Takeshi Kawakami

Takeshi Kawakami is a Japanese retired professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 7-dan.

Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship

Kawakami was born on July 12, 1972, in Adachi, Tokyo. As a junior high school first-grade student in 1985, he finished runner-up to fellow future shogi professional Nobuyuki Yashiki in the ; the following year, however, he won the same tournament. In 1987, he was accepted into the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū under the guidance of. Promoted to apprentice professional 1-dan in 1990, he full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in 1993 after winning the 12th 3-dan League with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses.

Kawakami finished runner-up to Torahiko Tanaka in the 3rd in 1994, but the tournament was not yet considered to be an official tournament at the time.
In 2013, he finished the 71st Meijin Class C2 league with a record of 2 wins and 8 losses, earning a third demotion point which meant automatic demotion to "Free Class" play.
On April 3, 2023, the announced on its official website that Kawakami had met the Free Class criteria for mandatory retirement and that his retirement would become official upon completion of his last scheduled official game. His retirement became official on September 16, 2025, following his loss to Wakamu Deguchi in a 38th Ryūō Group 5 promotion game. Kawakami finished his career with a record of 426 wins and 431 losses for a winning percentage of 0.497.

The promotion history for Kawakami is as follows: