Manfred Wimmer ( 1944 – 1995) was the first
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
professional Go player.
Manfred Wimmer was born in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in 1944. He won the
European Go Championship
The European Go Championship or Congress (EGC) is the annual and main event of many organised by the European Go Federation for players of the board game Go. It consists of a 2-week open competition, one round per day, making a total of 10 round ...
in 1969 and 1974. He became a professional
shodan
SHODAN (Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network) is a fictional artificial intelligence and the main antagonist of the cyberpunk-horror themed video games '' System Shock'' and '' System Shock 2''.
Character design
SHODAN is an artificial ...
in the
Kansai Ki-In
The Kansai Ki-in (), i.e., Kansai Go Association, is an organizational body for the game of Go in Japan, which was founded by Hashimoto Utaro in 1950. Though it is not as large as its chief rival, the Nihon Ki-in, it also issues diplomas to stron ...
on January 26, 1978 (shortly before
James Kerwin
James Kerwin, (born October 13, 1973) is an American film director, theatre director, and screenwriter.
Education and academics
Kerwin, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, attended Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield.
Kerwin gradua ...
, the American who became the second Western Go professional on February 14, 1978, in the
Nihon Kiin
The Nihon Ki-in (), also known as the Japan Go Association, is the main organizational body for Go in Japan, overseeing Japan's professional system and issuing diplomas for amateur dan rankings. It is based in Tokyo. The other major Go associa ...
). Wimmer was promoted to the
rank of 2p the same year (though gobase.org lists him as a 1p).
In 1991, he introduced the game of Go in
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
and, around the same time, reportedly in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
. Wimmer died of a
stroke in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in 1995 while playing Go at a cafe.
"Obituary of Manfred Wimmer" (European Go Federation)
/ref>
See also
* European Go Players
* European Go Federation
The European Go Federation (EGF) is a non-profit organization with the purpose of encouraging, regulating, co-ordinating, and disseminating the playing of the board game Go in Europe. The EGF was founded in 1957, the same year that the inaugural ...
References
External links
Pok's "a kind of obituary" of Manfred Wimmer
Senseis Library page on Manfred Wimmer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wimmer, Manfred
1944 births
1995 deaths
Austrian Go players