Tadahisa Maruyama


Tadahisa Maruyama is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is a former Meijin and Kiō title holder.

Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship

Maruyama was born in Kisarazu, Chiba on September 5, 1970. He won the 9th in 1984, and the following year entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū as a protegee of shogi professional. He was promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 1986 and achieved professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 1990.

Shogi professional

Maruyama's first tournament championship as a professional came in came in 1994 when he defeated Masataka Gōda 2 games to none to win the 25th Shinjin-Ō tournament. Maruyama successfully defended his championship the following year by defeating Kōichi Fukaura 2 games to 1 in the 26th Shinjin-Ō match which made him the first person to win the tournament in consecutive years. Maruyama, however, was unable to repeat his success for a third consecutive year when he lost the 27th Shinjin-Ō match 2 games to 1 to Takeshi Fujii in 1996.
Maruyama's first appearance in a major title match came in 1999 when he challenged Yoshiharu Habu for the 47th Ōza title. Maruyama lost the match 3 games to 1.
On December 8, 2023, Maruyama became the tenth professional shogi player overall and the first since July 2017 to reach 1000 wins in official games when he defeated Kōichi Fukaura in a Eiō tournament preliminary round game. Maruyama qualified for the 's "Special Shogi Honor Award" for reaching this milestone. His career record at the time of the victory was 1000 wins and 600 losses for a winning percentage of 0.625. That same month, Maruyama defeated Sōta Fujii to win the 31st Ginga tournament. The victory gave Maruyama his first Ginga Tournament championship, and it also was the first defeat for Fujii in a tournament final since obtaining 8-crown status in September 2023. The championship game was actually played on November 1, 2023, but the final result was not made public until the game was broadcast on December 23.
In December 2024, Maruyama defeated Hisashi Namekata to win the 2nd. That same month the final of the 32nd Ginga tournament between Maruyama and was broadcast, and Maruyama won for the second year in a row to repeat as Ginga champion.

Theoretical contributions

Maruyama invented the Maruyama Vaccine variation for Static Rook positions playing against Cheerful Central Rook opponents.

Promotion history

The promotion history for Maruyama is as follows:
  • 6-kyū: 1985
  • 1-dan: 1986
  • 4-dan: April 1, 1990
  • 5-dan: April 1, 1992
  • 6-dan: April 1, 1995
  • 7-dan: April 1, 1997
  • 8-dan: April 1, 1998
  • 9-dan: June 28, 2000

Titles and other championships

Maruyama has appeared in major title matches a total of ten times and has won three major titles. In addition to major titles, he has won fourteen other shogi championships during his career.

Other championships

Note: Tournaments marked with an asterisk are no longer held.

Awards and honors

Maruyama has received a number of awards and honors throughout his career for his accomplishments both on an off the shogi board. These include the Annual Shogi Awards given out by the JSA for performance in official games as well as other JSA awards for career accomplishments, and awards received from governmental organizations, etc. for contributions made to Japanese society.

Annual Shogi Awards

Other awards

  • 2000, November: Kisarazu City Meritorius Citizen Award
  • 2007: Shogi Honor Fighting-spirit Award
  • 2014: Shogi Honor Fighting-spirit Award
  • 2015: 25 Years Service Award
  • 2023: Special Shogi Honor Award

Year-end prize money and game fee ranking

Maruyama has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's seventeen times since 1993. His highest finish was third in 2001 with in JPY 57,270,000 in earnings.
YearAmountRank
1998¥20,590,00010th
1999¥52,280,0005th
2000¥41,370,0005th
2001¥57,270,0003rd
2002¥44,050,0004th
2003¥37,450,0005th
2004¥27,850,0005th
2006¥31,160,0006th
2007¥19,530,00010th
2008¥25,440,0007th
2010¥23,720,0009th
2011¥26,430,0005th
2012¥34,090,0004th
2013¥29,120,0005th
2016¥22,100,0008th
2017¥29,080,0005th
2020\19,260,0009th