Lee Chang-ho (; born 29 July 1975) is a South Korean professional

Go player 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 play ...

9-dan There are various systems of Go ranks and ratings that measure the skill in the traditional board game Go. Traditionally, Go rankings have been measured using a system of dan and kyu ranks. Especially in amateur play, these ranks facilitate th ...

rank. Considered to be one of the greatest Go players of all time, Lee was ranked #1 in the world in Go ELO rankings from 1991 to 2006.

Biography

He was born in

Jeonju Jeonju (, , ) is the capital and List of cities in South Korea, largest city of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many resi ...

North Jeolla Province North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...

, South Korea. He turned professional in 1986 at the young age of 11. By the early 1990s, he started winning titles that his teacher, Cho, had previously won. In 1992, Lee won his first international title, the 3rd

Tong Yang Cup The Tongyang Cup ( Korean: 동양증권배 세계선수권전, Hanja: 東洋證券杯世界選手權戰) was a Go competition. The Tong Yang Cup was sponsored by Tongyang Securities of South Korea. The tournament was run from 1988 to 1998, with pl ...

. Lee has won all of the international Go tournaments at least twice, excluding the

World Oza The Toyota-Denso Cup - World Oza was an international Go competition, sponsored by auto maker Toyota and parts manufacturer Denso. Outline The World Oza, sponsored by ToyotaDenso of Japan, was regarded as the newest international tournament, the ...

and

Ing Cup The Ing Cup () is an international Go tournament with a cash prize of over US$400,000. It was created by, and is named after, Ing Chang-ki. The tournament is held once every four years and hence often nicknamed the Go Olympics. In the 7th In ...

, which are held every two and four years respectively. In 2006, Lee won the

Wangwi The Wangwi was a Go competition in South Korea. Outline The Wangwi was a Go competition used by the Hanguk Kiwon The Korea Baduk Association, also known as Hanguk Kiwon (), is the organization that oversees Go (''baduk'') and Go tournaments ...

title for the eleventh consecutive year.

Go career

Over the years, Lee's style of play has been broken down. Even

Cho Chikun Cho Chikun ''25th Honinbo'' ''Honorary Meijin'' (; born June 20, 1956) is a professional Go player and a nephew of Cho Namchul. Born in Busan, South Korea, he is affiliated to Nihon Ki-in. His total title tally of 75 titles is the most in the ...

said that

Lee Sedol Lee Sedol (; born 2 March 1983), or Lee Se-dol, is a South Korean former professional Go player of 9 dan rank. As of February 2016, he ranked second in international titles (18), behind only Lee Chang-ho (21). His nickname is "The Stro ...

would eventually pass Chang-ho because Chang-ho's style is no longer guaranteed due to the new generation of players. When asked if Lee's era was over, his teacher

Cho Hunhyun Cho Hunhyun (; born 10 March 1953) is a South Korean professional Go player and politician. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, Cho reached professional level in Korea in 1962. Since then, Cho has amassed 150 professional title ...

simply replied, "No". He continued, saying that Lee Sedol is just someone who has finally fit the description of a rival for Chang-ho. He also said that both will battle many times and in the coming years the "smoke will settle" and one of them will come out on top.

Personal life

Lee

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

the former amateur Go player Lee Do-yoon on 28 October 2010. Their daughter was born on 8 March 2012.

Titles and runners-up

Ranks #2 in total number of titles in Korea and #1 in international titles.

References

External links