Akira Inaba
is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8-dan. Inaba, together with Tetsurō Itodani, Masayuki Toyoshima and Akihiro Murata, is one of four Kansai-based young shogi professionals who are collectively referred to as the "Young Kansai Big Four".Inaba's promotion history is as follows:
- 2000, September: 6-kyū
- 2008, April 1: 4-dan
- 2011, March 8: 5-dan
- 2012, May 1: 6-dan
- 2013, August 16: 7-dan
- 2016, February 18: 8-dan
Titles and other championships
Inaba has appeared in a major title match only once: he was the challenger for the Meijin title in 2017. He earned the right to challenge Amahiko Satō for the title by winning the 2016-2017 Class A ranking tournament with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss, thus becoming the eighth player in history to win the right to challenge for the Meijin title in his first year in Class A.
In 2013, he won the for his only shogi tournament championship.Inaba has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's once: he finished 6th with JPY 28,010,000 in earnings in 2017.
