Kobayashi Izumi
Kobayashi Izumi (小林 泉美, b. 20 June 1977) is a Japanese, professional 7-dan born in Tokyo, Japan. She is a member of the Nihon Ki-in.
Kobayashi Izumi has won 11 titles, 4th place in the number of women's titles. In 2003, she and her husband were called the "Honinbo Couple", because Cho was Honinbo and Kobayashi Female Honinbo.
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Family
Izumi is the daughter of Kobayashi Koichi and Kobayashi Reiko (nee Kitani), and the granddaughter of Kitani Minoru. She is the wife of Cho U and the mother of Cho Kosumi and Cho Koharu. Izumi's main Go teacher was her mother.
Kobayashi gave birth to her first daughter Cho Kosumi on 24 March 2006, and second daughter Cho Koharu on 10 November 2009. Like her mother before her, at the top of her career as one of the best female Go players in Japan, she suspended her career to support her husband and raise her children.
After her youngest daughter followed in her older sister's footsteps and became a professional on 1 April 2022, Kobayashi returned to professional Go that year.
On 25 February 2024, she won her first title in 16 years, to the delight of her many admirers, when she defeated Koyama Terumi in the final of 3rd Teikei Cup Female Legends.
Titles
- 1998: 1st Women's Kisei
- 1999: 2nd Women's Kisei
- 2001: 13th Women's Meijin
- 2001: 20th Women's Honinbo
- 2002: 21st Women's Honinbo
- 2003: 15th Women's Meijin
- 2003: 22nd Women's Honinbo
- 2004: 16th Women's Meijin
- 2004: JAL Female HayaGo
- 2005: 6th Female Strongest
- 2007: 1st Daiwa Ladies Cup
- 2023–4: 3rd Teikei Cup Female Legends
Runners-up
- 1996: 17th Women's Kakusei
- 1999: 18th Women's Honinbo
- 1999: 20th Women's Kakusei
- 2000: 3rd Women's Kisei
- 2000: 12th Women's Meijin
- 2001: 22nd Women's Kakusei
- 2002: 14th Women's Meijin
- 2004: 22nd Women's Honinbo
- 2005: 17th Women's Meijin
Head-to-head scores against current female rivals
(Based on Kobayashi Izumi, Go Ratings and game list), as of 21 Mar 2024
- Sugiuchi Kazuko, 8p, 4× All-Japan Women's Championship, 4× Women's Meijin, 2× Women's Kakusei: 3–2
- Kusunoki Teruko, 8p, Sugiuchi Kazuko's youngest sister, 5× Female Honinbo, 3× Women's Kakusei: 3–0
- Yoshida Mika, 8p, 4× Women's Honinbo, 4× Kansai Ladies' Tournament, once Women's Kakusei: 5–3
- Aoki Kikuyo, 8p, 5× Women's Meijin, 4× Women's Kakusei, once Female Kisei: 10–6
- Yoshida Mika, 8p, 4× Women's Honinbo, 4× Kansai Ladies' Tournament, once Women's Kakusei: 5–3
- Fujisawa Rina, 7p, #9 female in world, #2 female in Japan: 0–1
- Xie Yimin, 7p, #30 ranked female in the world, #5 ranked female in Japan (many years #1): 2–6
- Ogawa Tomoko, 7p, once Female Honinbo, 2× All-Japan Women's Championship: 2–1
- Kato Keiko, 6p, once Women's Meijin, once Female Strongest: 4–4
- Umezawa Yukari, 6p, 3× Female Kisei: 4–3
- Kobayashi Chizu, 6p, 3× Women's Kakusei and All-Japan Women's Championship: 2–0
- Chinen Kaori, 6p, 5× Female Kisei, 4× Women's Honinbo: 9–13
- Mukai Chiaki, 6p, once Women's Honinbo: 2–3
- Ueno Asami, 5p, according to rating list, #5 female and #200 overall in the world, and #1 female and #27 overall in Japan: 0–3
- Ueno Risa, 2p, Asami's younger sister, #21 female and #3 female teenager in world, #3 female in Japan, [Female Kisei: 0–1
- Nakazawa Ayako, 5p, 4–2
- Nyu Eiko, 4p, 2× Female Strongest: 0–1
- Nakamura Sumire, 3p, #22 female and #5 female teenager in the world, #4 ranked female in Japan: 1–1
Photos
Kobayashi Izumi with her husband Cho U and younger daughter Cho Koharu after Koharu became a pro, 2022 (Image credit: zhuanlan.zhihu.com
Kobayashi Izumi with her husband Cho U and younger daughter Cho Koharu after Koharu became a pro, 2022 (Image credit: zhuanlan.zhihu.com
Kobayashi Izumi with her husband and two daughters, 2010 (Image credit: vip.udn.com
Notes
- On 29 July 2004, Kobayashi Izumi faced her father Koichi at the 43rd Judan tournament, making the game the first ever father-daughter pro tournament game. They both played a fighting game with her father winning as White in the end.
See Also
- Her Nihon Kiin profile: http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/player/htm/ki000338.htm