Kisei (Go)

Kisei (棋聖) is an honorary title and Go competition. The title, meaning Go Sage in Japanese, was a traditional honorary appellation given to a handful of players down the centuries. The element ki can also apply to shogi, and there were also recognized kisei in the shogi world.

Kisei (Go)
Full nameKisei
Started1976
Honorary WinnersFujisawa Hideyuki
Kobayashi Koichi
Iyama Yuta
SponsorsYomiuri Shimbun
Prize money¥45 million[1]
$557,000
(as of 29 June 2011)
AffiliationNihon Ki-in

Background

Kisei is a Go competition organised by the Japanese Nihon Ki-in. The competition began in 1976 by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper and is currently the highest paying competition in Japanese professional Go, paying ¥45,000,000 (approx. $557,000 as of 29 June 2011) to the winner in 2011.[1] The word Kisei is Japanese for "Go Sage", which is why before the Kisei tournament began, the only players who were given the title "Kisei" were Dōsaku and Hon′inbō Shūsaku.[2]

The holder is challenged by whoever wins the round robin league. Players can get into the round robin league by going through many preliminary tournaments. Once there is a challenger to compete against the holder, the winner is decided through a best of seven match. The games are played over two days and each player is given eight hours of thinking time.[2] If a player qualifies for the Kisei league, they are automatically promoted to 7 dan. If that same player wins the league, a promotion to 8 dan is given. If that same player goes on to winning the title, they are promoted to 9 dan, the highest rank.[3]

Past winners
YearWinnerScoreRunner-up
1977Fujisawa Hideyuki4–1Hashimoto Utaro
19784–3Kato Masao
19794–1Ishida Yoshio
19804–1Rin Kaiho
19814–0Otake Hideo
19824–3Rin Kaiho
1983Cho Chikun4–3Fujisawa Hideyuki
19844–2Rin Kaiho
19854–3Takemiya Masaki
1986Kobayashi Koichi4–2Cho Chikun
19874–1Takemiya Masaki
19884–1Kato Masao
19894–1Takemiya Masaki
19904–1Otake Hideo
19914–3Kato Masao
19924–3Yamashiro Hiroshi
19934–3Kato Masao
1994Cho Chikun4–2Kobayashi Koichi
1995Kobayashi Satoru4–2Cho Chikun
1996Cho Chikun4–3Kobayashi Satoru
19974–1
19984–2Yoda Norimoto
19994–2Kobayashi Koichi
2000O Rissei4–2Cho Chikun
20014–2Cho Sonjin
20024–2Ryu Shikun
2003Yamashita Keigo4–1O Rissei
2004Hane Naoki4–3Yamashita Keigo
20054–3Yuki Satoshi
2006Yamashita Keigo4–0Hane Naoki
20074–0Kobayashi Satoru
20084–3Cho Chikun
20094–2Yoda Norimoto
2010Cho U4–1Yamashita Keigo
20114–2Iyama Yuta
20124–3Takao Shinji
2013Iyama Yuta4–2Cho U
20144–2Yamashita Keigo
20154–3
20164–0
2017 4–2 Kono Rin
2018 4–0 Ichiriki Ryo
2019 4–3 Yamashita Keigo
2020 4–2 Kono Rin
2021 4–1
2022Ichiriki Ryo4–3Iyama Yuta

Honorary winners

A Go player who has held the title for five consecutive years, or won the title a total of ten times or more, has qualified himself to become "Honorary Kisei" after retiring or after the age of 60.

References
  1. "Title Holders". Nihon Ki-in. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  2. "Go Tournament: Kisei". gogameworld.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  3. "Abolition of the rating tournament". nihonkiin.or.jp/english. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
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