Cho Hunhyun
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| Cho Hunhyun | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cho Hunhyun | |
| Nickname | The God of War[1] | |
| Hangul | 조훈현 | |
| Hanja | 曺薰鉉 | |
| Revised Romanization | Jo Hun-hyeon | |
| McCune- Reischauer | Cho Hun-hyŏn | |
| Date of birth | March 10, 1953 | |
| Place of birth | ||
| Residence | ||
| Teacher | Segoe Kensaku, Fujisawa Hideyuki |
|
| Turned pro | 1962 | |
| Rank | 9 dan | |
| Affiliation | Hanguk Kiwon | |
Cho Hunhyun (born March 10, 1953) is a Korean 9-dan professional Go player.
Contents |
He was once considered by many to be the best player in the world, before his former pupil Lee Chang-ho started to win titles in the 90's and 2000's. Cho made history when he became the youngest ever professional Go player in 1962, at the age of 9. This was remarkable, as many top players today don't turn pro until they are 12 or 13. His career started out unbelievably. In the 1980's, no other Korean player could challenge Cho. He won all the titles in Korea on 3 occasions. This tally comes to a total of 30 titles, which most players never even win in their lifetimes. Also, he won the Paewang title 16 times in a row from 1977 to 1992, the world record in the successive defense of a Go title. In 1988, he became internationally famous and a national hero by beating Nie Weiping, then considered to be the strongest player in the world, in the finals of the first Ing Cup. Since then he has won many major international titles, only to be surpassed by his disciple Lee Chang-ho.
He is known for his fast movement, which earned his nickname Cho Jebi(swallow). However, his style starts to change with the appearance of Lee Chang-ho. His style changed when his student Lee Changho started to become a huge challenge. He had to fight more during his games because Lee was quick in calculating and reading ahead. His use of trying to throw his opponent off were not going to work against Lee, since he knew what was coming.
His is also known for making his opponent panic whenever he could. A deceiving way of play, he tries to break his opponents concentration while having some fun. Yoda Norimoto, who was Cho's opponent for a match, wore earplugs because Cho was so distracting. Cho won.
Ranks #1 in total amount of titles in Korea.
| Title | Years Held |
|---|---|
| Current | 44 |
| 1976 - 1979, 1981 - 1989 | |
| 1990, 1992 | |
| 1976 - 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2000 | |
| 1980, 1981, 1984 - 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1999 | |
| 1990, 1995 | |
| Defunct | 98 |
| 1977, 1979 - 1981, 1984 - 1990, 1997 | |
| 1996 | |
| 1973 - 1979, 1981 - 1988, 1992 | |
| 1975 - 1979, 1981 - 1987 | |
| 1977 - 1992, 1997 - 2000 | |
| 1983, 1985 - 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995 | |
| 1983 - 1989, 1994 | |
| 1983 - 1987, 1989, 1993 | |
| 1996 | |
| 2002 | |
| 1979 - 1982, 1984 - 1987, 1989 - 1992, 1995 | |
| International | 9 |
| 2001, 2002 | |
| 1994, 2000, 2001 | |
| 1999 | |
| 1988 | |
| 1994, 1997 | |
| Total | 151 |
| Title | Years Lost |
|---|---|
| Current | 30 |
| 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003 | |
| 1991, 1993 - 1996, 1998, 2003 | |
| 1986, 1987, 1993 - 1996, 1999, 2001 | |
| 1991, 1994 | |
| 1996, 2002 | |
| 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996 | |
| Defunct | 36 |
| 1996 | |
| 1973, 1978, 1983, 1991, 1998, 2000, 2003 | |
| 1980, 1989, 1990, 1993 - 1997 | |
| 1980, 1988, 1992 | |
| 1993, 2001 | |
| 1988, 1997 | |
| 1993, 1995, 1996 | |
| 1993 - 1995, 1997, 1999 | |
| 1983, 1988, 1993 | |
| 1996 | |
| 1994 | |
| 1971 | |
| Continental | 2 |
| 1995, 2002 | |
| International | 2 |
| 2002 | |
| 1993 | |
| Total | 70 |
- After he was beaten by Cho Chikun in 1981, Cho Hunhyun vowed that he would never lose to Chikun again. From 1981 to 2003, Cho never lost to Chikun in all the games they played.
- Official site (in Korean)