Stomping Grounds

I was really happy that many people enjoyed part 1, where we looked at Rui Naiwei, Feng Yun, and Park Ji-eun. If you haven't read it yet, you can find part 1 here. Today, we'll move on to part 2 and discuss the next three female Go players who fought their way through competition to reach 9 dan professional status.

Number 4 - Cho Hye-yeon

Cho Hye-yeon began her professional Go career in 1997 in South Korea, quickly making a name for herself by becoming the youngest female player to achieve professional status at just 11 years and 11 months old. Her style drew comparisons to Lee Changho, who was considered the strongest Go player from 1995 to 2006, earning her the nick name "the female Lee Changho."

In 2003, Cho Hye-yeon took a game off of Rui Naiwei, significantly boosting her popularity. However, as she entered middle school, Cho Hye-yeon made a decision that some consider a mistake and she chose to focus on her studies to gain admission to the Korean University Department of English Literature, a choice that would later prove valuable for Western Go players. As it seems that she always had intentions to share her love for the game with the world and the English speaking community. She managed to juggle her studies while continuing to play Go.

Despite balancing her English studies and Go, Cho Hye-yeon remained a formidable competitor. In the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, she defeated Rui Naiwei once again, leading her team to victory over the Chinese team, and won the gold medal, which promoted her to 9 dan professional.

Cho Hye-yeon’s career was not without controversy though as she often chose to prioritize her studies or religious beliefs, which sometimes conflicted with her matches. Her focus on English in 2006 took time away from Go, and her religious beliefs led her to refuse to play games on Sundays, no matter how important they were.

In 2016, Cho Hye-yeon made an announcement that she was stepping away from professional Go to focus on what she considered an even bigger passion in popularizing the game worldwide through English commentary and book translations. This decision caused some friction within the Korean Go community, with some fans feeling let down by her choices.

Cho Hye-yeon was no stranger to negativity, having been ridiculed in the past for prioritizing her studies. In 2019, she faced a year-long ordeal with a stalker. Despite these challenges, she remained determined to contribute to the Go world in other ways.

You can find a no longer updated blog that was open from 2006 to 2014 here, which features some short, interesting comments through the website. You can also find her player card here.

Number 5 - Choi Jeong

Choi Jeong is perhaps the most well-known female Go player among the current generation of Western players. Her name frequently surfaces due to her dominance in the Go world. She became a professional in South Korea at the age of 14 in 2010.

She quickly gained a reputation for her fierce competitiveness and ability to go the distance where others could not. For many female players, she became a new hero after Rui Naiwei stepped away from the game.

Her first championship came in the Female Myungin tournament in 2012, where she held the title for five years until its discontinuation in 2016. Even more impressively, she was considered South Korea's strongest female player from 2013 until August 2024, when she was finally dethroned by Kim Eunji.

In 2016, Choi Jeong made history as the only female player to pass the LG Cup qualifier, where other strong female players had also competed. She then went on to participate in the men's Korean Go League. Although her time in the men's go league was short-lived, ending in 2017, the fact that she participated and managed a record of 2 wins and 5 losses was still commendable.

Choi Jeong continued to build on her experiences, and in 2018, she achieved 9 dan professional status at the Women’s Guksu title match, taking the title and solidifying her place at the top. That year, she increased her tournament participation, playing in events like the Maxim Coffee Cup, Senko Cup, Wu QingYuan Cup, and many more. She would continue this trend in playing as many tournaments as possible up until what I consider her biggest moment in 2022.

For many in the Western Go community, 2022 was the year Choi Jeong truly became a name to remember. Although she was known before, 2022 marked the beginning of my personal interest in her, as I started hearing more about her from others. This was the year of her incredible run at the 2022 Samsung Cup.

During this tournament, she defeated another famous female player, Kim Eunji, before entering the main rounds, where she faced some of the toughest competition. She went on to defeat Sada Atsushi, Ichiriki Ryo, Yang Dixin, and Byun Sangil before meeting her final opponent, Shin Jinseo, who is still regarded as the ultimate, machine-like player. I remember watching these games live, filled with hope that she might win the series. Unfortunately, Choi Jeong lost her games, much to the disappointment of her fans. However, it was still an incredible achievement for her to finish as the runner-up, marking the first time in history that a female professional Go player advanced to the finals in a major world tournament.

Choi Jeong is still considered one of the best female players today. Although she was recently dethroned in South Korea by Kim Eunji, she continues to fight back, even defeating Kim Eunji in a recent tournament 2-1, proving that she may not be ready to give up her spot as South Korea's top female player just yet.

It's worth noting that while researching what it means to be South Korea's strongest player, I discovered that Choi Jeong is still the top-rated player according to GoRatings.org at the time of writing this article. However, in South Korea, the top player is determined not by ratings but by win rate each year.

Do you believe that Choi Jeong is still truly South korea's greatest female? Or does Kim Eunji take the cake?

You can find Choi Jeong's player card here.

Number 6 - Kim Hye-min

Kim Hye-min joined the professional Go scene in 1999 at the age of 13. Her early career was challenging. Especially during the era of Rui Naiwei when she went to South Korea. While most professional players earn recognition in some way, Kim Hye-min struggled in tournaments. Although she maintained a respectable record, she often fell short in crucial matches, even in games where she was expected to win.

As time passed, Kim Hye-min began to feel some regret about becoming a professional player. She felt she was lagging behind other great female professionals of her time, and as we know, time is unforgiving for professionals, as many retire early. The lack of big title wins or games where she looked competitive against the great players during what would be considered a player's prime was particularly disheartening for her. She felt like she just wasn't as strong as her competitors.

However, in 2013, Kim Hye-min’s persistence paid off. Despite what she considered a lackluster career, she finally won a significant tournament, the Women's Championship 2013, which led to her promotion to 7th dan. She finally felt like all the time she spent as a professional player was starting to pay off even though it was coming late.

She continued to participate in a few more tournaments, and in 2019, she achieved 9 dan through promotion ruling. While Kim Hye-min’s career may not be decorated with as many accolades as other professionals, her determination to keep pushing forward led her to attain the highest rank a professional player can achieve, making her the 6th female player in history which is something nobody can take away from her.

You can find Kim Hye-min’s player card here.

Thank you for reading the second part of my series on the nine female Go players who made history. If you haven’t read the first part, you can find it at the bottom of this page in related posts. If you enjoyed the read, please let me know by clicking the heart at the bottom, sharing it, and leaving a comment. Thank you so much!