Go Seigen

Go Seigen
Name	Go Seigen
Chinese	吳清源 (traditional); 吴清源 (simplified)
Pinyin	Wú Qīngyuán
Born	May 19, 1914
Birthplace	Fujian Province, China
Residence	Tokyo, Japan
Teacher	Segoe Kensaku
Rank	9 dan professional
Status	Retired
Affiliation	Honorary member of the Nihon Ki-in

Wu Qingyuan (呉清源, Pinyin: Wú Qīngyuán, born May 19, 1914), known to the world as the Japanese Go Seigen, is considered by many to be the greatest player of the game of Go in the 20th century and one of the greatest of all time.

Biography

Born May 19, 1914 in Fujian Province, China, Go Seigen did not start learning the game of Go until he was nine, a relatively late age (Honinbo Dosaku first learned Go at seven and Honinbo Shusaku before he was six). His father, who had taken Go lessons from Honinbo Shuho while studying in Japan, was responsible for introducing him to the game. Go Seigen quickly excelled and soon became known as a Go prodigy. By the time he was 12, less than three years after first learning the game, he was already of professional strength, as evidenced by his games against the visiting Japanese player Iwamoto Kaoru, 6p in 1926. The next year, he was able to reach a draw in a two-game match against another Japanese professional, Inoue Kohei, 5p. In 1928, still only 14 years old, he twice defeated Hashimoto Utaro, 4p. Go Seigen's reputation spread to Japan, then the leading Go powerhouse, and a movement was started there to bring him to Japan. He subsequently immigrated to Japan in 1928, at the invitation of Baron Kihachiro Okura and Inukai Tsuyoshi (later prime minister of Japan), and embarked on a professional career. When he naturalized as a Japanese citizen in 1936, he adopted the name Go Izumi (吳泉 pronounced in Japanese). He later returned to his old name in 1940. His surname (吳) reads the same as Go in Japanese (碁). As a result, some Japanese said he was born to play go.

Professional record

Go Seigen is commonly considered to be among the best to have ever played the game and the best player of the 20th century. He dominated professional Go for more than a quarter of a century. He maintained a brilliant match record and successively defeated all the leading players of the day in a series of famous jubango (contest between two players consisting of ten games), even forcing them down to handicaps.[1] Some of the defeated were Karegane Junichi, Hashimoto Utaro, Iwamoto Kaoru, Fujisawa Hosai, Sakata Eio, and Takagawa Kaku. Go lost just one jubango, and that was against Fujisawa Hosai. However, the match was played with Fujisawa taking the josen handicap throughout, and Fujisawa only managed to win with a score of 6 to 4. Some ten years later, Go Seigen took revenge on Fujisawa by beating him in two consecutive jubango with lopsided scores of 7-2 and 5-1 respectively. One must note that these jubango matches were all played without komi, and indeed the same applied to the vast majority of games Go Seigen played during his career. A table of Go's jubango record is below.

Opponent	Record	Dates Played
Kitani Minoru 5p	3 - 3 (started even, abandoned after Kitani was promoted to 6p; handicap not changed)	1933 - 34
Kitani Minoru 8p	6 - 4 (started even, Kitani was beaten down to sen-ai-sen handicap after 6 games (5-1))	1939 - 40
Karegane Junichi 8p	4 - 1 (started even, abandoned to avoid possible embarrassment for Karigane, since one more loss would mean Karigane having to play with sen-ai-sen handicap)	1941 - 42
Fujisawa Hosai 7p	4 - 6 (started with Fujisawa playing with josen handicap; handicap not changed)	1942 - 44
Hashimoto Utaro 8p	6 - 3 - 1 (started even, Hashimoto was beaten down to sen-ai-sen handicap after 8 games (6-2))	1946 - 48
Iwamoto Kaoru 8p	7 - 2 - 1 (started even, Iwamoto was beaten down to sen-ai-sen handicap handicap after 6 games (5-1))	1948 - 49
Against a team of ten players	8 - 1 - 1	1949 - 50
Hashimoto Utaro 8p	5 - 3 - 2 (started with Hashimoto playing with sen-ai-sen handicap, handicap not changed)	1950 - 51
Fujisawa Hosai 9p	7 - 2 - 1 (started even, Fujisawa was beaten down to sen-ai-sen handicap after 9 games (6-2-1))	1951 - 52
Fujisawa Hosai 9p	5 - 1 (abandoned after Fujisawa was beaten down from sen-ai-sen handicap to josen handicap)	1952 - 53
Sakata Eio 8p	6 - 2 (abandoned after Sakata was beaten down from sen-ai-sen handicap to josen handicap)	1953 - 54
Takagawa Kaku 8p	8 - 2 (started even, Takagawa was beaten down to sen-ai-sen handicap after 8 games (6-2))	1955 - 56

Style

Go Seigen was famous for his fast-paced playing style. He settled his groups quickly and got to the big points first. This "fleet footedness" was evident very early in his career. It was not unusual for him to consume 1/4 to 1/3 less time than his opponent during a match. His reading was fast and immaculate, and his intuition and positional judgement were unrivaled. It was also noted that he rarely lost a ko fight that he initiated.

Theorist

In addition to being a peerless match player, Go Seigen has also made great contributions to Go theory, especially in the area of fuseki. He is well known, along with Kitani Minoru, as one of the two leading exponents and innovators of the shinfuseki, a period of revolutionary experimentation in the opening of the game that broke away from traditional moves. Go attributed some of his ideas to Honinbo Shuei, for whom he had much respect.[2] As a result of their substantial contributions to Go theory, Go Seigen and Kitani Minoru are regarded as the founders of modern Go. He was inventor of the famous and revolutionary uchimagari (inward bending) avalanche joseki variation. It was first played during a match against Takagawa Kaku in 1957.

Matches against the Honinbos

During the 1950s, apart from playing the jubango, Go Seigen participated in many three-game special matches against the Honinbo title holders and other notable players. His opponents in these matches included many illustrious names, such as Hashimoto Utaro, Sakata Eio, Takagawa Shukaku, and the ex-Honinbo Iwamoto Kaoru. Go Seigen was also matched against Kubouchi Shuchi, a player from the Kansai Ki-in who had a strong individual style. In these matches, Go Seigen demonstrated an equal dominance over his rivals. He had an excellent record against Takagawa, whose main achievement was winning the Honinbo title for nine consecutive years. In the period between 1951 and 1960, Go won 22 of their games, and Takagawa won 13. By 1960, Sakata had emerged as Go Seigen's most serious rival, but the results of their games betwen 1950 and 1960 told the same kind of story. Go had 14 wins to Sakata's 9 and one jigo.

End of career and retirement

In the summer of 1961, Go Seigen was struck by a motorcycle and was hospitalized for two months and again for a longer period a year later. He suffered nerve damage, and his stamina and concentration greatly deteriorated as a result. The accident marked the beginning of the end for Go Seigen's career, as he was unable to play effectively in grueling long matches due to nausea and dizziness. He gradually played less and less and went into virtual retirement in 1964, although he did not "officially" retire until 1983.

Since retirement, Go Seigen has remained active in the Go community by teaching, writing, and promoting the game around the world. He has authored a number of books on Go, some of which include A Way of Playing in the 21st Century, Modern Joseki Application Dictionary, and Fuseki and Middle-game Attack and Defence. Go Seigen still holds study sessions with other professional players such as O Rissei, Michael Redmond, Rui Naiwei, and others.

In 1987, Go Seigen was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon for his lifetime contributions to the game of Go.

In 1999 Mr. Teramoto, Go Seigen's manager, told Go writer Pieter Mioch "He [Go Seigen] is one of three Go players who will still be famous several hundred years from now. The other two are Dosaku (1677 – 1702) and Shusaku (1829 – 1862)." [3]

Famous game against Honinbo Shusai

A snapshot of the match. Left is Honinbo Shusai. (Kifu of the infamous match here)

In 1933, Go Seigen won a special Nihon Kiin tournament to have the opportunity to play a game against Honinbo Shusai Meijin. At that juncture, Honinbo Shusai embodied the highest Go authority and tradition in Japan. In addition to inheriting the hereditary title of Honinbo, he was also the holder of the prestigious position of Meijin. The game between Go Seigen and Shusai was thus highly anticipated. The newspapers thought it would be a good business idea to publicize the game as a confrontation between Japan and China. As a consequence, Go Seigen became the unfortunate victim of rising Japanese nationalism. Before and during the game, he was often harassed and threatened by nationalists, and the windows of his house were smashed in.

The game itself began on October 16, 1933 with Go Seigen taking black and lasted for a period of almost three months. During the opening of the game, Go Seigen caused quite a sensation by playing his first three moves at 3-3, 4-4 and Tengen points. Such a fuseki has never before been witnessed in a professional game, and the newspapers covering the game recorded top sales all throughout the match. This marked one of the seminal events that pushed the "Shin Fuseki" movement into the mainstream.

The match ended with Honinbo Shusai winning by two points. However, his victory was surrounded by controversies. At the time of the match, the tradition dictated that the player holding white had the right to adjourn the game at anytime, and there was no sealing of moves before adjournment. This meant that Shusai, being the nominally stronger player and thus holding white, could adjourn the match whenever it was his turn to move and continue deliberating at home before the match resumed. Shusai shamelessly abused this privilege by adjourning the game more than a dozen times, without exception, all at his turn to play. For instance, on the eighth day of the match, Shusai played first, and Go Seigen replied within two minutes, Shusai then thought for three and a half hours, only to adjourn the game. It was no secret that Shusai, during adjournments, discussed and studied the game with his students to come up with the best moves. Go Seigen was therefore put into an especially adverse position for having to take on the entire Honinbo establishment.

Shusai had been trailing all throughout the match when, on the 13th day of the game, he made a brilliant move that in a single stroke brought him back into the game and guaranteed his victory. However, it was widely rumored that it was not Shusai but one of his students - Maeda Nobuaki - who authored this ingenious move. Even Maeda himself hinted that this move was indeed his idea. Years later, when presented with the opportunities to debunk this rumor, he neither confirmed nor denied it.

Five years later in 1938, Go Seigen's great friend Kitani Minoru also played a famous game against Honinbo Shusai (see The Master of Go by Yasunari Kawabata). Due in no small part to having witnessed the treatment Go Seigen received from Shusai in their previous match, Kitani Minoru demanded that the moves be sealed before each adjournment. Initially, Shusai's camp opposed this, but Kitani vehemently insisted, and Shusai eventually gave in. Kitani won that game by a comfortable margin of five points.

Rank Promotion Record

• 1929 - 3p ranking conferred after a series of evaluation games.
• 1930 - 4p
• 1932 - 5p
• 1934 - 6p
• 1939 - 7p
• 1942 - 8p
• 1950 - 9p via special recommendation by the Nihon Kiin.

Trivia

• Go Seigen's one formal disciple is Rin Kaiho, honorary Tengen.
• His mental concentration was so great that during a match with Kitani Minoru, he did not notice Kitani had developed a nose bleed and collapsed. While Kitani was being attended to, Go Seigen remained completely engrossed in the game.
• However, with regards to the above trivia, Go claims that this is a myth that never happened. While Kitani did indeed fall ill during the match, he was never bleeding or unconscious at any time. Go Seigen charged that this was put out in the newspapers to portray him as a cold blooded player during the unsettled times before war broke out between China and Japan. He eventually received many death threats due to this portrayal, but in reality he actually took more time than necessary while Kitani was sick to allow him to recover and contemplate his moves while using Go's allocated time.
• He mastered and was an adherent of the Shusaku Opening before switching to the fast-paced style of play later in his career.
• He once had a record of 11 straight victories against Takagawa Kaku, honorary Honinbo.
• Fujisawa Hosai, after being promoted to 9p, became so obsessed with beating Go Seigen that he grossly neglected his commitments to the Nihon-Kiin. He had to resign from the Kiin after losing two consecutive jubango to Go Seigen.
• He was also accorded the honor of "being invincible playing black". The only other person accorded the same honor was none other than Honinbo Shusaku.
• Go Seigen's games are studied by professionals from all three Go powerhouses - China, South Korea, and Japan.
• Shared the same teacher with Hashimoto Utaro and Cho Hunhyun.
• After the last junbango victory over Takagawa Kaku, there were no more credible opponents left to continue the jubango against Go Seigen, so the Saikyo tournament with round robin format was initiated to determine the strongest player.
• Some professional players do not recommend replaying Go Seigen's games as a way of improving for beginners, as his games are sometimes difficult to understand even for professionals.
• Yoda Norimoto, 9p, greatly admires Go Seigen. He was able to play an exhibition game against Go Seigen in 1989. Yoda was so thrilled with the opportunity that he remained in the formal kneeling position throughout the game to show his respect.
• Cho Chikun, 9p, claims that his style resembles that of Go Seigen's the best.
• Both Cho Chikun and Kobayashi Satoru have studied Go Seigen's games extensively, having replayed his entire game collection several times.
• Cho Hunhyun once remarked during an interview that Go Seigen had no rivals until his career was cut short from being injured by a motorcycle.
• Go Seigen does not hold Honinbo Shusai in high regard. During a newspaper interview, he even went so far to call him a "scoundrel" for selling the hereditary Honinbo title for mere monetary gains. However, he highly esteems Shusai's master - Honinbo Shuei.
• Was a friend of Ikeda Toshio, an early pioneer in the Japanese computer industry who later became the head of Fujitsu corporation.
• Was befriended by Hatoyama Ichiro and Nobusuke Kishi. Both individuals were avid Go fans and both became post-war prime ministers of Japan.
• Jiji Shinpo, a major newspaper that sponsored professional Go, bought the rights to cover the first few games of Go Seigen before he even arrived in Japan.
• He won the Oteai six times.
• Won a special Nihon Ki-in championship tournament in 1933.
• Chinese film director Tian Zhuangzhuang has completed making a movie/biopic on Go Seigen's life.

Titles, Runners Up & Awards

Title	Years Held
Saikyo	1959, 1961 (joint with Sakata Eio)

Title	Years Lost
Old Meijin	1962
NHK Cup	1976

Award	Years Won
Honorary Member of the Nihon Ki-in	1983?
Okura Prize	1967

External links

• Mindzine article
• Gobase player stats and games listing
• In depth essay on Go Seigen
• PDF-file of a series of his own now famous games commented almost move by move by the master himself