Wataru Yashiro

Wataru Yashiro (八代 弥, Yashiro Wataru, born March 3, 1994) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7-dan.

Yashiro was born on March 3, 1994, in Kamo District, Shizuoka.^[1] He learned how to play shogi from his father when he was a first-grade elementary school student, and was accepted into the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū in September 2005 under the guidance of shogi professional Teruichi Aono.^[2][3]

At first, Yashiro had some difficulty as an apprentice professional and even came close to being demoted in rank to 7-kyū; however, he started practicing regularly at the Kamata Shogi Club—a well-known shogi club where many strong amateurs, apprentence professionals, and even regular professionals would practice—and his results began to quickly improve.^[2] He was promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 2008,^[2] and then 3-dan in April 2010.^[3] He obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in March 2012 after finishing runner up in the 50th 3-dan League (October 2011 – March 2012) with a record of 14 wins and 4 losses.^[2][3][4]

Yashiro defeated Yasuaki Murayama to win the 10th Asahi Cup Open [ja] in February 2017 for his only shogi tournament championship to date. Yashiro was just twenty-two years old at the time which made him the then youngest player to ever have won the tournament.^[5][6] Yashiro's record, however, was broken the following year by Sōta Fujii who won the 11th Asahi Cup Open as a fifteen-year-old.^[7]

The promotion history for Yashiro is as follows:^[8]

• 6-kyū: September 2005
• 3-dan: April 2010
• 4-dan: April 1, 2012
• 5-dan: May 12, 2015
• 6-dan: February 11, 2017
• 7-dan: April 23, 2019

Yashiro has yet to make an appearance in a major title match, but he has won one non-major shogi championships during his career.^[9]

Yashiro received the Japan Shogi Association Annual Shogi Award for "Best New Player" for the 2016–17 Shogi Year.^[10]

• ShogiHub: Professional Player Info · Yashiro, Wataru