Makoto Nakahara

Makoto Nakahara (中原 誠) is a Japanese retired professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 9-dan. He was one of the strongest shogi players of the Shōwa period (1926–1989) and holds the titles of Lifetime Kisei, Lifetime Meijin, Lifetime 10-dan, Lifetime Ōi, and Lifetime Ōza.

Shogi professional
Nakahara retired from professional shogi in March 2009 at age 61 for health reasons.

Theoretical contributions
Nakahara won the Kōzō Masuda Award in 1996 for developing the "Nakahara castle" (中原囲い (Nakahara Gakoi)) as a counter strategy to the Side Pawn Capture opening.

Major titles and other championships
Nakahara appeared in 91 major title matches and won 64 major titles during his career. He won the Kisei title sixteen times, the Meijin title fifteen times, the 10-dan (shogi) eleven times, the Ōi title eight times, the Osho title seven times, Oza title six times, and the Kioh title once. He holds the titles of Lifetime Kisei, Lifetime Meijin, Lifetime 10-dan, Lifetime Ōi, and Lifetime Ōza.

In addition to major titles, Nakahara won 28 other shogi championships throughout his career.

Major titles

 * Note: Tournaments marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer held.

JSA president
Nakahara served as the president of the Japan Shogi Association from May 2003 until May 2005.