Takeshi Kawakami
# Takeshi Kawakami

Takeshi Kawakami (川上 猛, Kawakami Takeshi, born July 12, 1972) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7-dan.

## Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship

Kawakami was born on July 12, 1972, in Adachi, Tokyo. As a junior high school first-grade student in 1985, he finished runner-up to fellow future shogi professional Nobuyuki Yashiki in the 10th Junior High School Student Meijin Tournament [ja]; the following year, however, he won the same tournament. In 1987, he was accepted into the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū under the guidance of Hirokichi Hirano [ja]. Promoted to apprentice professional 1-dan in 1990, he full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in 1993 after winning the 12th 3-dan League (October 1992 – March 1993) with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses.

## Shogi professional

Kawakami finished runner-up to Torahiko Tanaka in the 3rd Ginga-sen [ja] in 1994, but the tournament was not yet considered to be an official tournament at the time.

In 2013, he finished the finished the 71st Meijin Class C2 league (April 2012 – March 2013) with a record of 2 wins and 8 losses, earning a third demotion point which meant automatic demotion to "Free Class" play.

### Promotion history

The promotion history for Kawakami is as follows:

* 6-kyū: 1987
* 1-dan: 1990
* 4-dan: April 1, 1993
* 5-dan: June 3, 1999
* 6-dan: September 20, 2005
* 7-dan: October 17, 2017
