Kisei
| Kisei | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kisei |
| Started | 1976 |
| Honorary Winners |
Hideyuki Fujisawa Koichi Kobayashi |
| Sponsors | Yomiuri Shimbun |
| Prize money |
¥45 million[1] $557,000 (as of 29 June 2011) |
| Affiliation | Nihon Ki-in |
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.
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
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4–1 | Utaro Hashimoto |
| 1978 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4–3 | Masao Kato |
| 1979 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4–1 | Yoshio Ishida |
| 1980 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4–1 | Rin Kaiho |
| 1981 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4–0 | Hideo Otake |
| 1982 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4–3 | Rin Kaiho |
| 1983 | Cho Chikun | 4–3 | Hideyuki Fujisawa |
| 1984 | Cho Chikun | 4–2 | Rin Kaiho |
| 1985 | Cho Chikun | 4–3 | Masaki Takemiya |
| 1986 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4–2 | Cho Chikun |
| 1987 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4–1 | Masaki Takemiya |
| 1988 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4–1 | Masao Kato |
| 1989 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4–1 | Masaki Takemiya |
| 1990 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4–1 | Hideo Otake |
| 1991 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4–3 | Masao Kato |
| 1992 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4–3 | Hiroshi Yamashiro |
| 1993 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4–3 | Masao Kato |
| 1994 | Cho Chikun | 4–2 | Koichi Kobayashi |
| 1995 | Satoru Kobayashi | 4–2 | Cho Chikun |
| 1996 | Cho Chikun | 4–3 | Satoru Kobayashi |
| 1997 | Cho Chikun | 4–1 | Satoru Kobayashi |
| 1998 | Cho Chikun | 4–2 | Norimoto Yoda |
| 1999 | Cho Chikun | 4–2 | Koichi Kobayashi |
| 2000 | O Rissei | 4–2 | Cho Chikun |
| 2001 | O Rissei | 4–2 | Cho Sonjin |
| 2002 | O Rissei | 4–2 | Ryu Shikun |
| 2003 | Keigo Yamashita | 4–1 | O Rissei |
| 2004 | Naoki Hane | 4–3 | Keigo Yamashita |
| 2005 | Naoki Hane | 4–3 | Satoshi Yuki |
| 2006 | Keigo Yamashita | 4–0 | Naoki Hane |
| 2007 | Keigo Yamashita | 4–0 | Satoru Kobayashi |
| 2008 | Keigo Yamashita | 4–3 | Cho Chikun |
| 2009 | Keigo Yamashita | 4–2 | Norimoto Yoda |
| 2010 | Cho U | 4–1 | Keigo Yamashita |
| 2011 | Cho U | 4–2 | Yuta Iyama |
| 2012 | Cho U | 4–3 | Shinji Takao |
| 2013 | Yuta Iyama | 4–2 | Cho U |
| 2014 | Yuta Iyama | 4–2 | Keigo Yamashita |
| 2015 | Yuta Iyama | 4–3 | Keigo Yamashita |
Honorary winners
- Hideyuki Fujisawa 1977–1982
- Koichi Kobayashi 1986–1993
References
- 1 2 "Title Holders". Nihon Ki-in. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- 1 2 "Go Tournament: Kisei". gogameworld.com. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ↑ "Abolition of the rating tournament". nihonkiin.or.jp/english. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
External links
- Official Kisei page of Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese)
- Kisei title games
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