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 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 ...

. A late bloomer, Kato won 46 titles, including the Oza eight times in a row. He also became the second player to reach 1,200 career wins, behind

Rin Kaiho Rin Kaihō or Lin Haifeng (; born May 6, 1942) is a professional Taiwanese Go player who made his name in Japan. He is, along with Cho Chikun, Kobayashi Koichi, Otake Hideo, Takemiya Masaki and Kato Masao, considered one of the 'Six Supers' ...

. Kato is the author of ''The Chinese Opening: The Sure-Win Strategy'' (published in English by Kiseido Publishing Company) and ''Kato's Attack and Kill'' (published by Ishi Press).

Biography

Early life and "Killer Kato" (1959–2003)

Kato joined

Kitani Minoru 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 ...

's go dojo in 1959, quickly becoming friends with

Ishida Yoshio 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, Kobayas ...

. The two became sparring partners and kept a close relationship up until Kato's death. In 1964, Kato passed the pro exam at age seventeen. Along with

Takemiya Masaki 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 ...

and Ishida, the trio became known as the

three crows Three crows are a symbol or metaphor in several traditions. Crows, and especially ravens, often feature in European legends or mythology as portents or harbingers of doom or death, because of their dark plumage, unnerving calls, and tendency to e ...

of the Kitani dojo. Kato began qualifying for tournaments early on in his professional career. He made the

Honinbo In the history of Go in Japan, the four Go houses were four major schools of Go instituted, supported, and controlled by the state, at the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate. (There were also many minor houses.) At roughly the same time shogi w ...

league in 1968 as a 4 dan, a feat unheard of at the time. Kato was unable to progress past the group stages and was relegated. However, he challenged title holder

the following year, losing four games to two. He was known as the "Killer" for his attacking style. During a Honinbo league match in 1970, Kato forced 22nd Honinbo

Takagawa Kaku , also known as , was one of the most successful professional Go players of the twentieth century. Biography Kaku Takagawa won the Honinbō title nine times in a row, from 1952 to 1960, and was subsequently awarded the permanent title of Ho ...

to resign after 93 moves. For the early part of his career, Kato was known as the ''eternal runner-up''. He finished runner-up eight times before winning his first titles, the Gosei and Judan, in 1976. Kato went on to win 46 total titles, fourth most in Japan behind

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 th ...

Sakata Eio was a 9-dan Japanese professional Go player. Biography Sakata became a professional Go player in 1935. His first title match was the Hon'inbō in 1951 when he challenged Hashimoto Utaro. More than usual was at stake in the match because Has ...

and

Kobayashi Koichi is a Japanese Go player. 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, Japan. In 1965, he came to Tokyo to be a disciple of Minoru Kitani. ...

. At one point, Kato held four of the top 7 titles:

Meijin is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word ''meijin'' (名 ''mei'' "excellent, artful", 人 ''jin'' "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field (t ...

, Oza, Judan and Gosei.

Later life and death

Kato was elected president of the

Nihon Ki-in 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 associat ...

and

International Go Federation The International Go Federation (IGF) is an international organization that connects the various national Go federations around the world. Role The role of the IGF is to promote the sport of Go throughout the world, promote amicable relations ...

in early 2004. Under his lead, he eliminated the

Oteai The was a tournament used in Japan, by the Nihon Ki-in and Kansai Ki-in, to determine the ranking of its go professionals on the dan scale. It was instituted in the 1920s soon after the Ki-in was set up in 1924. Initially it was run in Spring an ...

, instead introducing new rules to help deal with rank inflation that had occurred over the years. He also increased komi from 5.5 points to 6.5 points and shortened thinking time. Later in the year, Kato fell ill and was hospitalized. He underwent a successful operation on 10 December, but his condition worsened a few weeks later. Kato died on 30 December 2004.

Promotion record

Titles and runners-up

Ranks #5 in total number of titles in Japan.

Bibliography

*''Kato's Attack and Kill'' *''The Chinese Opening''

References

External links

''Kato Masao'' at gobase.org
- lists some of his victories and over a thousand-game records in SGF format. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kato, Masao 2004 deaths People from Asakura, Fukuoka Sportspeople from Fukuoka Prefecture Japanese Go players Go (game) writers 1947 births