is a Japanese 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 ...

. He is one of the 'Six Supers' who championed Japanese Go in the last three decades of Japanese Go.

Biography

Koichi Kobayashi was born in

Asahikawa is a city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a core city since April 1, 2000. The city is currently well known for the Asahiy ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. In 1965, he came to Tokyo to be a disciple of

Minoru Kitani was one of the most celebrated professional Go players and teachers of the game of Go in the twentieth century in Japan. Biography He earned the nickname "the Prodigy" after winning a knockout tournament. He defeated eight opponents from the ...

. He studied along with

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 t ...

Masao Kato Masao Kato Honorary Oza (加藤正夫, ''Katō Masao'', March 15, 1947 – December 30, 2004), also known as Kato Kensei (加藤剱正 ''Katō Kensei''), was a Japanese professional go player. A late bloomer, Kato won 46 titles, including the ...

Yoshio Ishida is a professional Go player and author of several books on Go. Biography By the time he was 8, Ishida started learning Go. He was a student at the legendary Kitani Minoru go school. Famous along with his fellow students Cho Chikun, Kobaya ...

, and

Masaki Takemiya is a professional Go player. Biography Masaki Takemiya was born in Japan. He became one of the many disciples of the Minoru Kitani school. His rise to fame began when he was only 15 years old. He earned the nickname "9 dan killer" because he ...

. He went on to marry the daughter of his teacher, Reiko Kitani (1939–1996), a 6-dan who has won the All-Japan Women's Championship several times. Together they had a daughter,

Izumi Kobayashi is a professional Go player. Biography Izumi Kobayashi grew up in a family of accomplished Go players. She has joked that she first played Go in her mother's womb. Her father is Koichi Kobayashi, the man who ranks third in number of titles ...

, who is now one of the leading female Go players in Japan. Kobayashi is one of the few Go players who have won more than 1,200 professional games. Kobayashi's rivalry with Cho Chikun has continued for some time and they frequently play against each other.

Career

Two years after joining Kitani Minoru's dojo, Kobayashi was promoted to be a 1-dan professional. His first tournament victory came from the 4th Shin Ei in 1972. In 1976, he won his first major title, Tengen.

Promotion record

Titles and runners-up

Kobayashi is

Honorary Kisei Professional Go players in Japan are given the title of "Honorary" (or "Lifetime") title holder if they either win the title ten times in a row, or have won the title five times in a row or ten times in total and reach the age of 60 years or retir ...

Honorary Meijin Professional Go players in Japan are given the title of "Honorary" (or "Lifetime") title holder if they either win the title ten times in a row, or have won the title five times in a row or ten times in total and reach the age of 60 years or retire ...

and

Honorary Gosei Professional Go players in Japan are given the title of "Honorary" (or "Lifetime") title holder if they either win the title ten times in a row, or have won the title five times in a row or ten times in total and reach the age of 60 years or retir ...

. He ranks #3 in the total number of titles in Japan.

References

1952 births Japanese Go players Living people People from Asahikawa {{Japan-Go-bio-stub