The Youngest Ever Professional Go Player – Sumire Nakamura

An 11-year-old elementary school student, Sumire Nakamura, became the youngest professional go player in April 2019. It was the first career win of this talented girl. The little girl has become an internet sensation due to her skills.

Who Is Sumire Nakamura?

Sumire Nakamura is a Japanese professional young Go player. She is the eldest daughter of Shinya Nakamura, a ninth-dan player. At the age of 10 years and one month, Sumire made her professional debut in the preliminary round of the Ryusei tournament in western Japan on April 22, 2019. She even broke the record held by Rina Fujisawa in 2010 at age 11 years and eight months. Moreover, Nakamura is also the first Go player to turn pro under Nihon Ki-in’s special screening system. The system is for “prospective, talented” players who can play against top players from other countries.

The first-dan player defeated by Sumire was fourth-dan Chieko Tanaka, 67. It was in a qualifying match for the 23rd Docomo Cup Women’s Kisei Title in Osaka city. It was her second official game since going professional.

What Is The Go Game?

Go is a board game with an abstract strategy for two players. In this, both the players aim to surround more territory than the opponent. The game was invented about 2,500 years ago in China. It is probably the oldest board game that is still played. There are two types of playing pieces called stones; black & white. One player chooses the white stones, and the other uses black. The players get turns, and they place the stones on the vacant intersections of the board. The one who surrounds the more area wins the game.

A Young Girl With Exceptional Abilities – Sumire Nakamura

The game is really quite challenging, especially for a child. But, Sumire Nakamura has proved her skills & ability by becoming the youngest professional go player. Moreover, a ninth dan player, Chang Hsu, says about Sumire- “It is rather shocking to see her ability at such a young age.” Chang was the one who tested her skills for Nihon Ki-in as part of the screening process.

The Global Child Prodigy congratulates this little girl for her outstanding accomplishments. We wish her a great future ahead.

Disclaimer: Our sources for the above information are – Wikipedia & Japantimes. No one from GCPA is responsible for the news mentioned in the article.