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¥43 million
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 the highest paying competition in Japanese professional Go, paying ¥43,000,000 to the winner since the 47th Kisei in 2023.[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
No.YearWinnerScoreRunner-up
11977Fujisawa Hideyuki4–1Hashimoto Utaro
219784–3Kato Masao
319794–1Ishida Yoshio
419804–1Rin Kaiho
519814–0Otake Hideo
619824–3Rin Kaiho
71983Cho Chikun4–3Fujisawa Hideyuki
819844–2Rin Kaiho
919854–3Takemiya Masaki
101986Kobayashi Koichi4–2Cho Chikun
1119874–1Takemiya Masaki
1219884–1Kato Masao
1319894–1Takemiya Masaki
1419904–1Otake Hideo
1519914–3Kato Masao
1619924–3Yamashiro Hiroshi
1719934–3Kato Masao
181994Cho Chikun4–2Kobayashi Koichi
191995Kobayashi Satoru4–2Cho Chikun
201996Cho Chikun4–3Kobayashi Satoru
2119974–1
2219984–2Yoda Norimoto
2319994–2Kobayashi Koichi
242000O Rissei4–2Cho Chikun
2520014–2Cho Sonjin
2620024–2Ryu Shikun
272003Yamashita Keigo4–1O Rissei
282004Hane Naoki4–3Yamashita Keigo
2920054–3Yuki Satoshi
302006Yamashita Keigo4–0Hane Naoki
3120074–0Kobayashi Satoru
3220084–3Cho Chikun
3320094–2Yoda Norimoto
342010Cho U4–1Yamashita Keigo
3520114–2Iyama Yuta
3620124–3Takao Shinji
372013Iyama Yuta4–2Cho U
3820144–2Yamashita Keigo
3920154–3
4020164–0
4120174–2Kono Rin
4220184–0Ichiriki Ryo
4320194–3Yamashita Keigo
4420204–2Kono Rin
4520214–1
462022Ichiriki Ryo4–3Iyama Yuta
4720234–2Shibano Toramaru

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. "第47期 棋聖戦". Nihon Ki-in (in Japanese).
  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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