- Ryu-oh
Ryu-oh or Ryūō (竜王, lit. "
Dragon King ") is the name of a promoted piece inshogi , a Japanese professional shogi tournament, and the title of its winner.The basic meaning of "Ryu-oh" is a "promoted rook". It can move as either a rook ("hisha" 飛車, lit. flying chariot") or a king ("gyokushō" 玉将, lit. "jade general") during a turn, and is one of the most powerful pieces in shogi.
"Ryu-oh" also refers to the annual Ryu-oh Tournament ("Ryūō-sen" 竜王戦) organized by
Yomiuri Shimbun as well as the title awarded to its winner. The Ryu-oh Tournament, which is one of seven Japanese shogi title matches, was first held in 1988. It comprises preliminary tournaments in six classes and one final. The final tournament, which determines the challenger, involves competitions among eleven players (the top five players from 1st class, top two from 2nd class, and the top four from 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th classes). The first player to win four out of seven championship games becomes the new titleholder. Cash prizes are ¥32,000,000 for the winner of championship and new Ryu-oh titleholder, and ¥8,000,000 for the loser (approximately US$320,000 and $80,000 respectively). Additional compensation includes ¥14,500,000 for the previous titleholder and ¥7,000,000 for the challenger (approximately US$145,000 and $70,000). Among the seven rankings in the professional shogititleholder system , Ryu-oh and Meijin are the most prestigious designations.Honorary Ryu-oh
Honorary Ryu-oh ("Eisei Ryu-oh" = Permanent Ryu-oh) is the title given to a player who won the championship five times in a row or seven times.Fact|date=October 2008
Akira Watanabe won the championship four times in a row from 2004 to 2007, and
Yoshiharu Habu who won it six times got right to challenge Watanabe in 2008.Winners
External links
* [http://www.shogi.or.jp/kisenhyo/ryuuou.html 竜王戦：日本将棋連盟] , Ryūō Tournament: Japan Shogi Association ja icon
* [http://live.shogi.or.jp/ryuou/ 第21期竜王戦中継] , 21st Ryūō Tournament website ja icon
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