[2][3] In September 2009 while he was still an elementary school sixth-grade student, he was accepted into the Japan Shogi Association (JSA) apprentice school under the guidance of shogi professional Toshio Miyata [ja] at the rank of 6-kyū.
[2] It was around this time that he began to seriously use computer shogi programs into his practice routines, and stated that he believes doing so really helped to improve his game.
[2][4] In December 2019, Honda earned to right to challenge Akira Watanabe for the 45th Kiō title.
Sasaki had lost in the semi-finals of the challenger tournament, but advanced to the challenger determination match by winning the three-player double-elimination full repechage tournament for the two losers in the semi-final round and the loser in the final round of the challenger tournament to determine the player to face Honda.
Honda's win made him first player to earn the right to challenge for a major title in his first attempt under the current eight-major-title system.