The 12th Shogi Wars Kishin Tournament will be played online for the three qualification rounds, and in Paderborn, Germany, for the final round this year.
All participants will be rewarded a digital “Shogi Wars item”.
Attractive prize money awaits the winners of the finals.

General Description

Online shogi tournament played on Shogi Wars App.

Qualification Tournaments:

• February 22^nd, 2026,      12:00 – 14:00 UCT
• April 26^th, 2026,               12:00 – 14:00 UCT
• June 21^st, 2026,                12:00 – 14:00 UCT

Final Tournament:

• August 07^th, 2026 in Paderborn

Qualification Tournaments

• Eligible players: all residents of European countries.  
• Registration to start on
  • February 03^rd, 2026, at 12:00 UCT for the February 22^nd tournament
  • April 07^th, at 12:00 UCT for the April 26^th tournament
  • June 02^nd, at 12:00 UCT for the June 21^st tournament
• 10-minutes/player, no byoyomi, no limit in the number games, no need for premium subscription
• No use of digital assistant “Kishin”
• 8 players will qualify for the finals under the following conditions:
  • The winner of each qualification tournament; in case one player wins two or all three qualification tournaments, the runner-up of the second resp. third tournament will qualify.
  • 5 players with the most winning points in their “Best Two” qualification tournaments*. Among those 5 only one may have Japanese citizenship.
  • Participating in the finals requires in person travel to Paderborn
• All participants are rewarded a digital “Shogi Wars item”

Final tournament

• three rounds knock-out tournament among 8 players, using Shogi Wars on the participants own smart phones, but playing face to face in Paderborn
• 10 minutes/player, no byoyomi, no use of “Kishin” assistant
• prize money for the top three players: 1^st 400€, 2^nd 250€, 3^rd 150€
• prizes for the runner-ups, among others teaching game with a professional player
• Selected games of the final tournament will be commented live on Youtube

* The “Best Two” rule:

For each player only the two qualification tournaments with the highest number of won games are counted. A player may therefore also miss one of the qualification tournaments.

In case players have the same number of wins, qualification for the finals is decided as follows:

• The player with the least number of losses;
• If still equal, the player with the most wins in qualification tournament no. 3 (June 21^st);
• If still equal, the player with the least number of losses in qualification tournament no. 3
• If still equal by lot