Games - Kitani Minoru

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Kitani Minoru (木谷実, January 25, 1909 - December 19, 1975) was one of the most celebrated professional Go players of the game of Go in the twentieth century in Japan.

Biography

He was a young prodigy, who quickly attracted attention after the founding in 1924 of the Nihon Ki-in. He became a great rival to, and friend of, Go Seigen, after the latter was brought to Japan from China.

Go and Kitani were the vanguard of the Shinfuseki or "New Opening" theory, a period roughly 1933-6 which saw great innovations in go opening theory. Kitani was the opponent of Meijin Shusai in Shusai's retirement game, which is celebrated in Yasunari Kawabata's book The Master of Go (Kawabata changed Kitani's name to Otake).

Go Seigen and Kitani played in the Kamakura jubango, from 1939, the most celebrated ten game match of the century. It ended in Go's decisive victory. Kitani's career never quite recovered; he was also hampered by bad health, in the form of a heart condition. He was later noted for a style of spectacular idiosyncrasy, with great emphasis on secure territory.

He was subsequently noted as most prolific teacher ever of future professional players. The Kitani dojo, which began to flourish after 1945 in the Kitani house in the countryside, and was in practical terms run by his wife, produced a whole generation of top players who would dominate Japanese go from the early 1970s to mid-1990s. Pupils included Otake Hideo, Kato Masao, Ishida Yoshio, Cho Chikun, Takemiya Masaki and Kobayashi Koichi.

Titles & Runner Up's

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Kitani Minoru ]

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