Abe 8d 123 May 11, 2014 Manabu Senzaki 9d 7 B Takayuki Yamasaki 8d Kōzō Arimori 6d 91 May 18, 2014 Keita Inoue 9d 8 A Hiromu Watanabe 4d Takeshi Fujii 9d 160 May 25, 2014 9d 9 B Hiroki Iizuka 7d Yasuaki Tsukuda 9d 97 June 1, 2014 Taku Morishita 9d 10 A Kōji Tosa 7d Takanori Hashimoto 8d 108 June 8, 2014 Daisuke Nakagawa 8d 11 A Hiroshi Kobayashi 7d Daisuke Suzuki 8d 165 June 15, 2014 Takashi Abe 8d 12 B Akihito Hirose 8d Taku Morishita 9d 114 June 22, 2014 Chikara Akutsu 8d 13 B Tatsuya Sugai 5d Issei Takazaki 6d 103 June 29, 2014 Makoto Tobe 6d 14 B Yūji Masuda 6d Chikara Akutsu 8d 87 July 6, 2014 Takayuki Yamasaki 8d 15 B Masayuki Toyoshima 7d Kensuke Kitahama 8d 73 July 13, 2014 Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d 16 B Kazuki Kimura 8d Amahiko Satō 7d 109 July 20, 2014 Akira Watanabe 2 crown 17 A Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d Shinichi Satō 4d 97 July 27, 2014 Takanori Hashimoto 8d 18 A Manao Kagawa W3d Manabu Kumasaka 5d 96 August 3, 2014 Osamu Nakamura 9d
Round 2 Round 2 began August 10 and lasted until November 23, 2014. A total of 16 games were played with 14 players receiving first round byes joining the nine winners from round 1. For the second year in a row multiple major titleholder Akira Watanabe loses in round 2. Also, for the second year in a row, Kōta Kanai beats Toshiaki Kubo in the round 2. Takeshi Fujii had to play two games against Yasumitsu Satō before a winner was determined. The first game between the two ended in sennichite after 70 moves. A second game with sente-gote reversed was then played with Fujii winning in 121 moves. Hisashi Namekata and Shingo Sawada also needed two games for a winner to be determined. The first game between the two ended in impasse after 252 moves, and Namekata won the replay with sente-gote reversed in 88 moves. No. Block Sente Gote No. of moves Date Guest Analyst 1 A Akira Watanabe 2 crown Yūki Sasaki 5d 156 August 10, 2014 Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d 2 A Kōta Kanai 5d Toshiaki Kubo 9d 95 August 17, 2014 Daisuke Suzuki 8d 3 B Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d Takayuki Yamasaki 8d 95 August 24, 2014 Kensuke Kitahama 8d 4 A Tadashi Ōishi 6d Akira Inaba 7d 151 August 31, 2014 Tetsurō Itodani 6d 5 A Hisashi Namekata 8d Shingo Sawada 5d 252 September 7, 2014 Masayuki Toyoshima 7d Shingo Sawada 5d Hisashi Namekata 8d 88 6 A Hiroshi Kobayashi 7d Kōji Tanigawa 9d 100 September 14, 2014 Takahiro Toyokawa 7d 7 B Hiroki Iizuka 7d Kazuhiro Nishikawa 5d 105 September 21, 2014 Toshiaki Kubo 9d 8 A Takanori Hashimoto 8d Masataka Gōda NHK Cup 117 September 28, 2014 Yasumitsu Satō 9d 9 B Kazuki Kimura 8d Toshiyuki Moriuchi Ryūō 110 October 5, 2014 Kōichi Fukaura 9d 10 A Yasumitsu Satō 9d Takeshi Fujii 9d 70 October 12, 2014 Akihito Hirose 8dTakeshi Fujii 9d Yasumitsu Satō 9d 121 11 B Yoshiharu Habu 4 crown Michio Takahashi 9d 95 October 19, 2014 Hifumi Katō 9d 12 B Hiroyuki Miura 9d Masayuki Toyoshima 7d 68 October 26, 2014 Kazuki Kimura 8d 13 B Tatsuya Sugai 5d Yūji Masuda 6d 143 November 2, 2014 Kōhei Funae 5d 14 B Kōichi Fukaura 9d Taku Morishita 9d 133 November 9, 2014 Akira Shima 9d 15 B Ayumu Matsuo 7d Tadahisa Maruyama 9d 100 November 16, 2014 Michio Takahashi 9d 16 A Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d Manabu Kumasaka 5d 93 November 23, 2014 Daisuke Nakagawa 8d
Round 3 Play began on November 30, 2014, and ended on January 25, 2015. Out of the 18 preliminary tournament winners, only Kanai 5d made it to round 3.
No. Block Sente Gote No. of moveswidth="120"| Date Guest Analyst 1 B Yoshiharu Habu 4 crown Toshiyuki Moriuchi Ryūō100 November 30, 2014 Takeshi Fujii 9d2 A Yūki Sasaki 5d Tadashi Ōishi 153 December 7, 2014 Taichi Nakamura 6d3 B Kōichi Fukaura 9d Masayuki Toyoshima 7d 135 December 14, 2014 Chikara Akutsu 8d4 A Takanori Hashimoto 8d Mamoru Hatakeyama 7d 111 December 21, 2014 Hisashi Namekata 8d5 A Kōji Tanigawa 9d Kōta Kanai 5d 128 January 4, 2015 Taku Morishita 9d6 B Tatsuya Sugai 5d Tadahisa Maruyama 9d 129 January 11, 2015 Keita Inoue 9d7 A Takeshi Fujii 9d Hisashi Namekata 8d 126 January 18, 2015 Amahiko Satō 8d 8 B Hiroki Iizuka 7d Nobuyuki Yashiki 9d 123 January 25, 2015 Hirotaka Nozuki 7d
Quarterfinals The eight remaining players were paired off against each other with play beginning on February 1 and ending on February 22, 2015. No major titleholders made it as far as the quarterfinals.
No. Block Sente Gote No. of moves Date Guest Analyst 1A Yūki Sasaki 5d Hisashi Namekata 8d 96 February 1, 2015 Yasuaki Murayama 7d2 BToshiyuki Moriuchi 9d Tatsuya Sugai 5d 123 February 8, 2015 Kōji Tanigawa 9d3 A Kōta Kanai 5d Takanori Hashimoto 8d 102 February 15, 2015 Ayumu Matsuo 7d4 B Hiroki Iizuka 7d Kōichi Fukaura 9d 112 February 22, 2015 Osamu Nakamura 9d
Semifinals The two remaining players from each block with paired against each other to determine the respective block winners. The 1st semifinal game between Kōichi Fukaura 9d (sente) and Toshiyuki Moriuchi 9d (gote) was broadcast on March 1, 2015. Moriuchi won the game in 166 moves to win block B. The guest analyst was Yaumitsu Satō 9d. The 2nd semifinal game was between Hisashi Namekata 8d (sente) and Takanori Hashimoto 8d (gote). The game was broadcast on March 8, 2015, and won by Namekata 8d when Hashimoto 8d was disqualified for making an illegal move (Nifu) on his 92nd move. Namekata thus won block A and advanced to the finals of the tournament for the first time. The guest analyst for the 2nd semifinal game was Kazuki Kimura 8d. The host for both semifinal games was female professional Rieko Yauchi 5d.
Final After 109 preliminary tournament games and 58 main tournament games involving 161 players, Toshiyuki Moriuchi 9d and Hisashi Namekata 9d met in the final broadcast on March 22, 2015. This was the first NHK Cup final appearance for Namekata and the fifth appearance for Moriuchi. The piece toss before the game resulted in Namekata being sente. Moriuchi won the game in 134 moves, thus winning the tournament for the third time and becoming the 64th NHK Cup Champion. The guest analyst for the final match were Takeshi Fujii 9d and the hosts of the final were NHK announcer and female professional Ichiyo Shimizu.