List of Go players
List of Go players
thumb|right|230px| Match between two famous players. Left is Honinbo Shusai, right is [[go-seigen. (Game record of the famous match here)]]
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, 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 } || style="white-space:nowrap" | Yi Qiu (弈秋) || circa 350 BCE || align="right" style="white-space:nowrap" |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. |- valign="top" | || style="white-space:nowrap" | Yan Wu (嚴武) || circa 200 CE – 250 CE || align="right" style="white-space:nowrap" |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。” |- valign="top" | || style="white-space:nowrap" | Ma Lang (馬朗) || 200 CE – 250 CE || align="right" style="white-space:nowrap" |Qishen, 1 pin/品 || Scholar name Su Ming 綏明, same time as Yan Wu. |- valign="top" | || style="white-space:nowrap" | Wang Kang (王抗) || circa 424 CE – 483 CE || align="right" style="white-space:nowrap" |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》. |- valign="top" | || style="white-space:nowrap" | Fan Ning'er (范宁儿) || circa 424 CE – 483 CE || align="right" style="white-space:nowrap" |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>>. |- valign="top" | || Emperor Wu of Liang (梁武帝萧衍) || 464 CE – 549 CE || align="right" |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.
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. 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.
- All ranks are professional dan grades unless otherwise noted.