Akira Nishio

Akira Nishio (西尾 明) 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.

Early life
Nishio was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture on September 30, 1979. He finished runner up in the Elementary School Student Meijin Tournament 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 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.

Promotion history
Nishio's promotion history is as follows:


 * 6-kyū: 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.