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This article gives an overview of well-known professional and amateur players of the board game Go throughout the ages. The page has been divided into sections based on the era in which the Go players played and the country in which they played. As this was not necessarily their country of birth, a flag of that country precedes every player's name. For a complete list of player articles, see Category:Go players.
The important dates that this separation is based on are:
- The establishment of the Four go houses at the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
- The demise of the houses in the Meiji Period (end 19th century) followed by their replacement by the Nihon Kiin in 1924.
- The start of international tournament Go in 1989
A Japanese census on Go players performed in 2002 estimates that over 24 million people worldwide play Go,[1] most of whom live in Asia. Most of the players listed on this article are professionals, though some top level amateurs have been included. Players famous for achievements outside Go are listed in their own section.
Prior to 17th century
Wei Qi was recorded throughout the history of China. The first record of Wei Qi player was by Mencius.
China
| Origin | Name | DOB–DOD | Peak rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Yi Qiu (弈秋) | circa 350 BCE | Guoshou | First recorded Wei Qi player. He was commonly known as Qiu (秋) the Wei Qi player (Yi 弈, which is the original name of Wei Qi). He was a native of the state Qi 齊 and mentioned by Mencius (372 BC – 289 BC) in 《孟子·告子章句上》: 今夫弈之为数，小数也。不专心致志，则不得也。弈秋，通国之善弈者也。使弈秋诲二人弈，其一人专心致志，惟弈秋之为听；一人虽听之，一心以为有鸿鹄将至，思援弓缴而射之，虽与俱学，弗若之矣！ He was called "通国之善弈者", literally "the finest Yi player of the whole state", i.e. Guoshou. |
|
Yan Wu (嚴武) | circa 200 CE – 250 CE | Qishen, 1 pin/品 | Scholar name Zi Qin子卿 Son of Wu Minister Yan Jun 嚴畯. Mentioned in The Record of Wu 《吴录》：“严武字子卿，卫尉畯再从子也，围棋莫与为辈。” |
|
Ma Lang (馬朗) | 200 CE – 250 CE | Qishen, 1 pin/品 | Scholar name Su Ming 綏明, same time as Yan Wu. |
|
Wang Kang (王抗) | circa 424 CE – 483 CE | Guoshou, 1 pin/品 | Member of the famous Wang clan of Lan Xie County, recorded in History of the Southern Dynasties 《南史·萧思话传》. |
|
Fan Ning'er (范宁儿) | circa 424 CE – 483 CE | Guoshou, 1 pin/品 | Member of the delegates of Northern Wei to Southern Qi, he played a Wei Qi match against Wang Kang under the order of Southern Qi's Wu Emperor Xiao Ze(齊武帝蕭賾, reign 482 CE – 493 CE), and won the match (recorded in <<北史·魏书·蒋少游传>>. |
|
Fan Ning'er (范宁儿) | circa 424 CE – 483 CE | Guoshou, 1 pin/品 | Member of the delegates of Northern Wei to Southern Qi, he played a Wei Qi match against Wang Kang under the order of Southern Qi's Wu Emperor Xiao Ze(齊武帝蕭賾, reign 482 CE – 493 CE), and won the match (recorded in <<北史·魏书·蒋少游传>>. |
|
Emperor Wu of Liang (梁武帝萧衍) | 464 CE – 549 CE | Guoshou, yi pin/逸品 (super strong 1 pin) | Emperor Wu of Southern Liang dynasty, personal name Xiao Yan, was a member of the Xiao clan of Lang Ning and founder of the Southern Liang dynasty. His reign was 502 CE – 549 CE), famous for his Wei Qi skill, he was recorded in his bibliography as yi pin (strong 1 pin) by later historian in 《梁书·武帝纪》. |
17th through 19th centuries
In the 17th, 18th and 19th century, Go was popular in both Japan (Edo period) and China (period of the Qing dynasty). In Korea, a Go variant called Sunjang baduk was played.[2]
Japan
At the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate, four Go academies were established. This table lists all heads of these houses, as well as some that were appointed heir but died before they became head of the house. Tokugawa also established the post of Godokoro (minister of Go), which was awarded to the strongest player of a generation. Such players were dubbed Meijin (brilliant man), which was considered equal to a 9 dan professional grade.[3] Over the 300-year period covered here, only ten players received the title of Meijin. Several other players (16 total) received the title of Jun-Meijin (half-Meijin), which is considered to equal an 8 dan professional grade and listed as such below. In some houses it was the custom that the head of the house was always named the same according to the iemoto system (家元). All heads of the house Inoue (井上) were named Inseki (因碩), heads of the house Yasui (安井 ) were named Senkaku (仙角) from the 4th head onward, and heads of the house Hayashi (林) were named Monnyu (門入) from the second head onward. To distinguish between these players, the names listed below are the names they had before becoming head of their house, or after their retirement. The house Honinbo (本因坊) had no such tradition, although heads would often take one character from the name of their predecessor into their own name, notably the character Shu (秀) from the 14th head onward.
| Origin | Name | DOB–DOD | Peak rank* | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Honinbo Sansa (本因坊算砂) | 1559–1623 | Meijin, 9 dan | Founder and first head of the house Honinbo. |
|
Nakamura Doseki (中村道碩) | 1582–1630 | Meijin, 9 dan | Retrospectively seen as founder of the house Inoue. |
|
Hayashi Monnyusai (林門入斎) | 1583–1667 | 7 or 8 dan | Founder and first head of the house Hayashi. |
|
Yasui Santetsu (安井算哲) | 1589–1652 | 8 dan | Founder and first head of the house Yasui. |
|
Inoue Genkaku (井上玄覚) | 1605–1673 | 7 dan | First head of the Inoue house on the unrevised numbering (not counting Nakamura Doseki). |
|
Honinbo Sanetsu (本因坊算悦) | 1611–1658 | 8 dan | Second head of the house Honinbo, Jun-Meijin. |
|
Yasui Sanchi (安井算知) | 1617–1703 | Meijin, 9 dan | Second head of the house Yasui. |
|
Honinbo Doetsu (本因坊道悦) | 1636–1727 | 7 dan | Third head of the house Honinbo. |
|
Honinbo Dosaku (本因坊道策) | 1645–1702 | Meijin, 9 dan | Fourth head of the house Honinbo. One of the greatest players of all time, and the first Kisei (go saint); an important influence on go theory. |
|
Honinbo Doteki (本因坊道的) | 1669–1690 | 7 dan | Heir to the house Honinbo. Was considered an extremely talented Go prodigy.[4] |
|
Hayashi Monnyu (林門入) | 1678–1719 | 6 dan | Second head of the Hayashi house. |
|
Honinbo Dochi (本因坊道知) | 1690–1727 | Meijin, 9 dan | Fifth head of the house Honinbo. |
|
Honinbo Chihaku (本因坊知伯) | 1710–1733 | 6 dan | Sixth Honinbo. |
|
Honinbo Shuhaku (本因坊秀伯) | 1716–1741 | 6 dan | Seventh head of the house Honinbo. |
|
Honinbo Satsugen (本因坊察元) | 1733–1788 | Meijin, 9 dan | Ninth head of the house Honinbo. |
|
Honinbo Genjo (本因坊元丈) | 1775–1832 | 8 dan | Eleventh head of the house Honinbo. |
|
Honinbo Jowa (本因坊丈和) | 1787–1847 | 8 dan | Was dubbed Kisei (go sage), played the famous "Blood Vomiting Game" with Akaboshi Intetsu. |
|
Ota Yuzo (太田雄蔵) | 1807–1856 | 7 dan | was a close friend of Honinbo Shusaku and once played a famous sanjubango (30 game match) with him. |
|
Intetsu Akaboshi (赤星因徹) | 1810–1835 | 7 dan | |
|
Honinbo Shusaku (本因坊秀策) | 1829–1862 | 7 dan | One of the greatest players ever, he died young. He was posthumously awarded the title of Kisei (go sage). |
|
Honinbo Shuho (本因坊秀甫) | 1838–1886 | 8 dan | Was the founder of Hoensha and the man who taught Go to Oskar Korschelt. |
|
Honinbo Shuei (本因坊秀栄) | 1854–1907 | 9 dan | was the 17th and again 19th head of the Honinbo house. Very active and innovative in the 1890s. |
|
Honinbo Shusai (本因坊秀哉) | 1874–1940 | 9 dan | was the last and 21st head of "Honinbo" House, and founder of the Nihon Ki-in. |
*All ranks are professional dan grades unless otherwise noted.
China
| Origin | Name | DOB–DOD | Peak rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Guo Wen-nian (過文年) | 1610s–1670s | Guoshou, Qishen, 1 pin/品 | Better known by his scholar name Guo Bai-Nian 過百齡 or Guo Bo-Nian過伯齡. Ancestor of Guo Ti-sheng 過惕生(1907–1989), teacher of Nie Hui-Ping. Author of Wei Qi classic 《官子譜》,《三子譜》 and 《四子譜》. |
|
Huang Longshi (黃龍士) | 1650s–1690s | Guoshou, Qishen, 1 pin/品 | Was considered by Go Seigen to have been at least the level of Honinbo Dosaku. He reached Guoshou* at the age of 16.梁魏今 |
|
Liang Wei-Jin (梁魏今) | 1680s–1760s | Guoshou, Qishen, 1 pin/品 | Pen name Hui Jing 會京. Native of Huaian in northern Jiangsu. Taught both Fan Xiping and Shi Shao-An. |
|
Cheng Lan-Ru (程蘭如) | 1690–1765 | Guoshou, Qishen, 1 pin/品 | Native of She County 歙縣 in southern Anhui. Also known for strong Xiangqi. |
|
Fan Xiping (范西屏) | 1709–1769 | Guoshou, Qishen, 1 pin/品 | Native of Haining, Zhejiang Province. Played 13 games with Shi Xiping in which 10 games survived in records, with score 5–5. Author of 《桃花泉弈譜》,《二子譜》and《四子譜》. |
|
Shi Shaoan (施紹暗) | 1710–1769 | Guoshou, Qishen, 1 pin/品 | Better known by his scholar name Shi Xiangxia 施襄夏 and pen name Shi Ding-En 施定庵. Also Native of Haining, Zhejiang Province. |
*Players could achieve the level of Guoshou (literally National Hand), which is best in the nation and ranked 1 pin 品. This title is a derivation of Mencius description of Yi Qiu (弈秋), Qiu the Yi player in 《孟子·告子章句上》: 今夫弈之为数，小数也。不专心致志，则不得也。弈秋，通国之善弈者也。使弈秋诲二人弈，其一人专心致志，惟弈秋之为听；一人虽听之，一心以为有鸿鹄将至，思援弓缴而射之，虽与俱学，弗若之矣！as being "通国之善弈者", literally the finest Yi player of the whole nation. It is considered to be equal to the Japanese title of Meijin. The term Qi Sheng (棋圣) was first mentioned by Ge Hong (葛洪) in 《抱朴子》：“棋之无敌者，则谓之棋圣。” The literal meaning is the Invincible Qi player is called the Saint of Qi (Qi Sheng). Note that both Guoshou and Qisheng were not tournament winner titles; instead they were honorific titles used by Wei Qi players and historians respectively to refer to the best players who were invincible in highest graded tournaments. Guoshou was the normal term used to refer to the promo player while he was alive, whereas Qisheng was used more as posthumous fame. The ranking of players began in West Han dynasty (2nd century BCE) and formally recognized by the Governments during the North and South Dynasties Period (3rd to 6th century CE). There were 9 ranks called pin 品 in the system,[citation needed] the same as the ranking system for government officials. The lowest rank was 9 pin, then 8 pin, etc. up to 1 pin.[citation needed] The difference of the lower 5 pin was about 1 zi (子, piece or stone), and the difference between the top 4 pin was half zi.[citation needed]
20th century
Japan
| Origin | Name | DOB–DOD | Peak rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Kensaku Segoe (瀬越憲作) | 1889–1972 | 9 dan | was the teacher of three of the greatest players of 20th century: Utaro Hashimoto (Japan), Go Seigen (China) and Cho Hunhyun (Korea). |
|
Kaoru Iwamoto (岩本薫) | 1902–1999 | 9 dan | founder of Iwamoto Foundation for Go promotion in foreign countries. |
|
Utaro Hashimoto (橋本宇太郎) | 1907–1994 | 9 dan | was the founder of the Kansai Ki-in. A student of Segoe |
|
Minoru Kitani (木谷実) | 1909–1975 | 9 dan | was a great friend and rival to Go Seigen. Go and Kitani were the co-authors of the Shinfuseki or "New Opening", a great advance in go opening theory. Most prolific teacher ever. Pupils include Masao Kato, Yoshio Ishida, Hideo Otake, Kim In, Cho Chikun, Masaki Takemiya and Koichi Kobayashi. |
|
Toshihiro Shimamura (島村俊廣) | 1912–1991 | 9 dan | |
|
Dogen Handa (半田道玄) | 1914–1974 | 9 dan | |
 |
Go Seigen (呉清源) | 1914–2014 | 9 dan | Wu Qingyuan in Chinese. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. He had a superb match play record, before the current era dominated by annual titles. Co-author of the groundbreaking work on the opening theory, Shinfuseki. |
|
Kaku Takagawa (高川格) | 1915–1986 | 9 dan | The first of only five players to receive the Honorary Honinbo title, thus known as the 22nd Honinbo. |
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Hosai Fujisawa (藤沢朋斎) | 1919–1993 | 9 dan | one of the greatest players of the 1960s. |
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Eio Sakata (坂田栄男) | 1920–2010 | 9 dan | his nicknames include "Razor Sakata", the "Master of myoushu" (brilliant move). He was the previous holder of most championship titles with 64 wins. |
|
Masao Sugiuchi (杉内雅男) | 1920–2017 | 9 dan | nicknamed "the God of Go" for his serious attitude towards Go. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-in. |
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Takeo Kajiwara (梶原武雄) | 1923–2009 | 9 dan | one of the "three crows". |
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Hideyuki Fujisawa (藤沢秀行) | 1925–2009 | 9 dan | was awarded the Honorary Kisei title after winning the Kisei 6 times in a row. Won the Oza title at the age of 67. |
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Toshiro Yamabe (山部俊郎) | 1926–2000 | 9 dan | one of the "three crows". |
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Keizo Suzuki (鈴木圭三) | 1927–1945 | 3 dan | one of the "three crows". |
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Yasuro Kikuchi (菊池康郎) | 1929–2021 | 8 dan | is the most famous amateur go player in Japan. |
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Shuzo Ohira (大平修三) | 1930–1998 | 9 dan | |
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Shoji Hashimoto (橋本昌二) | 1935–2009 | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Kansai Ki-In. |
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Norio Kudo (工藤紀夫) | 1940– | 9 dan | current president for the International Go Federation. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Kunio Ishii (石井邦生) | 1941– | 9 dan | teacher of Yuta Iyama. |
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Hideo Otake (大竹英雄) | 1942– | 9 dan | Lifetime Gosei. |
 |
Rin Kaiho (林海峰) | 1942– | 9 dan | was one of Go Seigen's students. Known for winning many titles at a young age. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-in. |
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Yasumasa Hane (羽根泰正) | 1944– | 9 dan | father of Hane Naoki. |
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Kunihisa Honda (本田邦久) | 1945– | 9 dan | |
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Masao Kato (加藤正夫) | 1947–2004 | 9 dan | Nicknamed "Kato the Killer", for his masterful, aggressive style. |
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Yoshio Ishida (石田芳夫) | 1948– | 9 dan | is the youngest ever Honinbo winner and one of the strongest players of the 1970s. TV commentator. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Shuzo Awaji (淡路修三) | 1949– | 9 dan | famous for his Go school. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Masaki Takemiya (武宮正樹) | 1951– | 9 dan | is famous for his 'cosmic style', aiming for territory in the center of the board rather than the sides. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Koichi Kobayashi (小林光一) | 1952– | 9 dan | has the third most titles in Japan with 57. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
 |
Cho Chikun (조치훈, 趙治勳) | 1956– | 9 dan | Cho Chihun in Korean, is among the best players of the 20th century. He won almost half (29 out of 60) of the biggest 3 titles (Honinbo, Kisei, and Meijin tournaments) in 1980–1999, including ten consecutive Honinbo titles for which he is accorded the title of 25th Honinbo. The first to hold all 3 at the same time and the first to have won all seven titles. Passed Sakata in late 2002 for most titles in Japan; thus far have won 70 titles. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
|
O Rissei (王立誠) | 1958– | 9 dan | one of the first Taiwanese Go players to become a professional in Japan. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Hiroshi Yamashiro (山城宏) | 1958– | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Satoshi Kataoka (片岡聡) | 1958– | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Satoru Kobayashi (小林覚) | 1959– | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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O Meien (王銘琬) | 1961– | 9 dan | famous for his "Meien-isms", a special way of opening a game. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
 |
Michael Redmond (マイケル・レドモンド) | 1963– | 9 dan | is the only (as of February 2008[update]) non-Asian (American) to attain rank of 9-dan. TV commentator for the Japanese network NHK. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
|
Norimoto Yoda (依田紀基) | 1966– | 9 dan | Has one of the best track records in international tournaments for Japan, having won Samsung Fire Cup and being runners-up in Ing Cup, both in 1996. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Tomoyasu Mimura (三村智保) | 1969– | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Cho Sonjin (조선진, 趙善津) | 1970– | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Ryu Shikun (류시훈, 柳時熏) | 1971– | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Kimio Yamada (山田規三生) | 1972– | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |
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Satoshi Yuki (結城聡) | 1972– | 9 dan | The third youngest player to become a professional, and second youngest professional for the Kansai Ki-in. Affiliate of the Kansai Ki-In. |
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Hideyuki Sakai (坂井秀至) | 1973– | 8 dan | Won the World Amateur Go Championship in 2000. Promoted to professional at age 28 after winning 4 of 4 "test" games against two strong professionals (2 games each against 5d and 7d). Affiliate of the Kansai Ki-in. |
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Shinji Takao (高尾紳路) | 1976– | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-in. |
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Naoki Hane (羽根直樹) | 1976– | 9 dan | In 2002, Hane broke the record for fastest promotion to 9 dan in Nihon Ki-in history. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-in. |
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Keigo Yamashita (山下敬吾) | 1978– | 9 dan | Has an innovative style harking back to shinfuseki. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-in. |
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Cho U (張栩) | 1980– | 9 dan | In 2003, Cho U broke the record for fastest promotion to 9 dan in Nihon Ki-in history. Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-in. |
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Rin Kono (河野臨) | 1981– | 9 dan | Affiliate of the Nihon Ki-In. |