Ueno Risa

上野 梨紗 Ueno Risa (born 24.06.2006) is a female Japanese professional player. She is the younger sister of Ueno Asami and the third youngest Japanese female to have been promoted to professional rank. Pupil of Fujisawa Kazunari.

According to the Rating list, 2024-01-02, Ueno is the #3 ranked female player and #78 overall in Japan, #21 ranked female and #357 overall in the world. She is also the 3rd strongest female teenager in the world and current Female Kisei.

She plays as "risapooh" on Fox Go Server.

Grade history

• 1 dan – 1st April 2019
• 2 dan - 21st June 2022

Competition history

2021: Competed in the 40th Female Honinbo. Lost in the second round to Koyama Terumi.

2023: Ueno won the Female Honinbo challenger tournament, but was unsuccessful against the titleholder Fujisawa Rina, losing 2–3.

First major title

Ueno Risa won the Female Kisei challenger tournament in 2023, beating her older sister Asami in the final. Then in February 2024, she defeated the title-holder, her good friend and rival Nakamura Sumire 2–1 to take her first title. This was the first time a major female title was contested by two teenagers. Nakamura had previously won every official game against Ueno.

Since Asami is current holder is the Aidu Chuo Hospital Cup, she and Risa are the first sisters in 37 years to hold two titles simultaneously.

Victories over all-time greats

(Based on Ueno Risa, Go Ratings and game list, as of 17 Apr 2024.

In official games, Ueno Risa has taken games off some of the greatest of a previous generation, e.g.:

• Rin Kaiho: 1–0
• Takemiya Masaki: 1–0

Head-to-head scores against current female rivals

• Ueno Asami, 5p, Risa's older sister, #5 female and #200 overall in the world, and #1 female and #27 overall in Japan: 1–1
• Fujisawa Rina, 7p, #8 female in world, #2 female in Japan: 3–8
• Xie Yimin, 7p, Fujisawa's predecessor as many years #1 female in Japan: 0–2
• Nakamura Sumire, 3p, new star, #28 ranked female and #4 female teenager in the world, #4 ranked female in Japan, once Female Kisei: 2–6
• Aoki Kikuyo, 8p, 5× Women's Meijin, 4× Women's Kakusei, once Female Kisei: 1–0
• Suzuki Ayumi, 7p, #7 female in Japan, #33 female in world, twice Female Strongest, once Female Kisei: 1–0
• Kobayashi Izumi, 7p, 3× Female Honinbo], 3× Female Meijin, 2× Female Kisei, once Teikei Cup Female Legends: 1–0
• Koyama Terumi, 6p, 4× Women's Meijin: 1–2
• Yoshida Mika, 8p, 4× Female Honinbo, 4× Kansai Ladies' Tournament, once Women's Kakusei: 0–0
• Chinen Kaori, 6p, 5× Female Kisei, 4× Female Honinbo: 0–0
• Yashiro Kumiko, 2× Female Honinbo: 3–0
• Kato Keiko, 6p, once Women's Meijin, 0–0
• Nyu Eiko, 4p, 2× Female Strongest: 3–2
• Mukai Chiaki, 6p, once Female Honinbo: 2–0
• Joanne Missingham, 7p, aka Hei Jiajia, #1 female in Taiwan: 0–0
• Yang Zixuan, #2 female in Taiwan: 1–0
• Rui Naiwei, 9p, long-time world female #1: 0–0
• Choi Jeong, 9p, current Korean and World #1 female: 0–0
• O Yujin, 9p, #7 female in world, #3 female in South Korea: 0–0
• Yu Zhiying, 8p, #2 female in world, #1 female in China: 0–2
• Zhou Hongyu, 7p, current World #4 female: 0–0
• Wang Chenxing, 5p, #16 female in world, #8 female in China: 0–0
• Kim Eunji, 9p, the highest rated female teenager in the world, and #3 ranked of all female players (as of 2023-12-22): 0–0
• Wu Yiming, 4p, #11 female and #2 female teenager in world, #5 female in China: 0–1
• Cho Seunga, 6p, #12 ranked female player and #304 overall, and #5 ranked player in Korea: 0–0
• Tang Jiawen, 5p, #13 female and #3 female teenager in world, and #6 female in China: 2–4

Links

• https://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/player/htm/ki000489.html – Ueno Risa’s Nihon Kiin Player page

Pictures

yu zhiying ueno risa asian games 2023 (Image credit: Foxwq.com)

ueno risa yang zixuan asian games 2023 (Image credit: Foxwq.com)

Ueno sisters amused: left: Ueno Asami; right: Ueno Risa, 2023 (Image credit: Fujisawa Rina Twitter)

Good friends and fierce rivals Ueno Risa (left) and Nakamura Sumire 2023 (Image credit: Fujisawa Rina Twitter)

Good friends and fierce rivals Nakamura Sumire (left) and Ueno Risa 2023 (Image credit: Fujisawa Rina Twitter)

From bottom left, clockwise: Ueno Asami, Nakamura Sumire, Fujisawa Rina, Nyu Eiko, and Ueno Risa (Image credit: Fujisawa Rina Twitter)

From back to front of the line: Nyu Eiko, Nakamura Sumire, Ueno Risa, Fujisawa Rina, and Ueno Asami (2023) (Image credit: Fujisawa Rina Twitter)

Front, left to right: Jo Bun'en, Fujisawa Rina, Ueno Asami, and Ueno Risa (2023) (Image credit: Fujisawa Rina Twitter)

Ueno Asami selfie with (L→R) Mukai Chiaki, Ueno Risa, Nakamura Sumire, and Fujisawa Rina, Tachioi Cup, 2023 (Image credit: nikkansports.com

Ueno Risa and Nakamura Sumire chatting happily, 2023 (Image credit: ayarosmith Twitter)