Games - Cho Chikun

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Cho Chikun (born on June 20, 1956 in Seoul, South Korea) is a professional Go player.

The Beginning (1962-1967)

Cho was born into a very wealthy family of six children. His grandfather was a bank director. Originally called Pung-yeon, Cho's name was changed during the Korean War when his father faced the threat of having all his money burned, and sought the advice of a fortune teller. This fortune teller told him to change his son's name to Chikun or else he would die, also saying that following the change, Chikun's younger brother would die but Chikun would become famous. Both predictions proved accurate.

His grandfather taught him Go when he was young. Seeing great talent in Cho, his father sent him to Japan in 1962. His rise to becoming one of the greatest Go players began when he joined Kitani Minoru's Go school. He was accompanied by his uncle Cho Namchul and his brother Cho Shoen on his way to the Haneda airport in Japan in August 1962. He was only six years old at the time. At the airport he met Kitani Minoru, his wife Kobayashi Chizu, and Kitani Reiko. Cho beat Kitani the day after arriving in Japan by five stones at the 100 dan party held at the Kitani School. A large crowd watched intensely, as if it were a professional game.

Cho joined the school when he was about 10 kyu. He also enrolled at the Nihon-Kiin as an insei when he was only seven. Cho found it challenging, since he consistently lost to his fellow pupil Kato Masao, even with a nine-stone handicap. He was bullied by many other students, for being Korean and not being able to win with such large handicaps. He started to become annoyed since he was the Kitani's "baby." He was known to be lax in his studies, which could be clearly seen when his future rival Kobayashi Koichi joined the Kitani school. Koyabashi was not as strong, but he studied much harder than Cho.

Cho was noted as being different at Kitani School because his parents forced him to go to the Korean School in Tokyo. He lived with his brother for a short time. On one particular incident Cho got lost in a crowd during a visit to Meiji Jingu. He did not speak Japanese, so he did not understand the announcements on the PA system that his brother was looking for him. Luckily, his brother found him after climbing a tree and peering into the crowd.

Cho was amazed by a painting he saw in Kobe when on a trip with Kitani. The owner noticed Cho's astonishment, and offered to give it to him. Kitani declined, but made a deal with Cho that if he reached 1 dan by the age of ten, he could have the painting. Although Cho never reached 1 dan until he was eleven years of age, Mrs. Kitani called to ask for the painting. To her surprise, the owner replied, "I know why you are calling. It's on the way." The painting remains in Cho's home.

Breakthrough to Shodan (1968-1972)

Cho broke through to shodan after beating Azuma Michihiko in May 1968. He became the youngest professional ever, at 11 years and 10 months. In the same year, he was promoted to 2 dan and was looking very promising. Within a mere two years, he climbed to 4 dan after winning almost every Oteai game possible. He reached 5 dan in 1971, at just 15 years of age.

In 1972, the Go Review and Kido Yearbook released information on Cho Chikun. His name was well-known before he was even allowed to drive. Although he had a great record of thirty wins and only six losses in this year, he lost twice to his rival Kobayashi Koichi in big tournaments—first the fourth New Faces Cup, which was even televised, and in the final of the Prime Minister Cup. After a rocky start, Cho gained momentum, beating three top players, until he lost to Rin Kaiho, who was Meijin at the time, in the Asahi Pro Best Ten tournament.

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