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Attention, Students!

Rising young star in Go (boardgame)

Ryo Ichiriki, second year student of School of Social Sciences

Photo taken at The Nihon Ki-in, where Ichiriki (rank: 7 dan) goes to play Go since he was in elementary school.

Ichiriki won the title for being the Go professional with the most number of wins (47 wins in total) in 2016. He went professional at age 13 and at that time, many people suggested that he should stop schooling and concentrate on playing GO. Instead, he chose to further his study and is now an undergraduate student of Waseda University. In this interview, he shares his reasons for furthering his study and his life and experience as a Go professional.

Why did you decide to study at Waseda University?

It is actually rare for people who became a Go professional to study at university. However, I think that university education add values to my life as a Go professional, and that is why I decided to apply to study at Waseda University. I really enjoy the diversity in various aspects at University. I think I could resonance with this aspect which the University believes strongly in. As a professional player of Go, you do not usually get to know many people of your age and I am happy to be able to make friends with personality at the University.

 In 2016, you were the record holder for the most number of wins. What was the most memorable moment you had in that year?

In September 2016, I won the match against Lee Sedol who is the world champion for many seasons at the Nongshim hot noodles Cup World Go Strongest Tournament. Winning that match really boosted my confidence. It was a fierce fight and I was at a disadvantage at first, but I eventually won by a narrow margin. During my first title match at Tengen Competition (October to December 2016), I was honored to be able to play with Yuta Iyama, the first player in Japanese history to hold all seven major titles simultaneously. I also remember staying at a very nice hotels and having really good food before the match.

How did you feel when you were playing the match with Iyama, the simultaneous holder of seven major titles?

Iyama Yuta is the first player in Japanese history to hold all seven major titles (Kisei, Meijin, Honinbo, Oza, Tengen, Gosei and Judan) simultaneously. He is just like world champion Kohei Uchimura of Gymnastic, who competed on international level. He is my goal. The match with Iyama was strenuous and I regretted a lot of the moves I made. Even though there were times when I could win, I lost the match eventually.

In March 2017, you fought against an AI at the Densei competition. How did you feel about the match against an AI?

The skills of an AI are now on the same level as an professional Go player. Last year, AI AlphaGo won four matches and lost one against Lee Sedol. It was second in skills to the newly developed Master, which won 60 continuous matches against Lee. AIs think differently from us human beings. Professional GO players can lose to AIs easily if they underestimate the ability of AIs. As AIs get better and stronger, it makes us rethink about how we should play GO.

Did you past matches with AIs have any influence on how you play GO?

Yes, and I think how AIs play influence many professional GO players, especially the younger generation. The AI that leaves the strongest impact on professional players across the world is no doubt Master.

What are your hopes for year 2017?

In 2016, I won 47 matches and became the record holder for the most number of wins in that year. I also got to experience many things as a university student at Waseda. In 2017, I hope to win Iyama and gain a title for myself. I also hope to continue to be a professional player for as long as I can. Cho Chikun has turned 60 but he continues to win many young professional players. Hifumi Kato (rank: professional dan) who is also a graduate of Waseda University is currently 77 years old but he continues to play as a professional player even today. The same goes to Masao Sugiuchi (rank: professional dan) who is 96 years old at present. I want to be like them. Therefore, I want to learn about and experience diversity at Waseda University, and interact with many different people. The human skills I would gain at the University will definitely benefit me both as a person and as a professional Go player.

Profile

Ichiriki is born in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture. He attended Tokyo Metropolitan Hakuo Senior High School. He started playing Go when he was five and became a GO professional at 13 years old. He is the youngest professional player to win the Shinji-O game.

Profile on The Nihon Ki-in

 

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