Hideyuki Fujisawa facts for kids

Hideyuki Fujisawa (藤沢 秀行, Fujisawa Hideyuki, June 14, 1925 – May 8, 2009), also known as Shuko Fujisawa, was a famous Japanese professional Go player. He was a very important person in the world of Go. He was the younger uncle of another professional Go player, Hosai Fujisawa. He was also the grandfather of professional Go player Rina Fujisawa.

About Hideyuki Fujisawa

Hideyuki Fujisawa was born in Yokohama, Japan. He was one of the best Go players of his time. People sometimes called him one of the "Three Crows" of Go. This group also included Yamabe Toshiro and Keizo Suzuki. Later, Takeo Kajiwara joined them.

Even though he was known for some unusual actions, his amazing Go skills always stood out. Besides playing Go, he was also good at calligraphy. He even had art shows to display his works. He also worked as a successful real estate dealer. In his autobiography, he said he preferred to be called Hideyuki, even though many knew him as Shuko.

Hideyuki Fujisawa was the father of Kazunari Fujisawa. Kazunari is an 8-dan Go professional. He was also the grandfather of Rina Fujisawa. Rina is a 3-dan Go professional who has won many titles for female players.

Early Go Career

Fujisawa became a professional Go player in 1940. He reached the highest rank, 9 dan, in 1963. He won his first big title, the Meijin, in 1962. He then won two Asahi Pro Best Ten titles in 1965 and 1968.

He won his second major title, the Oza, and kept it for three years. This was from 1967 to 1969. In 1969, the same year he lost the Oza, he won the NHK Cup. He won the NHK Cup again in 1981. Fujisawa won the Meijin title again in 1970. After that, he did not win many titles for a while. By 1976, he won his first title since 1970, which was the Tengen.

Peak of His Career

Fujisawa surprised many people when he won the Kisei title six times in a row. This amazing streak lasted from 1976 to 1982. During these years, many thought no one could beat him for the Kisei title.

However, in 1982, he finally lost the Kisei to Cho Chikun. Fujisawa won the first three games of their match. It looked like he would win the Kisei for the seventh time. But Cho Chikun fought back and won the last four games. Fujisawa made a mistake in the seventh game, which cost him the win.

After his incredible run of Kisei titles, the Japanese Go association, Nihon-Kiin, gave him the special title of Honorary Kisei. Fujisawa was known for his very flexible opening moves in Go, called fuseki. However, he was also known for making mistakes, called poka, later in the game. People used to say that Fujisawa Shuko played the best first 50 moves.

Later Life and Retirement

Fujisawa did not win another major title for ten years. Then, at the age of 67, he won the Oza title again. He held this title for two years. This made him the oldest player ever to defend a title, a record he still holds today.

In October 1998, he decided to retire from the world of Go. He was 74 years old. He passed away on May 8, 2009, in Tokyo, Japan. He was 83 years old.

His Students and Influence

Fujisawa taught many of Japan's top professional Go players. These include Shinji Takao, Tomoyasu Mimura, and his own son, Kazunari Fujisawa.

He also helped Go grow a lot outside of Japan. He worked hard to support Chinese Go players. Many of China's greatest players were influenced by Fujisawa. These include Nie Weiping, Chen Zude, Chang Hao, and Ma Xiaochun. The help he gave to Chinese Go even made China stronger in its matches against Japan. China won most of the China-Japan Supermatches, and many of the winners were Fujisawa's students.

Titles and Achievements

Hideyuki Fujisawa ranks number 11 in the total number of titles won in Japan.

See also

In Spanish: Hideyuki Fujisawa para niños