He's been around for so long he has probably seen every game possible and remembers them.

Very impressive, however he does it.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

It really is amazing.

By now, he must be leaning on experience a LOT more than he can depend on being a little sharper than his opponents.

I wonder if he ever thinks "Why won't you try something NEW for a change!?" when he's winning.

You may know that there is even an article on tygem about him!

http://www.tygem.com/news/news/viewpage ... &findword=

He is the world's oldest active professional Go player. To think that he became a professional in 1937 sends shivers down one's spine looking at his recent record.

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On Go proverbs:
"A fine Gotation is a diamond in the hand of a dan of wit and a pebble in the hand of a kyu" —Joseph Raux misquoted.

This week is the birthday of Mrs Sugiuchi - she will be 88 on 6 March 2015. This is one of the special birthdays in Japan ("rice age").

Perhaps for that reason she features in the March edition of Bungei Shunju, one of Japan's most famous magazines. She recounts the difficulties she faced in the go world, not just as a woman but as a repository for her father's hopes. He was a passionate amateur who would have loved to have been pro. Instead he allowed his three daughters to turn pro, despite advice to the contrary. All were successful, but Kazuko reached the highest grade and is of course now the world's oldest active female pro.

She was the first woman to achieve high grade in the Oteai and once got as far as a semi-final in a major event, but latterly she has restricted herself to women's tournaments.

Also featured in the magazine is Fujisawa Rina, as one of 120 women who typify Japan today.

There is a new game record of Sugiuchi Masao:

http://www.go4go.net/go/games/sgfview/46340

Unfortunately he lost this game and failed to enter the C league of the Kisei tournament.

Updates on Sugiuchi Kazuko:

Yesterday she beat Nagashima Kozue (57 years younger than her) in the preliminary of Japanese Female Honinbo tournament. The victory gives her a position in the main tournament.

http://www.go4go.net/go/games/sgfview/46492

Sugiuchi Masao keeps playing and actually winning:

http://www.go4go.net/go/games/sgfview/46820

I confess that I have not been monitoring Sugiuchi Masao's games closely recently. However, he remains of interest and pops up in conversation fairly often as a figure of admiration among all older Japanese amateurs. Let's remember that on Tuesday (October 20th) he will celebrate his 95th birthday. Mamumamu lists him at 8 wins versus 8 losses through the end of September (ranked 203 out of 430 active pros). Unfortunately he lost in the Honinbo qualifier last Thursday and so will not have a positive record to go with his cake.

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Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

For a bad joke,

We should follow in the "footsteps" of Sugiuchi Sensei!

http://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/souda ... 512-1s.htm

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On Go proverbs:
"A fine Gotation is a diamond in the hand of a dan of wit and a pebble in the hand of a kyu" —Joseph Raux misquoted.

It's finally happened, and a very heartwarming statement from Sugiuchi sensei, especially considering recent events.

It is as if that, no matter what is happening to the Go world, there would always be a wise Go sage giving us mysteriously related advice.

www.nihonkiin.or.jp/match_news/match_info/801595.html

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On Go proverbs:
"A fine Gotation is a diamond in the hand of a dan of wit and a pebble in the hand of a kyu" —Joseph Raux misquoted.

But what does it say?

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

I threw it into a bad translator, and I think the point is that Sugiuchi, at his advanced age and declining win rate, still finds enjoyment in Go and strives for improvement.

A meta message in light of AlphaGo conquering our best and brightest...

He says that he plays without considering the age difference. These days if he can just win one it's terrific. Compared to winning or losing he would like to still continue to improve.

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Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

And just to note, it is finally a broken record match with the largest age difference, but he did lose to 15 year old Onishi Ryuhei (1p), although his passion and continued quest for improvement is one of the reasons we *have* any 80+ year gap match .

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On Go proverbs:
"A fine Gotation is a diamond in the hand of a dan of wit and a pebble in the hand of a kyu" —Joseph Raux misquoted.

If Sugiuchi were to play AlphaGo there would be a 94 year age difference!

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

Sugiuchi v Robo-Sugiuchi.

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On Go proverbs:
"A fine Gotation is a diamond in the hand of a dan of wit and a pebble in the hand of a kyu" —Joseph Raux misquoted.

Tomorrow, October 20th, Sugiuchi Masao will be 96 years old. Mamumamu's site lists him as only 3 wins versus 7 losses over the last 12 months so he seems to be slowing down a bit.

I heard a month and a half ago or more that he lost in the final preliminary for a rapid tournament (probably the NHK) when he made his move but forgot to punch his clock in byo-yomi. The game was in the 1-2 point yose stage. At that point he was leading by about 11 points on the board as Black. So he opponent (that 'youngster' Kobayashi Koichi, a mere 63 at the time) escaped with a lucky win.

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Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

I have been replaying quite a few of Takagawa's games from the 1950's lately and each time there is one with/against Sugiuchi Masao I think of this thread I haven't checked but I guess is probably among the last players alive to have played against Go Seigen, Takagawa and the likes at their peak.

http://www9.nhk.or.jp/kabun-blog/700/239593.html

Sugiuchi lost to Onishi in a game where the difference between the players' ages was 80 years.

Raising this topic from the dead for an interesting match.

Antti Tormanen beat Sugiuchi Kazuko on 6/15 for a tengen preliminary.