Nyu Eiko
(Jp. 牛 栄子 / Si. 牛 荣子, b. 1999-05-12) Japanese female fourth dan professional. Current Female Saikyo (Female Strongest).
Family
Eiko is the daughter of professional Niu Lili (former amanuensis to Go Seigen) and her husband, four-time Chinese Xiangqi National Champion Zhao Guorong. Lili is the sister of Niu Xianxian (also professional), who is Michael Redmond's wife. Redmond was her teacher as well as uncle.
The name Eiko can also be read Sakiko, from 栄 (sakae) = "prosperity" or "glory" and the common feminine ending 子 (ko) = "child". Regardless of how it's read, it means "glorious/prosperous child". In Chinese, her name is read Róngzi with the same meaning, although the primary meaning of 子 (zi) is "son".
Lili first took Eiko with her to assist Go Seigen when Eiko was 5 and Go 90. So from an early age, Eiko learned the attitude of the greatest player of the mid-20th century. Go and his wife Kazuko were very fond of the little girl.
Because of her heritage, Eiko is fluent in both Chinese and Japanese, and has been a good translator since she was a little girl. Invited by the God of Go (Part 2) - Exchange between Nyu Eiko Fanxing Cup and Go Seigen 9 Dan, nihonkiin.or.jp, 20 Sep 2022 (in Japanese, with photos of Eiko and Go together)
Description by Fairbairn, 9 May 2021:
"She is Michael Redmond's niece, incidentally, and despite her Chinese heritage she was born in Japan. She's 22 ... on 12 May ... She's been a pro since 2015. Despite not quite hitting the headlines she has had a couple of runner-up places in major women's events."
This was before she won the Senko Cup two years in a row.
Professional rank progress
Qualified in 2015, 2p (30 wins) on 2017-12-22, 3p in 2020, 4p in 2022-01.
As of 2024-01-02, Nyu Eiko is the #34 ranked female player and #304 overall, and #7 ranked female player in Japan.
Achievements
- 2011: Represented Chiba Prefecture at the 32nd Children's Meijin ( Player list)
- 2012-2013: 5th place at the Children's Meijin
- 2014: Finalist at the 35th Children's Meijin ( Results)
- 2017: Runner up in the 20th Female Kisei, losing 1-2 to Xie Yimin
- 2018: Runner up in the 3rd (new) Female Strongest, losing to Mannami Nao
- 2019: Winner, US Masters
- 2020: Placed third in the 2020 Hakata Kamachi Cup
- 2021: Tenth most wins of Japanese professionals, 34 with 17 losses
- 2022: Winner of the 7th Senko Cup Female Strongest, beating Nakamura Sumire in the final.
- 2023: Winner of the 8th Senko Cup Female Strongest, beating Ueno Asami in the final.
On 14 November 2021, she beat Kobayashi Satoru in Section A of the Gosei preliminaries. Fairbairn clarified: "(She's the) 12th woman to make it to (the) Big 7 (qualification) finals, (it's the) 17th time it's been done since 1979. Four times in Reiwa already."
Head-to-head scores against current female rivals
(at least three games)
(Based on Nyu Eiko, Go Ratings and game list), as of 16 Jan 2024
Yang Zixuan 5p former Women's Zuiqiang RU 3–0 (100%) Suzuki Ayumi 7p former Female Kisei 5–2 (71%) Xie Yimin 7p former Japanese female #1 4–6 (40%) Ueno Risa 2p Female Kisei 2–3 (40%) Ueno Asami 5p Female Meijin 5–9 (38%) Nakamura Sumire 3p former Female Kisei 3–7 (30%) Mukai Chiaki 6p former Female Honinbo 1–3 (25%) O Yujin 9p former Women's Kuksu 1–5 (16%) Fujisawa Rina 7p Female Honinbo 0–7 (0%) Li He 5p Asian Games gold medalist 0–4 (0%)
Links
Photos
bottom left, clockwise: Ueno Asami, Nakamura Sumire, Fujisawa Rina, Nyu Eiko, and Ueno Risa (Image credit: Fujisawa Rina Twitter)
Nyu Eiko in 2014, translating with a megaphone during making of Go Seigen movie (Image credit: nihonkiin.or.jp)
Nyu Eiko as a little girl with Go Seigen (aged 90+) and his wife Kazuko (née Nakahara) (Image credit: nihonkiin.or.jp)
Back to front: Nyu Eiko, Nakamura Sumire, Ueno Risa, Fujisawa Rina, and Ueno Asami (Image credit: Fujisawa Rina Twitter)
Nyu Eiko (right) and her mother Niu Lili playing pair go (Image credit: Yoshiro Shimizu Twitter)