Professional go player Hsu Chia-yuan (許家元) was on Monday conferred the title of ninth dan — the highest professional ranking — at a ceremony in Tokyo.
Hsu, 23, received the title for winning the 59th Judan competition held in April. The competition, which is sponsored by Sankei Shimbun, has been held annually since 1962.
Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) attended the ceremony, and used the opportunity to thank Japan for donating 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan.
Photo: Lin Tsuei-yi, Taipei Times
Hsieh said Hsu’s win also demonstrated how the game of go could bring Taiwanese and Japanese even closer together.
At the Gosei competition held in 2018, Hsu beat Japanese Yuta Iyama to claim the title of Gosei.
Hsu had been given the rank of eighth dan after his Gosei win, but was upgraded to ninth dan on Monday for holding two of the seven professional go titles in Japan.
Hsu, who began his professional go career in 2013, became the third-fastest player in Japan to reach the rank of ninth dan, behind Shibano Toramaru and Yuta Iyama.
Hsu challenged Toramaru in the Judan competition, winning three out of five matches to claim the title.
Japan Go Association chairman Satoru Kobayashi praised Hsu for his “interesting go play style,” and said that Hsu and Toramaru are the “two most interesting people in the world of Japanese go.”
“Hsu’s style is modest. If he feels the game isn’t going well, he cedes defeat — he doesn’t sloppily drag it on,” Kobayashi said.
Hsu, Toramaru, 21, and Ryo Ichiriki, 23, have received attention among Japanese go players and fans due to their talent and young age, he said.
Hsu said go players’ skills have largely converged since the emergence of go-playing artificial-
intelligence software.
Mental drive is now as important as skill, he said, adding that winning was a great honor and a big confidence boost.
Hsu echoed Hsieh’s thanks to Japan for its vaccine donation, saying he was “deeply moved.”
To celebrate Hsu’s win, Sankei Shimbun began selling Taiwanese pineapples on its Web site on Sunday, the company said, adding that it sold 100 in just three hours.
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