is a professional Go

Go (board game)

Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...

 player

Go players

This page gives an overview of well-known players of the game of Go throughout the ages. The page has been divided into sections based on the era in which the Go players played and the country in which they played. As this was not necessarily their country of birth, a flag of that country precedes...

. A territorial player who is adept at invading and living within opponent's spheres of influence, Yamada won his first major title, the Oza

Oza

is a title in Go. The association that holds this title is the Japanese Nihon Ki-in.-Outline:Recently, the format for the tournament was changed to a best of five. The challenger is decided in a tournament of 16 players, other than the title player. The winner's purse is ¥14 million .-Past winners...

, in 1997. He has two older brothers, Shiho Yamada and Wakio Yamada.

Biography

Yamada began playing Go at the beginning of his school career. Two years later, he became a pupil of Yorimoto Yamashita, who adjudged Yamada to be a 6 dan amateur at the time. He was often praised for his extensive studying and deep reading. Yamada became a professional in 1989. In his first year as a professional, Yamada scored a record of 23 wins and six losses.

Yamada won the "New Player Award" in 1992 and won his first title, the Shin-Ei

Shin-Ei

-Outline:The Shin-Ei was a Go competition held where players under the age of 30 and 7 dan would compete in.-Past winners:...

, in 1993. He was also winner of the top Oteai

Oteai

The was a tournament used in Japan, by the Nihon Ki-in and Kansai Ki-in, to determine the ranking of its go professionals on the dan scale. It was instituted in the 1920s soon after the Ki-in was set up in 1924. Initially it was run in Spring and Autumn sessions in Tokyo, with the pros brought...

 section that same year. Yamada won another young players tournament, the Shinjin-O

Shinjin-O

The Shinjin-O is a professional Go competition.An annual Japanese tournament, it has been held continuously since 1976.- Format :...

, in 1997. He continued at a winning rate of 80% – including an 18-game winning streak, for which he won an award – up until his first major title challenge: the Oza

Oza

is a title in Go. The association that holds this title is the Japanese Nihon Ki-in.-Outline:Recently, the format for the tournament was changed to a best of five. The challenger is decided in a tournament of 16 players, other than the title player. The winner's purse is ¥14 million .-Past winners...

 in 1997. It was at that time the nickname, "King of Cool", was bestowed upon him by Go journalist John Fairbarn.

He defeated title-holder Ryu Shikun

Ryu Shikun

Ryu Shikun in Seoul, South Korea, is a professional Go player.- Biography :Ryu Shikun is a Go player who grew up in Seoul. He did not move to Japan until he was 15, and just 2 years later he turned professional. He was promoted to 9 dan in 2003.- Titles & runners-up :-External Links:**...

 three to one to claim his first major title, but then lost the title the following year to O Rissei

O Rissei

Ō Rissei is a professional Go player in Japan.- Biography :Rissei was born in Taiwan and moved to Japan when he was 13 years old; he would become professional the following year. His instructor is Kano Yoshinori.- Titles and runners-up :Ranks #10-t in total amount of titles in Japan.-External...

. In 1999, Yamada reached the semi-finals of the challenger tournament for the Oza. He was invited to participate in the 1st Chunlan Cup

Chunlan Cup

-Outline:The Chunlan Cup is an international Go tournament sponsored and hosted by The Chunlan Group of China. 24 players are chosen as follows:*3 top players of last tournament*8 from *5 from *4 from *2 from *1 from North America*1 from Europe...

 in 1998. In 1999, Yamada reached the semi-finals of the Samsung Cup

Samsung Cup

The Samsung Cup is a Go competition.-Outline:The Samsung Cup is an international competition. The Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance of Korea and Hanguk Kiwon host the competition. The format starts with a preliminary tournament in which even amateur players are allowed to play...

, losing to Lee Chang-ho

Lee Chang-ho

Lee Chang-ho is a South Korean professional Go player of 9-dan rank. He is regarded by many as one of the strongest modern Go players. He was a student of Cho Hunhyun 9-dan. He is the only player to have won all eight international competitions at least once.-Biography:He turned professional in...

 by resignation. The following year Yamada reached the finals, but lost again to another Korean player, Yoo Changhyuk

Yoo Changhyuk

Yoo Changhyuk is a professional Go player in South Korea.- Biography :Yoo Changhyuk was one of Korea's best Go players. Growing up without a teacher, Yoo became a professional in 1984 and was promoted to 9 dan in 1996...

, three to one.

Yamada won the 7 dan division of the 23rd Kisei

23rd Kisei

-Tournament:...

 tournament when he defeated Naoki Hane

Naoki Hane

is a professional Japanese 9 dan Go player currently affiliated with the Nihon Ki-in. He is both the son, and student, of Yasumasa Hane, who is also a professional 9 dan of the Nihon Ki-in.- Titles and runners-up :-Promotion record:-Awards:...

 on 22 April 1999. In the first round of the main tournament, Yamada defeated Hiroyuki Hiroe. In the second round, Yamada faced the previous Kisei runner-up, Norimoto Yoda

Norimoto Yoda

is a professional Go player.-Biography:Yoda is a student of Takeo Ando. He has won 34 titles so far in his career, the sixth highest in Japan. He became a professional in 1980, and reached 9 dan in 1993...

, and lost. While challenging for the Kisei title, Yamada reached the final of the 8th Ryusei

Ryusei

-Biography:The Ryusei is a Go competition used by the Japanese Nihon-Kiin. It was started in 1991 and is a fast go tournament. The tournament consists of four sections. The winner from each section, along with the player who won the most games in each section play in a single knockout tournament....

 in 1999, defeating Michihiro Morita

Michihiro Morita

is a professional Go player.- Titles & runners-up :-External Links:**...

. At the end of 1999, Yamada finished 8th in the top prize winners with ¥23,627,000. Yamada was a part of the Japanese team at the 1st Nongshim Cup

1st Nongshim Cup

The 1st Nongshim Cup was the inaugural edition of the team Go tournament consisting of five players each from China, Japan and South Korea. The tournament began on 16 December 1999 in Shanghai and finished on 28 March 2000...

 in 2000. He was eliminated in his only game against Chang Hao

Chang Hao

Chang Hao is a professional Go player. He is a 9 dan Go player from China. He is China's best player of the 1990s and one of the best in the world. Growing up he was a prodigy in China. He has won many titles, two of them international titles. He is best friends with Lee Chang-ho, whom he most...

. In May 2000, Yamada was promoted to 8 dan.

Yamada finished 15th in most prize money for 2001 with ¥12,919,960. In 2003, Yamada won the award for most consecutive victories with 18. He won his 600th career game in 2004, the third fastest ever at 15 years and 6 months. Three years later, Yamada won his 700th game, becoming the second fastest to reach 700 wins. In 2004, Yamada reached the finals of the Gosei tournament, his first major title challenge in six years. Yamada was the first player to be promoted from 8 dan to 9 dan for cumulative victories in 2006. He challenged for the Honinbo

Honinbo Tournament

The Honinbo is a Go competition.-Outline:It is the oldest Go title in Japan. Sponsored by Mainichi Shimbun, the Honinbo pays out ¥32 million . The holder is challenged by whoever wins the round robin league. Players can get into the round robin league by going through many preliminary tournaments...

 title that same year, losing to Shinji Takao

Shinji Takao

is a Japanese professional Go player.- Biography :Shinji Takao is one of Japan's best Go players. He turned professional in 1991. He won the Honinbo tournament in 2005 by a half point in the last game...

 in six games. Yamada challenged for the Oza title twice more in 2009 and 2010, losing both times to title holder Cho U

Cho U

Cho U Kisei, Oza is a professional Go player. He currently ranks 6th in the most titles won by a Japanese professional; his NEC Cup win in 2011 put him past his teacher Rin Kaiho and Norimoto Yoda. Cho is the only player in history to have held five of the top seven major titles...

. He won the NHK Cup in 2010.

Promotion record

Career record

• 1989: 23–6
• 1990: 23–6
• 1991: 39–5
• 1992: 35–10
• 1993: 39–9
• 1994: 40–10
• 1995: 40–14

• 1996: 40–12
• 1997: 47–11 (most wins in Japan)
• 1998: 47–19
• 1999: 21–18
• 2000: 39–20
• 2001: 38–15
• 2002: 32–13 (through 4 October 2002)

• 2004: 33–21
• 2006: 35–23
• 2007: 33–18
• 2008: 31–18
• 2009: 29–20
• 2010: 25–25
• 2011: 17–3 (as of 26 June 2011)

Titles and runners-up

Domestic
Title	Wins	Runners-up
Honinbo Honinbo Tournament The Honinbo is a Go competition.-Outline:It is the oldest Go title in Japan. Sponsored by Mainichi Shimbun, the Honinbo pays out ¥32 million . The holder is challenged by whoever wins the round robin league. Players can get into the round robin league by going through many preliminary tournaments...		1 (2006)
Oza Oza is a title in Go. The association that holds this title is the Japanese Nihon Ki-in.-Outline:Recently, the format for the tournament was changed to a best of five. The challenger is decided in a tournament of 16 players, other than the title player. The winner's purse is ¥14 million .-Past winners...	1 (1997)	3 (1998, 2009, 2010)
Gosei		1 (2004)
Ryusei Ryusei -Biography:The Ryusei is a Go competition used by the Japanese Nihon-Kiin. It was started in 1991 and is a fast go tournament. The tournament consists of four sections. The winner from each section, along with the player who won the most games in each section play in a single knockout tournament....	1 (1999)	1 (2004)
NHK Cup	1 (2010)
Shinjin-O Shinjin-O The Shinjin-O is a professional Go competition.An annual Japanese tournament, it has been held continuously since 1976.- Format :...	1 (1997)
Hayago Championship Hayago Championship The Hayago Championship was a Go competition.-Outline:The Hayago Championship was a hayago tournament, where each player had to make moves within 10 seconds. The tournament was sponsored by TV Tokyo.-Past winners:...		1 (1994)
NEC Shun-Ei NEC Shun-Ei The NEC Shun-Ei was a Nihon-Kiin Go competition.-Outline:The NEC Shun-Ei was made for young stars and was sponsored by the NEC Corporation. The winner's purse was 3,000,000 Yen -Winners:...		1 (1996)
Shin-Ei Shin-Ei -Outline:The Shin-Ei was a Go competition held where players under the age of 30 and 7 dan would compete in.-Past winners:...	2 (1993, 1998)
Total	6	8
International
Samsung Cup Samsung Cup The Samsung Cup is a Go competition.-Outline:The Samsung Cup is an international competition. The Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance of Korea and Hanguk Kiwon host the competition. The format starts with a preliminary tournament in which even amateur players are allowed to play...		1 (2000)
Total	0	1
Career total
Total	6	9