Editing Go professional (section)

{{Short description|Professional player of the game of Go}}
{{GoBoardGame}}
A '''Go professional''' is a professional player of the [[Go (game)|game of Go]].  The minimum standard to acquire a [[professional diploma]] through one of the major [[Go organisations]] is very high. The competition is tremendous, and prize incentives for champion players are very large. For example, the [[Honinbo (competition)|Honinbo]] Tournament has a [[grand prize]] of about $350,000.

Almost all professional players are from China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. This is because until recently, only China ([[China Qiyuan]]), Japan ([[Nihon Ki-in]], [[Kansai Ki-in]]), South Korea ([[Korea Baduk Association]] (Hanguk Gi-Won)), and Taiwan ([[Taiwan Chi Yuan Culture Foundation]]) had professional Go organizations. In 2012, the [[American Go Association|AGA]] Professional System was established in the United States. In 2014, the [[European Go Federation|EGF]] professional system was established in Europe.

Professional rankings are separate from the amateur ratings (usually ''30-kyu'' through ''7-dan''). Professional rankings are ''1-dan'' through ''9-dan'' (sometimes written ''1p'' through ''9p''). In the past, a'' 1-dan'' professional was roughly equal to a (European) ''7-dan'' amateur. However, since the competition to become a professional has increased since the late 1990s (particularly in China and Korea), it has become the case that new'' 1-dan'' professionals are much stronger than they usually were in the past.

There have also been professional Go players from the West competing in East Asian professional associations, specifically Romania, Austria, Germany, Russia, Hungary, Australia, Finland and the United States of America.