Akira Ishida was born in 1949 in Tokyo, second son to a 2-dan professional go player. He became a professional pupil at the age of nine, made professional shodan eight years later, and has been earning rapid promotions ever since, becoming shodan in 1966 and 9-dan in 1982 He has made his mark on the tournament scene as well, having finished first or second in five events through 1979. He was awarded the Kido prize for outstanding technique in 1978. James Davies was born in 1945 in Philadelphia. He studied mathematics at Oberlin College and the University of Washington, but in 1970 the game of go drew him to Japan, where he has lived since. An amateur (5-dan) player but a semi-professional writer, he has turned out numerous books and countless magazine articles on go.
