64th NHK Cup (shogi)
The 64th NHK Cup, or as it is officially known the 64th NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament (第64回NHK杯テレビ将棋トーナメント, dairokujūyonkai enueichikeihai terebi shōgi tōnamento) was a professional shogi tournament organized by the Japan Shogi Association and sponsored by Japan's public broadcaster NHK.
The 50-player single elimination tournament was won by Toshiyuki Moriuchi.
The host (司会者, shikaisha) during the NHK-E broadcasts was female professional Ichiyo Shimizu.
The initial time control for each player was 20 minutes followed by a 30-second byōyomi.
[2] The female professional seed was determined by a single-game playoff between Tomomi Kai 2-crown (Women's ōi and Kurashiki Tōka) and Manao Kagawa (Women's ōshō), which was won by Kagawa.
The first time control for main tournament games was ten minutes per player.
[4] Sente was determined prior to each game by piece toss.
The 18 preliminary tournament winners were paired against 18 seeded players.
Out of the four players who qualified for the main tournament for the first time, only Manabu Kumasaka was able to make it to the second round.
Namekata and Sawada actually had to play two games before a winner was determined.
The first game between the two lasted more than two hours before ending in impasse after 252 moves.
A second game with sente-gote reversed was then played at a time control of 5 one-minute "thinking periods" followed by a byōyomi of 30 seconds per move and Namekata won in 88 moves.
For the second year in a row multiple major titleholder Akira Watanabe loses in round 2.
Also, for the second year in a row, Kōta Kanai beats Toshiaki Kubo in the round 2.
Takeshi Fujii had to play two games against Yasumitsu Satō before a winner was determined.
A second game with sente-gote reversed was then played with Fujii winning in 121 moves.
[10] Hisashi Namekata and Shingo Sawada also needed two games for a winner to be determined.
Out of the 18 preliminary tournament winners, only Kanai 5d made it to round 3.
The 1st semifinal game between Kōichi Fukaura 9d (sente) and Toshiyuki Moriuchi 9d (gote) was broadcast on March 1, 2015.
Moriuchi won the game in 166 moves to win block B.
[15] The 2nd semifinal game was between Hisashi Namekata 8d (sente) and Takanori Hashimoto 8d (gote).
[16] Namekata thus won block A and advanced to the finals of the tournament for the first time.
The guest analyst for the 2nd semifinal game was Kazuki Kimura 8d.
The host for both semifinal games was female professional Rieko Yauchi 5d.
[17] After 109 preliminary tournament games and 58 main tournament games involving 161 players, Toshiyuki Moriuchi 9d and Hisashi Namekata 9d met in the final broadcast on March 22, 2015.
Moriuchi won the game in 134 moves, thus winning the tournament for the third time and becoming the 64th NHK Cup Champion.
The guest analyst for the final match were Takeshi Fujii 9d and the hosts of the final were NHK announcer Ryō Nagano [ja] and female professional Ichiyo Shimizu.
The game score and a diagram showing the final position is given below.
[18] Sente: Hisashi Namekata 8d Gote: Toshiyuki Moriuchi 9d Opening: Bishop Exchange 1.
R*5h sente resigns (diagram) The final tournament bracket is shown below.
