Genius Baduk Girl Transferring to Korea... "I Want to Compete Against Japanese Players Too"

"Expresses Aspiration to Participate in Baduk League"

Sumire Nakamura (14), the "Go prodigy girl" from Japan who submitted a transfer application to the Korea Baduk Association last July, expressed her aspirations ahead of the transfer. Nakamura 3-dan is scheduled to begin official activities starting March next year. At a press conference held on the 30th (local time) at the Nihon Ki-in in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Nakamura 3-dan said, "I want to become a player who can participate in the Korean Baduk League," adding, "Although my skills are not yet sufficient, I want to become stronger and compete against strong Japanese players such as Yuta Iyama."

Nakamura Sumire (14) 3-dan [Image source=Korea Baduk Association]

Earlier, on the afternoon of the 26th, the Korea Baduk Association held a board meeting at its headquarters on Majang-ro, Seongdong-gu, and approved Nakamura 3-dan's application as a guest professional player. From now on, Nakamura 3-dan will be able to participate without restrictions in all tournaments hosted by the Korea Baduk Association. She plans to defend her Japanese Women's Kisei title in February next year and officially start activities in Korea from March, one month later.

Nakamura 3-dan is said to have been introduced to Go around the age of three under the influence of her father, Shinya Nakamura 9-dan, a Japanese professional player. She also studied Go at the Korean Han Jongjin Baduk Dojang from 2017 to 2019.

In April 2019, when she was only 10 years old, she joined the Nihon Ki-in through a special selection for prodigies, becoming the youngest professional player in the history of Japanese Go. In February this year, she won the Women's Kisei title, setting the record as the youngest titleholder in the history of the Nihon Ki-in, earning her the nickname "Go prodigy." Her overall record at the Nihon Ki-in stands at 147 wins and 82 losses, with a winning percentage of 0.642.

Nakamura 3-dan submitted her guest professional application to the Korea Baduk Association in early August. She is the first professional player affiliated with the Nihon Ki-in, considered the homeland of modern Go, to transfer overseas.

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