Kioh (棋王, Kiō) is one of the seven title tournaments in Japanese professional shogi ("Japanese chess"). The word means the king of shogi (ki(棋) = shogi, ō(王) = king).
Contents
Overview
The tournament started in 1974 and was promoted to a title tournament in 1975. The championship match is held from February to March. The challenger for the Kioh title is determined by the first and second preliminary rounds. In the second round, the losers in the semi-finals and final play consolation games, then the winners of the final and consolation-final advance to a two-game playoff. The winner of the consolation games has to win both games to become the challenger while the winner of the final has to win only one of the two games. The first player to win three games in the championship becomes the new Kioh titleholder.
Lifetime Kioh
Lifetime (Eisei) Kioh is the title given to a player who won the championship five times in a row. Active players may qualify for this title, but it is only officially awarded upon their retirement or death. In 1995 (the 20th Kioh Match), Yoshiharu Habu won his fifth Kioh title in a row, thus becoming the first professional to qualify for the title. To date, Habu is still the only professional to have accomplished this feat.
Winners
The following table shows a list of past winners.