Moro Arisa - Team Igo &Shogi Channel Team Member 25-26

 

Moro Arisa (茂呂有紗), born 16th October 1999 is a 3rd Dan
Professional from Chiha who was an Insei at 12 before passing the Pro Exam at 18 and is working her way up the rankings and starting to be featured in some of the more major competitions.  In 2025 she reached the Kisei Challangers final where she played Ueno Asami for the right to play her sister Risa in the final and has started doing well in other competition challenger rounds.

She is new to the league this year so how she will react in the competition will be interesting.

Play style wise early on (around 20) she was known for being calm and steady which apparently matches her quick witted, smart but observant personality. In her recent challengers match against Asami she was aggressive when playing Black launching rapid early attacks showing she can play more combatively when needed (though Asami is famously aggressive and I fully expect Japanese pros to be able to anything).

Her ELO chart is equally interesting with her rating today at 2952 and a world ranking of 578

So initially (in the calm period) she dropped but from post pandemic she has steadily improved and thus is a Professional whose ability might continue to rise - personally I think a player who has not peaked has some advantages of one who is dropping or plateauing but that just might be me. So I think she makes good sense from a team perspective as someone whose ceiling might not have been reached. I am quite looking forward to seeing how she plays.