Female Go players

This is an article about the history of female Go players in Asia and Europe.

Part of a series on
Go
Game specifics
History and culture
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Social background

Female Go players are viewed to be a minority. This is due to these reasons:

  • There are many male players but only few female players.
    • In Japan, there are no female winners at games without gender rules. Asami Ueno was the first female player who managed to be a finalist.[1][2]
    • In China, there was no female 9-dan before Rui Naiwei.[3]
    • Most players and winners at World championships[4] are male.
  • Not all female players are fairly paid. Joanne Missingham[5][6][7] is known for her protests to this issue.[8][9]

Comparison with female shogi players

In Japan, Go players are always compared with shogi players. This is because newspapers like The Asahi Shimbun treat them equal. But there is a big difference among female players. Female Go players usually belong to the same organization with others. But this does not happen for shogi. Female shogi players belong to the Ladies Professional Shogi Association (LPSA).[10] The others belong to the Japan Shogi Association (JSA).[11] Some LPSA players like Kana Satomi have tried to enter JSA. But currently, no one has entered.

Promotion of female players
See also: List of Go players

Europe
See also: European Go players

In Europe, there were no notable female players before Svetlana Shikshina[12] and Diana Koszegi.[13] In order to increase the number of female players, the European Go Federation is holding the European Women's Go Championship (EWGC) since 1996 and the European Pair Go Championship (EPGC) since 1997.[14][15]

Japan

Kansai Ki-in has eased the age rules to female players.[16] At Nihon Ki-in, there is a special exam for female players. Most female professionals (except Xie Yimin etc.) have got their pro status by this way.[17] In 2019, Nihon Ki-in has started a female player test system to give more support to them.[18] Nihon Ki-in is also sponsoring female amateur games.

Female Student Honinbo
Main article: All Japan Student Go Federation § All Japan Female Student Honinbo
See also: ja:全日本女子学生本因坊決定戦

This is a tournament operated with the All Japan Student Go Federation. Some winners have got pro status, or became top amateur players. Only players who cleared regional games can attend.

All Japan Female Amateur Go Championship
Main article: ja:全日本女流アマチュア囲碁選手権大会

The All Japan Female Amateur Go Championship is the highest match for female amateur Go players. Some winners have become a pro. The next table shows the notable winners.

Year Winner
1965 Tomoko Ogawa[19]
1970–1971 and 1975 Kazuko Kanai
1977–1978, 1980, 1985 and 1987 Yoshiko Kamekura
1981–1984 Yasuko Yoshie
1990–1991 and 1993–1995 Akiko Sato
1997 Narumi Ohsawa[20][21]
2000–2001 Mieko Nakajima[22]
2002 and 2013 Maya Ohsawa (Narumi Ohsawa's sister. The Ohsawa sisters became the first sisters to win at here)
2003 Kaori Mukai (Chiaki Mukai's sister, now known as Kaori Mimura[23])
2004 Miori Shimosaka
2005 and 2007 Akane Ishii (currently known as Akane Tatsumi[24])
2014–2015 Akiko Fujiwara[25][26][27]
2016 Reina Oshima[28]
2017 Saeka Iwata[29]

Kaori Chinen, Yukari Yoshihara and Rina Fujisawa also participated in this championship before becoming a pro.

World Ranking Changes by Year

Since 1986, four female Go players have held the top spot. For the past 7 years, Choi Jeong has been ranked number 1 in the rankings.[30][31]

Female Go Player Ranking
Year1st2nd3rd
1986-1989Rui NaiweiZhang XuanFeng Yun
1990-1993Yang Hui
1994-1997Feng Yun
1998-2003Cho HyeyeonZhang Xuan
2004Park Jieun
2005Cho HyeyeonRui Naiwei
2006-2007Rui NaiweiCho Hyeyeon
2008-2010Li HeQiao Shiyao
2011Yu ZhiyingChoi Jeong
2012Choi JeongYu Zhiying
2013-2015Yu ZhiyingRui Naiwei
2016Oh Yujin
2017-2019Choi JeongYu Zhiying
2020-2023Zhou Hongyu

References
  1. "Ueno Asami at Sensei's Library". senseis.xmp.net. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  2. "囲碁の日本棋院". 囲碁の日本棋院 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  3. "Rui Naiwei at Sensei's Library". senseis.xmp.net. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  4. senseis.xmp.net?WorldAmateurGoChampionship
  5. senseis.xmp.net?JoanneMissingham
  6. Joanne Missingham on Instagram
  7. Joanne Missingham on Twitter
  8. "Joanne Missingham Stands up for Gender Equality in Go". American Go Association. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  9. Moskowitz, Marc (31 August 2013). Go Nation: Chinese Masculinities and the Game of Weiqi in China. University of California Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0520276314.
  10. LPSA website
  11. JSA website
  12. senseis.xmp.net?SvetlanaShikshina
  13. senseis.xmp.net?DianaKoszegi
  14. senseis.xmp.net?EuropeanWomensGoChampionship
  15. European Tournament Results by EGF
  16. Kansai Ki-in player recruitment
  17. Nihon Ki-in player recruitment
  18. Nihon Ki-in announcement
  19. Tomoko Ogawa profile at Nihon Ki-in
  20. Narumi Osawa profile at Nihon Ki-in
  21. senseis.xmp.net?OsawaNarumi
  22. Mieko Nakajima profile at Nihon Ki-in
  23. Kaori Mimura profile at Nihon Ki-in
  24. kansaikiin.jp/kisi_prof/tatsumiakane.html
  25. Waseda Weekly interview in 2018
  26. Tournament report article in 2018 by The Asahi Shimbun
  27. Akiko Fujiwara at Sensei's Library
  28. senseis.xmp.net?OshimaReina
  29. kansaikiin.jp/kisi_prof/iwatasaeka.html
  30. YONHAP NEWS AGENCY in 2022
  31. "History of Go Ratings". Go Ratings. August 27, 2023.
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