European Shogi Championship

The ESC is restricted to European players eligible for the continental title, although tournaments held in parallel (such as the World Open Shogi Championship) allow international participation. The event is usually contested in a Swiss‑system format over several rounds, with additional side events often including blitz tournaments and team competitions.^[2]

The European Shogi Championship plays a central role in the promotion and competitive development of shogi across Europe. It is supported and recognised by FESA, which comprises national shogi associations from countries including Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and others.^[3]

The first official European Shogi Championship took place in 1985, shortly after the establishment of FESA. Since then, the championship has been held annually, with exceptions during periods of global disruption (for example, some events around 2020 were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic).

Traditionally the ESC has run alongside the World Open Shogi Championship at the same venue, allowing both the continental title and open world‑level competition to be decided within the same event. The European tournament follows eligibility rules that focus on European players for the title, although the broader open event welcomes players from outside Europe.^[4]

Over the years, winners have included prominent European players from across the continent. The tournament has been hosted in a variety of European cities, reflecting the international character of the European shogi community.^[5]

The championship is typically contested using the Swiss pairing system, with a fixed number of rounds depending on the number of participants. Players accumulate points across all rounds, and the competitor with the highest score is crowned European Champion. Tie‑break systems are often used to rank players with equal scores. Supplementary events such as blitz championships or team competitions may be organised alongside the main event.

To be eligible for the European Shogi Championship title, players must represent a European country that is a member of FESA. Non‑European participants may still compete in associated open tournaments, but are not eligible for the European title itself. National associations under FESA include member federations from at least 21 European nations across the continent.

Sources:^[6][7]

More information Year, Location ...

Year	Location	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place	Players
1985	The Hague	Hans Secelle	Mike Sandeman	Katsura Yamamoto	24
1986	Merelbeke	Reijer Grimbergen	Rene Aaij	Mike Sandeman	40
1987	Utrecht	Mike Sandeman	Reijer Grimbergen	Jan Oosterwijk	30
1988	Ghent	Stephen Lamb	Mike Sandeman		40
1989	Hythe	Arend van Oosten	Stephen Lamb	Y. Mitsui	41
1990	Frankfurt	David Murphy	Pieter Stouten	Katsura Yamamoto	60
1991	Ramsgate	Stephen Lamb	Arend van Oosten	Mike Sandeman	34
1992	London	Reijer Grimbergen	Eric Cheymol	Michael Trent	32
1993	The Hague	Arend van Oosten	Tony Hosking	Reijer Grimbergen	32
1994	Brussels	Shuji Takahara	Hans Segers	Eric Cheymol	41
1995	Brussels	Reijer Grimbergen	Les Blackstock	Arend van Oosten	52
1996	Brussels	Arend van Oosten	Toyokazu Miyamoto	Tsutomu Fukumura	62
1997	Brussels	Toyokazu Miyamoto	Susumu Hara	Eric Cheymol	63
1998	Leiden	Boris Mirnik	Reijer Grimbergen	Matt Casters	48
1999	Leiden	Arend van Oosten	Stephen Lamb	Tony Hosking	47
2000	London	Tony Hosking	Kei Ichiyanagi	Arend van Oosten	82
2001	London	Frederic Pottier	Gert Schnider	Richard Sams	36
2002	Brussels	Boris Mirnik	Eric Cheymol	Gert Schnider	55
2003	Öckerö	Yoshiyuki Uemura	Thore Angqvist	Boris Mirnik	48
2004	Pullach	Yuji Kikuta	Hideki Tashiro	Yoshiyuki Uemura	53
2005	Pardubice	Artem Kolomiyets	Arend van Oosten	Boris Mirnik	64
2006	Colmar	Arend van Oosten	Frank Roevekamp	Jochen Drechsler	61
2007	Pardubice	Victor Zapara	Boris Mirnik	Marc Theeuwen	35
2008	Pardubice	Artem Kolomiyets	Karl Wartlick	Marc Theeuwen	39
2009	Stockholm	Jean Fortin	Karl Wartlick	Christer Hartman	32
2010	Debrecen	Jean Fortin	Gergely Buglyo	Thomas Leiter	39
2011	Ludwigshafen	Jean Fortin	Boris Mirnik	Thomas Leiter	82
2012	Krakow	Thomas Leiter	Sergey Korchitsky	Laszlo Abuczki	87
2013	Minsk	Sergey Korchitsky	Victor Zapara	Artem Kolomiyets	92
2014	Budapest	Karolina Styczynska	Marco Dietmayer	Jean Fortin	78
2015	Prague	Jean Fortin	Sergei Krivoshey	Laszlo Abuczki	119
2016	Amsterdam	Jean Fortin	Vincent Tanyan	Karl Wartlick	121
2017	Kyiv	Vincent Tanyan	Sergey Korchitsky	Thomas Leiter	66
2018	Berlin	Thomas Leiter	Jean Fortin	Vincent Tanyan	128
2019	Bratislava	Vincent Tanyan	Thomas Leiter	Anton Starykevich	109
2021	Minsk	Sergey Korchitsky	Vincent Tanyan	Anton Starykevich	67
2022	Ludwigshafen	Uladzislau Zakrzheuski	Jean Fortin	Anton Starykevich	87
2023	Strasbourg	Anton Starykevich	Thomas Leiter	Maxim Shaporov	136
2024	Barcelona	Jean Fortin	Frank Rövekamp	Stefanos Mandalas	87
2025	Wroclaw	Anton Starykevich	Uladzislau Zakrzheuski	Jean Fortin	87

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• World Open Shogi Championship
• Federation of European Shogi Associations
• Shogi