On Friday, July 31 and Saturday, August 1, the 62nd National High School Shogi Championship, held in conjunction with the 50th National High School Cultural Festival (Akita Sobunsai), took place in Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture. Soichiro Kume, a second-year senior high school student at our school, competed as the representative of Kyoto Prefecture.

Kume advanced through the preliminary round on the first day with a record of three wins and one loss, earning a place in the final tournament. In the first round of the afternoon knockout stage, he faced an intensely close match in which even a single mistake could have been decisive. He withstood his opponent's relentless attacks with remarkable composure, accurately read the winning line, and claimed victory. In the second round, he calmly exploited weaknesses in his opponent's Anaguma (Bear-in-the-Hole) defensive formation to secure another win and advance to the quarterfinals the following day.

On the second day, Kume won a hard-fought quarterfinal match that lasted 70 minutes, earning a place in the semifinals and guaranteeing a top-four finish. In the semifinal, he put up a determined fight against a highly accomplished opponent whom he had faced before and who had previously achieved top results at national competitions. Although he narrowly missed out on victory, he finished the tournament with an outstanding third-place finish in Japan. Looking back, the opponent who defeated Kume in the preliminary round went on to win the championship, while the opponent who defeated him in the semifinal finished as the runner-up. As both of those players are third-year students graduating this year, great expectations are being placed on Kume, who is currently in his second year, for even greater success in the future.

Kume commented, "At the previous National High School Shogi Newcomers' Championship, I was eliminated in the Round of 16, which was very disappointing. Since then, I have worked hard with the goal of reaching at least the semifinals and standing on the podium this time. I'm really happy that I was able to stay calm, play my own style of shogi against strong opponents, and achieve my goal. This tournament gave me invaluable experience, and from now on I'll be aiming to become the national champion!"

Kume will next compete in the Kyoto Prefectural High School Cultural Festival on Sunday, October 25, where he will battle for a place as Kyoto's representative at the National High School Cultural Federation Shogi Newcomers' Championship. He has also qualified to compete in the Kinki High School Cultural Festival, which will be held on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15. We sincerely appreciate your continued support for Soichiro Kume as he takes on these upcoming challenges.