Sota Fujii's journey to becoming the world's youngest professional shogi player began when he was in the fourth grade. Now the junior high school student from Seto, Aichi Prefecture, wants to be one of the greatest ever to play the game.
Earlier this month, Fujii became only the fifth person to turn pro at Japanese chess while in middle school. The others are ninth dans Hifumi Kato, 76, and Koji Tanigawa, 54; Yoshiharu Habu, 45, a holder of three major titles; and Akira Watanabe, 32, who holds two titles.
“They are all great and I will do my best so I can be as good as they are,” said Fujii, who will officially break the 62-year-old record for youngest player at a promotion ceremony on Oct. 1 at the age of 14 years and 2 months. He qualified for fourth dan, the beginning of the professional ranks, on Sept. 4.