is a Japanese

professional shogi player A professional shogi player (将棋棋士 ''shōgi kishi'' or プロ棋士 ''puro kishi'' "professional player") is a shogi player who is usually a member of a professional guild of shogi players. There are two categories of professional playe ...

ranked 7-

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa ** Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivo ...

. He is currently serving as an executive director of the

Japan Shogi Association The , or JSA, is the primary organizing body for professional shogi in Japan. The JSA sets the professional calendar, negotiates sponsorship and media promotion deals, helps organize tournaments and title matches, publishes shogi-related materia ...

. Nishio introduces

shogi theory , also known as Japanese chess, is a Strategy game, strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as chess, Western chess, chaturanga, xiangqi, Indian chess, and janggi. ...

in the English language through his blog ''Shogi Openings'' and his occasional posts on Facebook.

Early life

Nishio was born in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

on September 30, 1979. He finished runner up in the in 1988 as a third-grade elementary school student, and made the semi-finals of the same tournament two years later. In September 1990, Nishio entered the

's apprentice school at the rank of 6-

kyū is a Japanese language, Japanese term used in modern martial arts as well as in Japanese tea ceremony, tea ceremony, ikebana, flower arranging, Go (game), Go, shogi, academic tests and other similar activities to designate various grades, leve ...

under the guidance of shogi professional Teruichi Aono. He was promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 1995, and obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 2003 after finishing runner up in the 32nd 3-dan League with a record of 11 wins and 7 losses.

Shogi professional

Promotion history

Nishio's promotion history is as follows: * 6-

: September 1990 * 1-dan: 1995 * 4-dan: April 1, 2003 * 5-dan: September 18, 2007 * 6-dan: April 21, 2011 * 7-dan: February 13, 2019

JSA director

Nishio was elected to the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors for a two-year term as an executive director in June 2019. He was re-elected to additional two-year terms in June 2021 and June 2023.

Bibliography

*西尾 ishio 明

kira Kira may refer to: People * Kira clan, a Japanese clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) * Kira (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Kira Chikazane (1563–1588), Japanese retainer * Kira (German singer) (Janine ...

2011. ''よくわかる角換わり.'' 毎日コミュニケーションズ. *西尾, 明. 2015. ''矢倉☖5三銀右戦法: 仕掛けて勝つ後手矢倉の革命.'' マイナビ出版. *西尾, 明. 2017. ''矢倉の基本: 駒組みと考え方.'' マイナビ出版. *西尾, 明; 大平 �hira 武洋 akehiro & 村中 uranaka 秀史 hūji 2008. ''新鋭居飛車実戦集.'' 毎日コミュニケーションズ.

References

External links

*English language blog
Shogi Openings
*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Nishio, Akira
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nishio, Akira Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players Living people People from Yokohama Shogi players from Kanagawa Prefecture 1979 births