The world of Go is full of ‘prodigies’, but Shin Shin-seo (23) was a ‘genius among geniuses’ as a child.
Born in March 2000 in Busan, South Korea, the “millennial” first encountered Go at the age of 5 in a Go class run by his father.
His father also taught him to play for fun, and in less than two years, he surpassed his father and reached the amateur level of 9 dan, the strongest in internet go.
While most children his age who aspire to become professional go players start their training at a professional go dojo, Shin Shin-seo developed his skills through “self-taught” games against “adult powerhouses” on the Internet.
In 2010, when he was in the fourth grade, he shocked the go world by sweeping the children’s national tournament, defeating all of his older siblings, even those two years older than him.
Recognizing his talent, some professional players encouraged him to start studying systematically at a Go dojo, but he continued his self-education through the Internet.
In 2012, when he was in the sixth grade, Shin became a professional knight after winning the first round of the first gifted recruitment contest, defeating all of his opponents in 12 games, including a research student from the Korean Academy of Go.
The fifth-youngest player in history to be drafted, Shin Shin-seo’s only professional training was a short stint at a go dojo just before the draft.
Even after joining the team, Shin’s talent was special.
After sweeping the 2014 rookie tournament and winning the Go Grand Prix Rookie of the Year award, Shin was named Best Knight for the first time in 2018 after sweeping the Wins, Winning Percentage, and Winning Streak categories.
After the shocking emergence of Go artificial intelligence (AI) AlphaGo in 2016, he earned the nickname “New Artificial Intelligence” for being the best at understanding and replicating AI moves.
With the help of AI, Shin won his first major world title in 2020 when he won the LG Cup.
In December of that year, Shin swept Park Jung-hwan 7-0 in the Namhae Supermatch to become the de facto No. 1 player in Korean Go.
He went on to collect other major world titles, including the Samsung Hwa-Jae and Chun-Lan titles, and was the guardian of the Nongshim Go team at the National Games, where he helped Korea win three consecutive titles.
At the 22nd Nongshim Bae, which ended in 2021, Shin led Korea to a come-from-behind victory with five straight wins in the final game, and at the 23rd Nongshim Bae last year, Shin led Korea to victory with four straight wins.
At the 24th Nongshim Cup in February, Shin was the last man standing, defeating China’s Gu Zhihao 9th dan with fire to record his 10th consecutive individual victory and help Korea win its third consecutive title.
Shin has been ranked No. 1 in South Korea for 44 consecutive months and has been the No. 1 player on the unofficial Go Ratings, a site that tracks the world rankings, since 2019.
Shin won his 33rd career title at the Ng Si-Bae, which puts him in sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list.
Major Worlds is a two-time winner of the LG Cup, his fifth career podium finish, including the Samsung Hwajae and Chunran Cups.
Already ranked No. 1 in the world, Shin Shin-seo’s long-awaited victory in the Ng Si-Bae, dubbed the “Go Olympics,” cemented his status as the world’s strongest player, transforming him from a “self-taught genius boy” to a professional knight. 안전카지노사이트
