Kobayashi Koichi
小林光一
Japanese 9 dan professional. Born 10 September 1952 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. One of the few to have won 1200 professional games.
One of the most successful pupils of the legendary go school of Kitani Minoru. Well known for his rivalry in the 1980s and 90s with another Kitani pupil, Cho Chikun. He was married to Kitani's daughter Kobayashi Reiko, who was a 6 dan professional at the time of her death in 1996. Their daughter Kobayashi Izumi is currently a 5 dan professional.
Kobayashi has won so many titles that listing them all would be utterly boring. If you want to get a feel for this, read the English language book "Tournament Go 1992", which contains detailed commentaries of all major title games of the 1992 Japanese go scene. It is hard to find a title game in which Kobayashi Koichi didn't play as either holder or challenger.
--Stefan
Kobayashi Koichi's titles:
Kisei 1986 - 1993
Meijin 1985, 1988-1994
Tengen 1976, 1985-1986, 1998-1999
Gosei 1988-1993, 1999
NEC Cup 1995, 1999
Fujitsu Cup 1997
Japan - China Meijin matches winner: 1988-1991, 1993