Sota Fujii Did It at Last!

Don't say you are fed up with Sota and tired of Fujii -because it's well worth reading about him, folks. I know I have covered this Shogi prodigy more often than I should have, perhaps, but trust me this news is worth reading.

The amazing Shogi prodigy, Sota Fujii, has shoved off 28 tough opponents so far and had one more to go to put himself atop the height of a new winning streak record.

Sota Fujii did it today, downing another teenage Shogi 4-dan, Yasuhiro Masuda, who had once lost to Fujii and made up his mind to take a revenge this time on his formidable foe. 

At Tokyo's Japan Shogi Association the two rival teenage Shogi 4-dans met in a crucial showdown at 10:00 a.m. June 26. 

Fujii opened fire at an early stage of the game, Masuda fiercely counterattacking into an even middle game. In the late stage of the game, Fujii assaulted Masuda for the second time to eventually force Masuda to resign at move 91. at 21:24.

In his own analysis, Fujii thought he was in a fix somewhere in the middle game and couldn't see a way out, adding:

"Honestly, I'm only lucky to have won this many equally tough games this far. The next opponent is another strong foe I have to tackle with all my might.".

Masuda 4-dan commented:

"Toward the end, I thought I could survive somehow but I couldn't. He (Fujii) seemed tougher today in the middle game and toward the end."

Fujii's mother was all happy with the way her son had pulled through the hardships to build a great record, adding:

"I sincerely hope he will treasure each and every game he plays from now on and stick to his firm wish to grow strong".

The former record holder Horoshi Kamiya 7-dan commented:

"A genius has just broken with real ability a record accidentally marked by a commoner merely with a piece of luck." (Nathan Shiga) 

Source: NHK