Choi Jeong, New History in Women's Baduk... 'World's First' Major Runner-up

Shin Jin-seo 9-dan Wins Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance World Baduk Masters
Choi Jeong 9-dan Runner-up in Major Mixed-Gender World Tournament

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] Choi Jeong 9-dan, the undisputed number one female Go player in Korea, challenged for the world’s first major Go tournament victory but was stopped by Shin Jin-seo 9-dan, finishing as the runner-up.

The championship of the '2022 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup World Go Masters,' which attracted attention as the world Go tournament final between Korea’s top male and female Go players, went to Shin Jin-seo 9-dan.

According to the Korea Baduk Association on the 8th, Shin Jin-seo 9-dan secured the championship by defeating Choi Jeong 9-dan with a 184-move win by resignation with White in the second game of the best-of-three final held online at the Korea Baduk Association in Majang-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. This was Shin Jin-seo 9-dan’s first title at the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Shin Jin-seo 9-dan is the strongest representative of Korean Go. Even before the final, the prevailing expectation was that Shin Jin-seo 9-dan would have the advantage. The skill gap between male and female Go players was also a significant factor. As expected, Shin Jin-seo 9-dan achieved a clean 2-0 series victory.

The biggest focus of this year’s Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup was not the champion and strongest player Shin Jin-seo 9-dan. Choi Jeong 9-dan’s strong performance was a drama that rewrote the history of world Go. Although China’s Lu Naiwei 9-dan reached the semifinals in a major world Go tournament open to both men and women, no female player had ever advanced to the final in the history of world Go.

Korea’s top player Choi Jeong 9-dan set a record that no other female player at the world’s highest level had achieved. Although she did not win the championship, it was a record as valuable as winning the title.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Born in 1996, Choi Jeong 9-dan was a disciple of Yoo Chang-hyuk 9-dan during her elementary school years. Under the mentorship of Yoo Chang-hyuk 9-dan, who led the renaissance of Korean Go, her skills improved rapidly.

In particular, Choi Jeong 9-dan holds the records for being the youngest female player and the fastest to be promoted to 9-dan among female players. Korean women’s Go has produced world-class strong players such as Park Ji-eun 9-dan and Cho Hye-yeon 9-dan, but the current number one ranked female player in Korea is undoubtedly Choi Jeong 9-dan. She has demonstrated top-level skills by sweeping domestic and international women’s Go tournaments.

In this Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup, with both male and female players participating, she defeated strong opponents one after another to reach the final, creating a major event of a showdown between Korea’s top male and female stars, drawing the world Go community’s attention.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.