KENZAN! SHOGI RANKING: THE COMPLETE LADDER

KENZAN! SHOGI RANKING: THE COMPLETE LADDER Play at Narikane Shogi in Rakugai from 5-6. Entry is listed as 50 Mon. Beat an opponent above your current grade to advance. The grades climb from Rank 10 toward Rank 1, then from 1st Dan through 10th Dan, followed by Shogi King. Below is the full opponent roster and the prize for that level. Where two names share a rank, both belong to that rank; this is not a claim that the game requires two wins before every promotion. Choose the stronger unlocked opponent when trying to move upward. RANKS 10–1 Rank 10: Nukesaku and Mataro. Reward: Manju. Rank 9: Ofuu and Torachiyo. Reward: Kujo Onion. Rank 8: Tarosuke and Iwahiko. Reward: Tri-Colour Dango. Rank 7: Yannosuke and Heikichi. Reward: Rice Ball. Rank 6: Shinemon and Tatsugoro. Reward: Pepper. Rank 5: Keizo and Kyuhei. Reward: Ginger. Rank 4: Gonzaemon and Kyubei. Reward: Snail. Rank 3: Ekichi and Daian. Reward: Unrefined Sake. Rank 2: Genshiro and Eizaemon. Reward: Sludge Worm (Medium). Rank 1: Ihei and Jinbei. Reward: Nada Refined Sake. All these opponents allow replays. Use them to revisit a dropped-piece threat or an undefended capture rather than repeating the same move without understanding why it failed. Early opponent descriptions offer a useful choice. Nukesaku is weak overall; Mataro attempts a defensive game. Ofuu attacks, while Torachiyo favors defense and gives up relatively readily. Tarosuke attacks less predictably, Iwahiko builds a firmer defense, and Yannosuke/Heikichi continue the attacking/defensive split. Their style does not guarantee a particular reply. DAN OPPONENTS 1st Dan: Kennosuke. Scallop. Replays allowed. 2nd Dan: Yujiro. Vitality Pill. Replays allowed. 3rd Dan: Fujihiko. Frenzy Pill - High Grade. Replays allowed. 4th Dan: Danji. Vitality Pill - High Grade. Replays allowed. 5th Dan: Oyuki. Horse Meat. Replays allowed. 6th Dan: Zenzaburo. Sarashi. Replays allowed. 7th Dan: Kotetsu. All-Purpose Pill - High Grade. Replays allowed. 8th Dan: Mankichi. Konpeito. No replays. 9th Dan: Eisuke. Castella. No replays. 10th Dan: Ho-oh. Gambler's Tobacco. No replays. Shogi King: Seio. Gold Comb. No replays. A PRACTICAL PLAN FOR STANDARD POSITIONS Develop one attacking side instead of pushing unrelated pawns across the whole board. Opening your bishop's diagonal and advancing the pawn in front of the rook are useful themes, but check the opponent's reply before continuing either plan. Move the king away from your main rook battle and keep golds close enough to cover it. Do not walk the king into a bishop diagonal while trying to build a castle. A solid position that survives a rook drop is worth more than a pawn won by exposing your back rank. Against attacking opponents, defend the threatened point with enough pieces and look for a capture that turns their advanced piece into a useful drop. Against defensive opponents, improve your own pieces and create a second weakness instead of sacrificing into a defended castle. Before a major exchange, inspect both players' hands. The board can look quieter after a trade while the newly available drops make it much more dangerous. Save your replays for the first mistaken assessment, before the position deteriorates further. At 8th Dan and above, calculate the opponent's strongest check, capture and fork before confirming. There is no takeback safety net. A proposed attacking move should answer two questions: what does it threaten, and what happens if the opponent checks your king instead? Defeating Seio clears the ranking requirement, not all shogi completion by itself. Finish the ten numbered trials and Final Trial in Gion as well.