Kotaro Fukuoka
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 22, 2005 |
| Sport | |
Turned pro | April 1, 2019 (age 13) |
| Teacher | Hon Seisen 4-dan |
| Rank | 8-dan |
| Affiliation | Nihon Ki-in |
Kotaro Fukuoka (福岡 航太朗, Fukuoka Kōtarō; born December 22, 2005) is a Japanese Go professional affiliated with the Nihon Ki-in. He holds the rank of 8-dan. Born in Tokyo, he is a student of Hon Seisen 4-dan.
Early life
At age four, he became interested in Go after seeing a goban at his grandfather's house, and after entering elementary school he began attending a Go salon alongside his other lessons.[1][2] When he was in second grade, he enrolled at the Hon Dojo.[1]
In fourth grade he went alone to South Korea to study Go,[3] returning to Japan intermittently.[1]
Twice, in fifth and sixth grade, he tried to qualify as a professional as an external (non-insei) candidate, but failed to pass the preliminaries.[2] In his first year of junior high school he became an insei at the Nihon Ki-in Tokyo Headquarters. In insei games he advanced from E-class to B-class with 114 consecutive wins, reaching A-class soon after, in the shortest time on record.[2] In November 2018, he finished 11–4 in the main round of the winter pro exams, winning his last six games after a 5–4 start, and qualified as runner-up behind Hirohito Toyoda (13–2).[4]
Professional career
In 2022, he reached the main event of the 47th Gosei – his first appearance in the main event of any of Japan's seven major Go titles. He defeated Cho U 9-dan in the first round and Shinji Takao 9-dan in the second round, before losing to Norimoto Yoda 9-dan in the quarterfinals.[5]
In the 33rd Ryusei tournament in 2024, he went undefeated in Block F. In the final, he defeated Iyama Ryusei, who was aiming for a third consecutive title. The win earned him promotion to 7-dan.
In 2026, he won the Teikei Cup Shun'ei Tournament, going 2-0 in the finals against Yu Otake. Around the same time, he played Otake in the challenger decision match of the 81st Honinbo tournament, which he won by 2.5 points, securing a title challenge against Honinbo Ryo Ichiriki.[6] The title match was played between May and July, and Fukuoka won 3-2, becoming the youngest ever winner of the tournament.
Notes
- 1 2 3 "(New Shodan Stories: 4) Fukuoka Kotaro, who knows the world, aims for the top — Go". Asahi Shimbun Digital. 2019-07-13. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
- 1 2 3 Yukiko Naito (2019-10-11). "114 consecutive wins as an insei! Behold the astonishing 13-year-old, Go player Fukuoka Kotaro shodan". Number Web (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-11-21.
- ↑ "Pro at 13: Fukuoka Kotaro shodan, "a child with wonderful spirit and ambition"". NHK Textview. 2019-08-29. Archived from the original on 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
- ↑ "2019 Winter Professional Admission Test — Main Round". Nihon Ki-in. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
- ↑ "47th Gosei". Nihon Ki-in. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
- ↑ "Go — Honinbo Tournament: Challenger to Honinbo Ichiriki decided". Kahoku Shimpo. Retrieved 2026-03-30.(subscription required)