Kōta Kanai (金井 恒太, Kanai Kōta, born May 25, 1986) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 6-dan.
[2] In August 1999, he was accepted into the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū under the guidance of shogi professional Kenji Iino [ja].
He was promoted to the rank of 3-dan in 2003,[2] and obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 2007 after the tying for first place with Masayuki Toyoshima in the 40th 3-dan League (October 2006 – March 2007) with a record of 14 wins and 4 losses.
[5][6] Kanai's promotion history is as follows:[7] Kana has appeared in one major title match since turning professional.
[8] Kanai received the Japan Shogi Association's Annual Shogi Awards "Most Consecutive Games Won" for 2008 and "Special Game of the Year" for 2009.