was the strongest and most famous amateur
Go player of the 20th century in Japan. As a professional Go journalist, author and editor, and long-time undisputed strongest amateur player in
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 north ...
, Yasunaga was personally acquainted with most of the strong Japanese
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 skil ...
players from the 1920s to the 1980s.
Shin Fuseki Ho
In the early 1930s he co-wrote ''Shin Fuseki Ho'', a seminal work on go opening theory, in cooperation with the young professionals
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 K ...
and
Go Seigen
Wu Quan (), courtesy name Wu Qingyuan ()His courtesy name was created based on his real name (''Quan'' means "spring, fountain" and ''Qing Yuan'' means "clear and pure source of water"). (June 12, 1914 – November 30, 2014), better known by ...
. The book created a sensation, and helped win amateur players over to the revolutionary ideas of shin
fuseki
''Fuseki'' (Japanese: ; ) is the whole board opening in the game of Go.
Characteristics Less systematic
Since each move is typically isolated and unforced (i.e. not a sente move), patterns for play on the whole board have seen much less syst ...
("new opening") theory.
Representing Japan
Yasunaga twice represented Japan in the
World Amateur Go Championship
The World Amateur Go Championship (WAGC) is an international tournament for amateur Go players, held once a year since 1979. The organising body is the International Go Federation (IGF).
Each participating country sends one player, although in ...
,
first in the inaugural tournament (when he was 77), and then again three years later when he was 80. He acquitted himself well in both tournaments, but was not able to prevail against the strong fields of younger players. He also taught a number of professionals, including
Komatsu Hideki
is a professional Go player.
Biography
Komatsu was born in Aichi, Japan and quickly rose among the ranks of Go in the 1980s and early 1990s. He currently resides in Tokyo, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku' ...
and
Kageyama Toshiro and
Yokoyama Koichi. It has been said that at his peak, Yasunaga was sometimes able to defeat inexperienced young professional players while giving them two-stone handicaps.
Yasunaga played against
Chen Zude
Chen Zude ( Traditional: 陳祖德; Simplified: 陈祖德; Pinyin: Chén Zǔdé; February 19, 1944 – November 1, 2012) was a Chinese professional Go player. He was also the President of the Chinese Chess Association. He died of panc ...
in the 1963 China-Japan Supergo event.
See also
*
Go players
This article gives an overview of well-known professional and amateur players of the board game Go throughout the ages. The page has been divided into sections based on the era in which the Go players played and the country in which they pla ...
References
1901 births
1994 deaths
Japanese Go players
Go (game) writers
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