Kentarō Ishii (石井 健太郎, Ishii Kentarō, born April 13, 1992) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7-dan.
Early life and apprenticeship
Ishii was born on April 13, 1992, in Chiba, Chiba.[1] He became interested in shogi after receiving a shogi set as a present from his grandfather, and started attending a shogi school run by shogi professional Kazuharu Shoshi as a kindergartener.[2][3] Ishii failed the entrance examination for the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school twice before finally passing it and being accepted into the school at the rank of 6-kyū in 2004 under the guidance of Shoshi.[3] He was promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 2007,[3] 3-dan in 2010, and finally obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in October 2013 after winning the 53rd 3-dan League with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses.[2][4]
