Go rank

In the board game go, ranks are assigned to people based on their strength as players. There are three types, kyu, dan, and professional dan. The means of awarding each of these types, and the corresponding strengths, vary from country to country.

Kyu (pronounced like the letter "Q") ranks are for beginners, and start at around 30 kyu (30k), and proceed numerically downward as strength increases to 1k.

A 1k player is one rank weaker than a 1 dan (1d). Also called a shodan, the 1d rank is achieved when all elemental and essential go concepts are mastered.

Dan ranks ascend numerically with strength, to a normal high of 6 or 7 dan. Some amateur players have proven to be far stronger, though they are not technically professionals.

Amateur dan players can prove very strong, even against professionals, though they do not have an official professional rank.

A professional rank is currently only attained through competition in Japan, China or Korea through one of the major go houses, most notably, the Nihon-Kiin.

In order for one to be a 1 dan professional (1p), one must have vast resources of game experience and study. While strong amateur players may know a limited number of joseki[?], a professional must know far more in order to be competitive. This applies to other areas of the game as well such as Life and death[?] The highest professional rank is 9 dan pro, or 9p. There are currently over one hundred people who have the rank of 9p, though many of them no longer perform competitively, due to age.

The game requires study from an early age, should one wish to become a strong professional player.

---

• Sensei's library (http://senseis.xmp.net/) is a wiki devoted entirely to the game of go - it even has special markup for displaying go patterns.
• Gobase (http://www.gobase.org/) maintans up to date information and a wealth of other resources, including player bios, and game archives.