Soichiro Kume Achieves an Impressive Result!

From January 30 (Thu) to 31 (Fri), the 34th National High School Cultural Federation Shogi Rookie Tournament (FY Reiwa 7) was held in Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture.

Our school’s first-year high school student, Soichiro Kume, competed as the Kyoto Prefecture representative. Facing a tournament filled with elite players selected from across Japan, Kume demonstrated his strong concentration and perseverance, engaging in a series of intense matches.

In the preliminary rounds on the first day, he played four games and finished with a record of three wins and one loss, earning a place in the final tournament bracket. His only loss came against a player who went on to place second overall in the tournament.

In the first round of the final tournament, Kume faced a highly skilled local competitor representing Yamagata Prefecture. Remaining calm under pressure and carefully defending against a fierce attack, he secured an excellent victory.

In the second round, he faced a top-level player from Chiba Prefecture, who had advanced from the preliminaries in fourth place. Kume’s bold and aggressive play stood out, but he fell just short and was narrowly defeated.

Although he did not advance to the quarterfinals, Kume achieved an outstanding result by finishing in the top 16 nationwide. It was an impressive performance, especially for a first-year student competing on the national stage.

We look forward to seeing even greater success from Kume in the future. Thank you, as always, for your continued warm support.

This tournament was my first national competition since entering high school. It was a dream come true to play in Tendo City, a town I have admired for a long time as the “City of Shogi,” and to compete against top players from all over Japan—opponents I rarely get the chance to face.

I learned a great deal from these two days, and I truly feel that I have become stronger. Although I am disappointed with the result, I will work hard to win through the Kyoto qualifiers again so that I can return to the national stage and compete alongside my teammates.