Kang Dongyun (born January 23, 1989) is a professional Go

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

Biography

Kang became a professional in 2002. In 2007, he was promoted to the rank of 7 dan. He is a disciple of

Kwon Kab-ryong Kweon Kab-yong (3 October 1957 – 23 January 2023) was a South Korean 9 dan professional Go player. Kweon turned professional in 1975. He started a Go school in Korea in 1989 that is often compared to Kitani Minoru's school. As of 2003, his s ...

. He is now a 9-dan professional player. He is one of the most promising go players. His current record in the 2007 Korean Baduk League is 7 wins 1 loss. So far in this tournament he beat some of the top Korean players like

Cho Hunhyun Cho Hunhyun ( ko, 조훈현; 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 profe ...

Lee Chang-ho Lee Chang-ho ( ko, 이창호; born 29 July 1975 in Jeonju, North Jeolla) is a South Korean professional Go player of 9-dan rank. He is regarded by many as the best Go player of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was a student of Cho Hun ...

, Mok Jin-seok and

Cho Han-seung Cho Hanseung ( ko, 조한승, born November 27, 1982), also known as Jo Hanseung is a professional go player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and table ...

. Kang had a remarkable result in the 10th Nongshim Cup, beating the dominant player of the first stage, Tuo Jiaxi (who had beaten all four of his opponents), and going on to win against

Kimio Yamada is a professional Go player. A territorial player who is adept at invading and living within opponent's spheres of influence, Yamada won his first major title, the Oza, in 1997. He has two older brothers, Shiho Yamada and Wakio Yamada. ...

Piao Wenyao Piao Wenyao (; ; born April 25, 1988) is a Chinese people, Chinese professional Go (board game), Go Go players, player of Chaoxianzu, Korean ethnicity currently residing in Harbin, Heilongjiang. Biography Piao became a professional player a ...

Naoki Hane is a professional Japanese 9 dan Go (board game), Go Go players, player currently affiliated with the Nihon Ki-in. He is both the son and student of Yasumasa Hane 9 dan. Titles and runners-up Ranks 13th in List of top title holders in Go, to ...

and

Qiu Jun Qiu Jun may refer to: * Qiu Jun (poet) (1421–1495), Chinese playwright and politician, member of the Hanlin Academy * Qiu Jun (bodybuilder) Qiu Jun (; 1948 – 6 February 2020) was a Chinese bodybuilder and a bodybuilding champion who claimed ...

in the respective order for 5 straight wins. His reign was ended by

Shinji Takao is a Japanese professional Go player. Biography Shinji Takao is one of Japan's best Go players. He turned professional in 1991. He won the Honinbo tournament in 2005 by a half point in the last game. Cho U, Naoki Hane, Keigo Yamashita ...

, who was, at that stage, the last remaining member of the Japanese team. Though it was a difficult loss with white, as all of Kang's matches beforehand had been with black, it still made the Korean Team gain an advantage in members remaining, and with fellow Korean baduk kings

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

and Lee Chang-ho remaining, Korea was still the strongest contender for the cup. The Chinese team had world number 2 Gu Li and former champion Chang Hao, but the rivalry between the two Lee's and Gu and Chang made the matches seem extra important. However, Lee Chang-ho never got to play, as Lee Se-dol defeated both Chang Hao and Gu Li. Kang played

Park Yeong-hun Park Yeong-hun ( ko, 박영훈, born April 1, 1985), also known as Park Young-hoon and Pak Yeong-hoon, is a South Korean professional Go player. Biography Park Yeong-hun was born in Seoul. He is a professional Go player in the Hanguk Kiwon. He ...

in the semifinals at the 22nd Fujitsu Cup, defeating Park in 200 moves. This was the first time Kang had ever been in a World Go Championship final. In the final, he went up against

, who defeated Chang Hao by 4 and a half points with black in the semifinals. Kang prevailed in the final, defeating Lee with white by two and a half points to win his first world championship. After several years of decent international tournament placings, Kang made another breakthrough to reach the final of the 2015-16 edition of the LG Cup, alongside compatriot

. He defeated Park 2–1 in the final to win his second world championship.

Promotion record

Titles and runners-up

*Total: 8 titles, 6 runners-up.

External links

Korea Baduk Association profile
(in Korean)

Living people 1989 births South Korean Go players Asian Games medalists in go Go players at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games {{SouthKorea-Go-bio-stub