Go Seigen was a great player.
He played a game called Go. He was very fast at it. He helped make the game new. He loved to teach others too. Do you like to play games?
Go Seigen was a master of Go.
He was born in China. He moved to Japan to play. He was very good at the game.
He helped make the game modern. He found new ways to play. He also taught many other players.
He played long matches against top players. He won many of these games. He was a very famous player.
He lived to be 100 years old. People still talk about his skill today.
Go Seigen was a master of Go.
He was born in China in 1914. He moved to Japan to play the game. Many people call him the best Go player of the 20th century.
He was a very fast thinker. He used new ways to start a game. He and his friend Kitani Minoru made these new ways. This style is called Shinfuseki. It helped make Go a modern game.
Go Seigen played long matches called jubango. These matches have ten games. He won most of them against top players. He once played a very famous match against Honinbo Shusai.
That match lasted almost three months.
Later in life, a motorcycle accident hurt him. He had nerve damage. This made it hard to play long games. He still taught many people and wrote books. He lived to be 100 years old. He died in 2014.
Go Seigen was a legendary master of the board game Go.
Many people believe he was the greatest player of the 20th century. He was born in China on June 12, 1914. His name, Wu Chuan, means "spring" or "fountain." This was linked to his courtesy name, which meant "clear and pure source of water." He moved to Japan to pursue a professional career. He eventually lived to be 100 years old.
He was known for a very fast and exciting way of playing. Go Seigen could read the board very quickly and accurately. He often finished his moves much faster than his opponents could. He was a master at using "thickness," which is a strong position on the board. He also invented a famous move pattern called the uchimagari avalanche. This was a new way to handle a specific part of the game. His style was bold, fighting, and very efficient. He helped change how people think about the game today.
In 1933, Go Seigen helped start a new era for Go. He and his friend Kitani Minoru created a style called Shinfuseki. This was a revolutionary way to start a match. It broke away from the old, traditional opening patterns. Because of this, they are often called the fathers of modern Go.
This new way of playing became very popular. It moved the game into a more modern age. It allowed for more experimentation and new ideas.
Go Seigen was famous for winning long matches called jubango. A jubango is a contest consisting of ten games. He dominated the professional world for over twenty-five years. He won many of these against the best players of his time. He defeated famous names like Hashimoto Utaro and Sakata Eio. He even won the Oteai tournament six times. One of his most famous matches was against Honinbo Shusai. That specific game lasted for almost three months.
Later in life, a motorcycle accident changed his career. In 1961, he was struck by a motorcycle and hospitalized. The accident caused nerve damage in his body. This made it very hard for him to focus. He often felt dizzy or nauseated during long matches. He began to play less and eventually retired. Even so, he stayed active in the Go community. He wrote many books to help others learn. He also spent time teaching his many students.
Go Seigen was a legendary master of the board game Go. Many players consider him the greatest player of the 20th century. Born on June 12, 1914, in Fujian Province, China, he was originally named Wu Chuan. His courtesy name, Wu Ching-yuan, reflected his real name. Chuan means "spring" or "fountain," while Ching-yuan means "clear and pure source of water."
He began learning Go at age nine. This was later in life compared to other professionals. However, he excelled with incredible speed. By age 12, he already possessed professional strength.
Go Seigen moved to Japan in 1928 to pursue a professional career. He was invited by Baron Kihachiro Okura and Inukai Tsuyoshi. In Japan, he studied under the teacher Segoe Kensaku. Go Seigen quickly rose to the top of the professional world. By age 18, he belonged to a very small elite of players. He was famous for his fast-paced development and fighting style. He used accurate reading and strong positional judgment. He often used much less time during a game than his opponents. He was also a master of using "thickness," which refers to strong positions on the board.
In 1933, Go Seigen helped change the game of Go forever. Along with his friend Kitani Minoru, he developed the Shinfuseki. This was a revolutionary way to play the opening moves of a match. It broke away from traditional, old patterns. Because of this contribution, they are called the fathers of modern Go.
He also invented a specific move pattern called the uchimagari, or inward bending, avalanche joseki. He first played this variation during a match against Takagawa Kaku in 1957. These innovations helped move the game into a more modern era of experimentation.
Go Seigen was a dominant force in professional matches. He was famous for playing Jubango. A Jubango is a contest consisting of ten games between two players. He won many of these against the most famous players of his era. He defeated masters like Hashimoto Utaro, Iwamoto Kaoru, and Sakata Eio. He even won the Oteai tournament six times. One of his most impressive feats was his record against Takagawa Kaku. Between 1951 and 1960, Go Seigen won 22 games against him, while Takagawa won 13.
One of his most famous matches was against Honinbo Shusai. Shusai was the highest authority and tradition in Japanese Go. This match began on October 16, 1933, and lasted almost three months. Go Seigen caused a sensation by playing his first three moves at the 3-3, 4-4, and center points. This was a very unusual opening at the time. The match was highly publicized, but it was also difficult for Go Seigen. Because of rising nationalism, he faced harassment and threats. Even so, the match became a seminal event for the Shinfuseki movement. Shusai eventually won the game by two points.
Go Seigen's career faced a major change in the summer of 1961. He was struck by a motorcycle and spent months in the hospital. The accident caused permanent nerve damage. This damage affected his stamina and his ability to concentrate. He suffered from nausea and dizziness during long, grueling matches. These physical struggles made it hard to play at his highest level. He began to play less frequently and entered virtual retirement in 1964. He did not officially retire from the game until 1983.
Even after his playing days slowed, Go Seigen remained a vital part of the Go community. He spent his time teaching, writing, and promoting the game globally. He had two formal disciples: Rin Kaiho and the strong female player Rui Naiwei. He also authored several important books. These included "A Way of Play for the 21st Century" and "Modern Joseki Application Dictionary." In 1987, he received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. He died of natural causes on November 30, 2014, at the age of 100. He was buried in his hometown of Fuzhou, China.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (3)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.