Ōshō (shogi)

The tournament was first held in 1950 as a non-title tournament. The following year in 1951, it was elevated to major title status as the third major title along with the Meijin and Tenth Dan (later Ryūō) title tournaments.

The tournament is open to all {{nihongo|shogi professionals|正棋士|seikishi}} and takes place in four stages. The first and second preliminary rounds consist of multiple single-elimination tournaments in which the first round winners advance to compete against each other in the second round. The three winners of the second round tournaments then advance to a round-robin league called the "{{nihongo|challenger league|挑戦者決定リーグ戦|Chōsensha Kettei Rīgusen}}" along with four seeded players. The winner of the challenger league then advances to a best-of-seven championship match against the reigning Ōshō title holder. If two players or more finish tied for first in the challenger league, a single-game playoff between the two highest seeded players is held to determine the challenger. The time controls are three hours per player for the two preliminary rounds, four hours per player for the challenger league, and eight hours per player for the championship match. The championship match is held from January to March.{{cite web|url=http://www.shogi.or.jp/kisen/oushou/index.html#about|script-title=ja:王将戦概要|title=Ōshōsen Gaiyō|language=Japanese|trans-title= Osho Tournament Summary|publisher=Japan Shogi Association|accessdate=April 1, 2015}}

The following is a list of the winners and runners-up for past Ōshō title matches.{{cite web|url=http://www.shogi.or.jp/kisen/oushou/index.html#result|title=Ōshōsen Kako no Kekka|script-title=ja:王将戦過去の結果|trans-title=Osho Match past results|language=Japanese|publisher=Japan Shogi Association|accessdate=March 31, 2015}}

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• Most titles overall: Yasuharu Oyama, 20
• Most consecutive titles: Yasuharu Oyama, 9 in a row (1963-1971)

{{nihongo|"Lifetime Ōshō"|永世王将|Eisei Ōshō}} is the title given to a player who has won the championship ten times. An active player may qualify for the title, but it is only officially awarded upon retirement or death. Yasuharu Oyama and Yoshiharu Habu are the only players who have qualified for this title: Oyama qualified in 1973 and Habu qualified for the title in 2007.{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.shogi.or.jp/record/eisei-title.html|script-title=ja:永世称号･名誉称号 獲得者一覧|title=Eisei Shōgō - Meiyo Shōgō Kakutokusha Ichiran|trans-title=List of Lifetime Title Holders|language=Japanese|publisher=Japan Shogi Association|quote=王将戦 永世王将 通算10期 大山康晴 (1973)・羽生善治 (2007). [Osho Match: Lifetime Osho, A total of 10 times, Yasuharu Oyama (1973) - Yoshiharu Habu (2007)]|accessdate=March 31, 2015}}

There is a separate tournament held each year for amateurs called the {{Interlanguage link multi|Amateur Osho Tournament|ja|3=将棋のアマチュア棋戦#全国アマチュア王将位大会|vertical-align=sup}} which is sponsored by the Japan Shogi Association with support from the Igo & Shogi Channel. The winner is awarded the title {{nihongo|"Amateur Ōshō"|アマ王将|Ama Ōshō}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.shogi.or.jp/taikai/ama_oushou/index.html|script-title=ja:将棋大会 全国アマチュア王将位大会|title=Shōgi Taikai: Zenkoku Amachua Ōshōi Taikai|language=Japanese|trans-title=Shogi Tournaments: All Japan Amateur Osho Tournament|publisher=Japan Shogi Association|accessdate=April 1, 2015}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://mainichi.jp/feature/shougi/ohsho/ Mainichi Shimbun: Ōshō tournament] {{in lang|ja}}
• [http://www.sponichi.co.jp/society/shogi/ Sports Nippon: Shogi] {{in lang|ja}}
• [http://www.ne.jp/asahi/yaston/shogi/osyo/osyo_index.htm Shogi Tournament Database: Ōshō tournament] {{in lang|ja}}

{{Shogi title tournaments}}

Category:Shogi tournaments