Akira Nishio

Akira Nishio
Akira Nishio
Native name	西尾明
Born	September 30, 1979 (age 44)
Hometown	Yokohama
Career
Achieved professional status	April 1, 2003 (aged 23)
Badge Number	248
Rank	7-dan
Teacher	Teruichi Aono (9-dan)
Meijin class	C1
Ryūō class	4
Websites
	JSA profile page

Akira Nishio (西尾明, Nishio Akira, born September 30, 1979) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7-dan. He is currently serving as an executive director of the Japan Shogi Association.

Nishio introduces shogi theory in the English language through his blog Shogi Openings and his occasional posts on Facebook.^[1]

Early life

Nishio was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture on September 30, 1979.^[2] He finished runner up in the Elementary School Student Meijin Tournament [ja] in 1988 as a third-grade elementary school student, and made the semi-finals of the same tournament two years later.^[3]

In September 1990, Nishio entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū 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.^[3]^[4]

Nishio's promotion history is as follows:^[5]

Nishio was elected to the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors for a two-year term as an executive director in June 2019.^[6] He was re-elected to additional two-year terms in June 2021^[7] and June 2023.^[8]

西尾 [Nishio], 明 [Akira]. 2011. よくわかる角換わり. 毎日コミュニケーションズ. ISBN 4-8399-3985-3
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. ISBN 978-4839957360
西尾, 明. 2017. 矢倉の基本: 駒組みと考え方. マイナビ出版. ISBN 978-4839961718
西尾, 明; 大平 [Ōhira], 武洋 [Takehiro]; & 村中 [Muranaka], 秀史 [Shūji]. 2008. 新鋭居飛車実戦集. 毎日コミュニケーションズ. ISBN 4-8399-2860-6