Jimmy Cha (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 차민수,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 車敏洙, born January 15, 1951), also known as Ch'a Min-su, is a South Korean

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

go and avid poker player. He is also a black belt in martial arts and a talented classical pianist. Jimmy was born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, and grew up playing go and poker. He turned professional in 1974 and was the best player at

Dongguk University Dongguk University (Korean: 동국대학교, Hanja: 東國大學校) is a private, coeducational university in South Korea, fundamentally based on Buddhism. Established in 1906 as Myeongjin School (명진학교; 明進學校) by Buddhist pioneers ...

when he attended. Along with these accolades, he was also the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

n National Amateur Champion two times in a row. The

Hanguk Kiwon The Korea Baduk Association, also known as Hanguk Kiwon (), was founded in November 1945 by Cho Namchul. Baduk is a game which was present in Korea by the 5th century. It originated in China, but the West is more familiar with the Japanese name ...

awarded him four dan for spreading go around the world in 1984, after he moved to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1975. As of 2021, he is 6 dan. Cha has a nickname, "eternal Mr. Quarter-Finalist", because in many professional tournaments he would usually lose in the quarterfinals. In 1989, he beat

Yamashiro Hiroshi is a professional Go player. Biography Yamashiro grew up with Go, as he became a professional in 1972. He eventually joined the Nagoya branch of the Nihon Ki-in The Nihon Ki-in (), also known as the Japan Go Association, is the main orga ...

and

Ohira Shuzo was a professional Go player. Biography Ohira was born in Gifu, Japan. Taken under the wing of the prolific Kitani Minoru in 1941, Ohira quickly rose in rank. By 1947, he had obtained professional 1 dan, being promoted to 2 dan in the same ...

to advance to the quarterfinals of the

Fujitsu Cup The Fujitsu Cup (富士通杯) was an international Go competition that ran from 1988-2011. Outline The Fujitsu Cup was an international Go competition hosted by Fujitsu and Yomiuri Shimbun. The players were selected as follows: * The top 3 play ...

, only to lose. The next year, he made it to the quarterfinals of the Fujitsu Cup again after beating

Cho Chikun Cho Chikun ''25th Honinbo'' ''Honorary Meijin'' ( ko, 조치훈; 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 ...

. In March 2008, he defeated Imamura Toshiya 9P in the

Chunlan Cup The Chunlan Cup, officially the Chunlan Cup World Professional Weiqi Championship (), is an international Go competition. Outline The Chunlan Cup is an international Go tournament sponsored and hosted by the Chunlan Group of China. 24 players a ...

. Today, he splits his time between go, poker, and managing businesses.

Runner-Up titles

References

Articles on Jimmy Cha in the 'Go World (1)' (nn: mm-oo, pp means: issue nn, pages mm-oo and pp) China-Korea match in California 1985 (report) 41: 6-11, 33 *"Go in Korea" 37: 20-22* *"Jimmy Cha: Giant Killer" (Wood) 55: 11-17* *Kukgi Title Match 1984 (report) 38: 36-39* *U.S. professionals, wins first match (1988) between 52: 4 Cha, Jimmy vs. Cho Chikun *Fujitsu Cup 1990 (Round 2) 60: 13-16* Cha, Jimmy vs. Cho Hun-hyeon *Fujitsu Cup 1989 (quarterfinal) 56: 10-13* Cha, Jimmy vs. Nie Weiping *Fujitsu Cup 1990 (quarterfinal) 61: 12-15* Cha, Jimmy vs. Ohira Shuzo *Fujitsu Cup 1989 (Round 2) 55: 15-17* Cha, Jimmy vs. Redmond, Michael *1984 38: 34-35 Cha, Jimmy vs. Yamashiro Hiroshi *Fujitsu Cup 1989 (Round 1) 55: 12-15* (1) sources: magazine itself
Go World

External links

Hendon Mob poker tournament results

Biography, results in Go tournaments and poker tournaments

Korea Baduk Association profile
(in Korean) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cha, Jimmy 1951 births Living people American Go players American poker players South Korean Go players South Korean poker players South Korean emigrants to the United States