Go professional

A Go professional is a professional[?] player of the game of Go. Such players are incredibly strong at the game. The competition is tremendous, and prize incentives for champion players are very high. For example, the Honinbo Tournament has a grand prize of about $175,000.

Almost all professional players are from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

Professional rankings are separate from the amateur ratings (approximately 30 kyu through 7 dan). Professional rankings are 1 dan through 9 dan (sometimes written 1p through 9p). 1 dan professional is roughly equal to (European) 7 dan amateur.