Ayumu Matsuo

Ayumu Matsuo (松尾 歩) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan.

Early life
Matsuo was born on March 29, 1980, in Nisshin, Aichi. His father, a professor at Nagoya University, taught him how to play shogi when he was a third-grade elementary school student, and he soon began regularly traveling to the Tokyo Shogi Kaikan to participate in official Japan Shogi Association training groups. Matsuo's training group results allowed him to enter the JSA's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū in March 1994 as a protegee of shogi professional Kazuharu Shoshi. After only one year as an apprentice, Matsuo achieved promotion to the rank of 1-kyū.

When he was a tenth-grade high school student, Matsuo asked his parents to allow him to leave school and move to Tokyo on his own so that he could fully focus on shogi. His parents were at first opposed to such a thing, but eventually changed their minds and gave their approval. Matsuo was promoted to 1-dan in 1997, and quickly advanced to the rank of 3-dan within eight months. Matsuo won the 3-dan League in his first attempt and was officially awarded professional status and the rank of 4-dan on April 1, 1999.

Promotion history
The promotion history of Matsuo is as follows:
 * 6-kyū: March 1994
 * 1-dan: 1997
 * 4-dan: April 1, 1999
 * 5-dan: April 1, 2002
 * 6-dan: April 21, 2006
 * 7-dan: September 27, 2007
 * 8-dan: July 2, 2015

Titles and other championships
Matsuo has yet to appear in a major title match, but he did defeat Kazuki Kimura two games to none to win the 32nd Shinjin-Ō tournament—a tournament for shogi professionals age 26 and under who are also ranked 6-dan or lower and are not currently a major title holder—in 2001.

Awards and honors
Matsuo received the Japan Shogi Association Annual Shogi Awards for "Best New Player" in 2001, the Kōzō Masuda Award in 2013 and "Special Game of the Year" in 2020.

Year-end prize money and game fee ranking
Matsuo has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's year-end prize money and game fee rankings once: he finished 9th with JPY 19,850,000 in earnings in 2017.

Personal life
Mastuo married women's professional shogi player and fellow Shoshi protegee Kaori Uekawa in April 2005. However, the Ladies Professional Shogi-players' Association of Japan announced on December 1, 2014, that Uekawa would no longer be competing under the name "Matsuo".