Takeshi Kawakami

Takeshi Kawakami (川上 猛) 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; 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. 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 in 1994, but the tournament was not yet considered to be an official tournament at the time.

In 2013, he 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