藤井八冠、タイトル戦２０連勝　最長記録―将棋・王将戦

　将棋の藤井聡太王将（２１）＝竜王、名人、王位、叡王、王座、棋王、棋聖と合わせ八冠＝に菅井竜也八段（３１）が挑戦する第７３期王将戦７番勝負の第４局が７、８日、東京都立川市で指され、先手の藤井八冠が１２１手で勝った。藤井八冠は４連勝で王将戦３連覇。タイトル戦２０連勝を果たし、故大山康晴十五世名人が１９６３～６６年に達成した最長記録を塗り替えた。
　藤井八冠の強さが目立つシリーズだった。終局後の大盤解説会場で、藤井八冠は「すごく貴重な経験になった。これからも対局が続くことになるので、頑張っていきたい」と述べ、ファンから拍手を浴びた。敗れた菅井八段は「自分の研究とか力とか、いろんなものが不足していた」と振り返った。（2024/02/08-19:47）

Japanese shogi sensation Sota Fujii beat a challenger for his "Osho" title Thursday to extend his winning streak in title matches to 20, breaking the record set by the late Yasuharu Oyama in the 1960s.
   Fujii, 21, defended the Osho title by winning the first four in the best-of-seven series. In Thursday's match, held in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Fujii defeated Tatsuya Sugai, 31, in the 121st move.
   After the match, Fujii said: "I've had a very precious experience. I'll do my best in upcoming matches." Fans applauded him.
   Sugai, an eighth-dan player, said he fell short in many respects, including research and ability.
   Fujii holds all eight major titles for the chess-like traditional Japanese board game. The other seven are Ryuo, Meijin, Oi, Eio, Oza, Kio and Kisei.