Full name Koichi Kobayashi Turned pro 1967 Kanji 小林光一 Rank 9 dan | Name Koichi Kobayashi Teacher Kitani Minoru | |
Born September 10, 1952 (age 72) Asahikawa City, Japan ( 1952-09-10 ) | ||
Koichi kobayashi tedxseeds 2011
Koichi Kobayashi (小林 光一, Kobayashi Kōichi, born September 10, 1952) is a Japanese Go player. He's one of the 'Six Supers' that championed Japanese Go in the last three decades of Japanese Go.
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Biography
Koichi Kobayashi was born in Asahikawa, Japan. In 1965, he came to Tokyo to be a disciple of the legendary Minoru Kitani. He studied along with Cho Chikun, Masao Kato, Yoshio Ishida, and Masaki Takemiya. He would go on and marry the daughter of his teacher, Reiko Kitani (1939–1996), a 6-dan who has won the All-Japan Women's Championship several times. Together they had a daughter, Izumi Kobayashi, who is now one of the leading female Go players in Japan. Kobayashi is one of the few Go players who have won more than 1,200 professional games. Kobayashi's rivalry with Cho Chikun has continued for some time and they frequently play against each other.
Career
Two years after joining Kitani Minoru's dojo, Kobayashi was promoted to be a 1-dan professional. His first tournament victory came from the 4th Shin Ei in 1972. In 1976, he won his first major title, Tengen.
Titles and runners-up
Kobayashi is Honorary Kisei, Honorary Meijin and Honorary Gosei. He ranks #3 in total amount of titles in Japan.