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 6-

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 ...

Early life and apprenticeship

Nishiyama was born on April 2, 1986, in

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, Japan. Although his father Keiji was a

, he only really became interested in shogi when he was a first grade elementary school student after reading a beginner's book written by shogi professional . Nishiyama was accepted into 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 ...

'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 ...

as a student of his father in 2001, promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 1995, and obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in October 2008 after finishing the 43rd 3-dan League (April 2008September 2008) with a record of 14 wins and 4 losses.

Shogi professional

Promotion history

The promotion history for Nishikawa is as follows: * 6-

: September 2001 * 4-dan: October 1, 2008 * 5-dan: August 21, 2014 * 6-dan: November 10, 2016

Personal life

Nishiyama and his father are the sixth father-son pair to become professional shogi players and the only pair since the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Nishikawa, Kazuhiro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nishikawa, Kazuhiro Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players Living people People from Kobe Shogi players from Hyōgo Prefecture 1986 births