Editing Shogi (section)

== Player rank and handicaps ==

{{ main | Professional shogi player#Ranking }}

Amateur players are ranked from 15 ''[[kyū]]'' to 1 kyū and then from 1 ''[[dan (rank)|dan]]'' to 8 dan. Amateur 8 dan was previously only honorarily given to famous people. While it is now possible to win amateur 8 dan by actual strength (winning amateur Ryu-oh 3 times), this has yet to be achieved.

Professional players operate with their own scale, from 6 kyū to 3 dan for pro-aspiring players and professional 4 dan to 9 dan for formal professional players.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shogi.or.jp/kisen/shourei/index.html|script-title=ja:奨励会概要|title=Shōreikai Gaiyō|language=ja|trans-title=Outline of Shoreikai|publisher=Japan Shogi Association|access-date=21 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216005214/http://www.shogi.or.jp/kisen/shourei/index.html|archive-date=16 December 2008}}</ref> Amateur and professional ranks are offset (with amateur 4 dan being equivalent to professional 6 kyū).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/archives/news/04-12/image/kyudan.gif |title=Title offset illustration |access-date=8 March 2012}}</ref>

=== Handicaps ===
{{Main|Handicap (shogi)}}

{{shogi diagram 
| floatright
| '''6-Piece Handicap'''
| –
|    |    | sg | gg | kg | gg | sg |    |
|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
| pg | pg | pg | pg | pg | pg | pg | pg | pg 
|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
| ps | ps | ps | ps | ps | ps | ps | ps | ps 
|    | bs |    |    |    |    |    | rs |
| ls | ns | ss | gs | ks | gs | ss | ns | ls 
| –
|
}}
Shogi has a handicap system (like [[Go (game)|go]]) in which games between players of disparate strengths are adjusted so that the stronger player is put in a more disadvantageous position in order to compensate for the difference in playing levels. In a [[Handicap (shogi)|handicap game]], one or more of White's pieces are removed from the setup, and instead White plays first.

The imbalance created by this method of handicapping is not as strong as it is in [[handicap (chess)|western chess]] because material advantage is not as powerful in shogi.
{{clear}}