Kazushi Watanabe


Kazushi Watanabe is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 4-dan.

Early life and education

Watanabe was born on October 6, 1984, in Shinjuku, Tokyo. He learned how to play shogi from his father when he was about five years old, and was accepted into the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school under the guidance of shogi professional Takahiro Toyokawa at the rank of 6-kyū in February 2008. He was promoted to the rank of apprentice professional 3-dan in April 2013, but finished with a record of 1 win and 17 losses in his first season of 3-dan League. Encouraged not to give up and not to worry about being demoted to 2-dan by his mentor Toyokawa, Watanabe's results improved and he finally obtained full professional status and the corresponding rank of 4-dan in October 2019 after winning the 65th 3-dan League with a record of 16 wins and 2 losses.
Watanabe has stated that he has been interested in the study of history ever since he was a young boy. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in Taisho University because he wanted to broaden his horizons instead of just focusing on shogi. He graduated from the university in 2016.

Promotion history

Watanabe's promotion history is as follows: