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...

.

Biography

Before becoming a professional, Sakai was majoring in medical science at Kyoto University

Kyoto University

, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...

. For a long time, Sakai was the strongest amateur player in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and when he won the World Amateur Go Championship

World Amateur Go Championship

The World Amateur Go Championship is an international tournament for amateur Go players, held once a year since 1979. The organising body is the International Go Federation . Each participating country sends one player, although in the beginning of the contest there were multiple players from the...

 in 2000, the Kansai Ki-in

Kansai Ki-in

The Kansai Ki-in , i.e., Kansai Go Association, is an organizational body for the game of Go in Japan, which was founded by Hashimoto Utaro in 1950...

 awarded him professional 5 dan (after defeating two 5 dan and two 7 dan). He was also the first player in Japan to be awarded a special 8 dan (amateur) diploma. In 2003, he won the biggest Kansai Ki-in tournament, the Kansai Ki-in Championship

Kansai Ki-in Championship

The Kansai Ki-In Championship is a Go competition.-Outline:The original Kansai Ki-In Championship ran from 1957 to 1975. It was merged with the Nihon Ki-In Championship to form the Tengen. A new Kansai Ki-In Championship tournament replaced the old. The tournament is sponsored by Sanyo...

. In 2004, he was runner-up for 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 :...

 title, losing to Mizokami Tomochika two games to one (losing both by half point). He is currently active in various tournament leagues for both the Nihon Ki-in

Nihon Ki-in

The Nihon Ki-in , also known as the Japan Go Association, is the main organizational body for Go in Japan, overseeing Japan's professional system and issuing diplomas for amateur dan rankings. It is based in Tokyo. The other major Go association in Japan is Kansai Ki-in.Nihon Ki-in was established...

 (participation in Meijin league 2005-Present) and Kansai Ki-in.

In 2010, Sakai won the Gosei title, defeating title-holder Cho U 3-2.

Titles and runners-up

Domestic
Title	Wins	Runners-up
Gosei	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 (2004)
Kansai Ki-in Championship Kansai Ki-in Championship The Kansai Ki-In Championship is a Go competition.-Outline:The original Kansai Ki-In Championship ran from 1957 to 1975. It was merged with the Nihon Ki-In Championship to form the Tengen. A new Kansai Ki-In Championship tournament replaced the old. The tournament is sponsored by Sanyo...	1 (2003)	2 (2004, 2007)
Total	2	3

External Links

• GoBase Profile
• Sensei's Library Profile
• Kansai Ki-in Profile (Japanese)