Original title：趙治勲（囲碁棋士・名譽名人） 私の履歴書（3）公開対局
Original article: The Nikkei
Author: Cho Chikun, Honorary Meijin
On August 1, 1962, my uncle Cho Nam-chul brought me to Japan. The very next day, I was set up for a public game on a big stage.
This game took place at the "Kitani School 100-Dan Celebration Tournament" held at the Sankei Hall in Otemachi, Tokyo. The event was to celebrate the fact that the total number of dan ranks achieved by Kitani's disciples had surpassed 100.
I was the first to step onto the stage to play. Having just arrived in Japan, even the newspapers were reporting on "the Korean prodigy who arrived in Japan yesterday—how good is he really?" I attracted a great deal of attention.
The public game was a fast game, and my opponent was then-20-year-old Rin Kaiho, a 6-dan at the time. Rin Kaiho was born in Shanghai and began living in Taiwan at the age of four before coming to Japan. He would later go on to win titles like the Meijin and become a legendary player. However, I wonder why they didn't choose a student from Kitani's school to be my opponent but instead selected Rin Kaiho.
For this game, I was given a 5-stone handicap. In Go, when there is a significant skill difference between two players, the weaker player can use a "handicap" to level the playing field. After placing five stones on the board, the game began.
There is a photograph of me with my arms crossed, deep in thought about the game. In Korea, I barely took any time to think when playing Go, but my brother Cho Chang-yeon advised, "You should take some time to consider your moves tomorrow." After all, this was my first time playing in front of an audience, with a live commentary happening beside me. To stay calm and play under such circumstances, perhaps I already had a strong heart at that time.
Given the difference in skill at that time, the handicap was actually quite appropriate, but I played that game remarkably well. In that match, I employed a sacrifice strategy—a high-level tactic where you allow your opponent to capture some of your stones in exchange for gaining a larger advantage elsewhere. For a novice like me to use such an advanced strategy in that game was quite unexpected. There was a group of stones that my opponent captured, but instead of fixating on saving them, I executed the sacrifice strategy effectively.
Additionally, Rin Kaiho showed restraint in his play. If a professional player had really gone all out against me, I might not have been able to handle it. But in that situation, facing a child, Rin Kaiho did not play ruthlessly. Moreover, Rin Kaiho’s style wasn’t aggressive to begin with. The game ended after 118 moves, with Rin Kaiho resigning, and the hall was filled with applause.
In a serial published 21 years later, Rin Kaiho recalled, "Back then, Cho Chikun couldn't even reach the other side of the board. Of course, I didn’t underestimate him just because he was a child, but I ended up losing that game. Cho Chikun already had a skill level far above others his age."
To be honest, I made some decent moves in that game, and in the final stages, I chose a simple resolution, realizing, "If I play like this, I can win." I'm sure many who saw the game record afterward could sense the talent in this child. The reputation of "a remarkable child" quickly spread, and perhaps it was from that point that Kitani-sensei began to hope I would become a professional by the age of 10.
But the joy only lasted for a day. From the next day, the harsh reality of life as a live-in student at the Kitani Dojo set in.
Looking back now, it was clearly absurd for a child who hadn’t even attended elementary school to come to a place where they didn't speak the language and study Go with top players. The skill gap was immense. To use a somewhat old-fashioned example, it was like having a preschooler join the "Ozaki Army" in the golf world—the difference in the distance their golf balls would travel after a swing was incomparable.
After I arrived at the Kitani Dojo, Kitani-sensei's wife, Miharu, was very worried about me, and her concerns turned out to be spot on.
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