From: Colin Paul Adams <colin <at> COLINA <dot> DEMON <dot> CO <dot> UK>
Date: 1 oct 1996
Subject: Grading in Shogi variants

>>>>> "Phil" == Phil Holland <ek44 <at> bcs <dot> org <dot> uk> writes:

  Position / Name   Club       Grade   Wins
   1  / R West      Royston   12-kyu     2  Champion
   2  / C Adams     Preston   15-kyu     1  Runner-up
   3  / P Holland   Royston   14-kyu     1
   4  / P Judkins   Norwich   15-kyu     0

I think there is some slack thinking here, with respect to
grading. The reasoning appears to be that as beginers are
reckoned to be 15 kyu in Shogi, then they should also be
regarded as being 15 kyu in Shogi variants, too.

I think this is the wrong approach. In both Shogi and Go,
the tradition has been that the strongest player in the world
(i.e. Japan at the time) was reckoned as 9-dan when gradings
were established (Honinbo Sansa in both games, at the time),
and other gradings were established relative to this.
N.B. Sansa would not be reckoned as 9-dan strength these days,
of course. In Go, he is reckoned to have been about 5-dan amateur
strength. So grades have strengthened over time (and then weakened
again in the 20th century).

Now the relationship of the strength of an average beginner, to
the (hypothetical average) strongest player is a function of the
game itself, along with the grading (i.e. handicapping) system
used. There is no reason to suppose that the grading steps in
Shogi, Tori Shogi and Chu Shogi can be directly compared. There
is a very good reson to suppose that Shogi and Go grading
steps are different in size - namely that Go beginners are
generally about 35 Kyu.

In conclusion, I think grades for individual Shogi variants should
not be assumed to start at 15 kyu, but rather should be assumed to
descend from 9-dan. Problem: determine the world's strongest
player.

Colin Adams