| Kisei (Go) | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kisei |
| Started | 1976 |
| Honorary Winners | Fujisawa Hideyuki Kobayashi Koichi Iyama Yuta |
| Sponsors | Yomiuri Shimbun |
| Prize money | ¥43 million |
| Affiliation | Nihon Ki-in |
Kisei (棋聖) is an honorary title andGo competition. The title, meaningGo Sage in Japanese, was a traditional honorary appellation given to a handful of players down the centuries. The elementki can also apply toshogi, and there were also recognizedkisei in theshogi world.
Kisei is a Go competition organised by the JapaneseNihon Ki-in. The competition began in 1976 by theYomiuri Shimbun newspaper and is the highest paying competition in Japaneseprofessional Go, paying¥43,000,000 to the winner since the 47th Kisei in 2023.[1] The word Kisei isJapanese for "Go Sage", which is why before the Kisei tournament began, the only players who were given the title "Kisei" wereDōsaku andHon′inbō Shūsaku.[2]
The holder is challenged by whoever wins theround robin league. Players can get into the round robin league by going through manypreliminary tournaments. Once there is a challenger to compete against the holder, the winner is decided through a best of seven match. The games are played over two days and each player is given eight hours of thinking time.[2] If a player qualifies for the Kisei league, they are automatically promoted to 7dan. If that same player wins the league, a promotion to 8 dan is given. If that same player goes on to winning the title, they are promoted to 9 dan, the highest rank.[3]
A Go player who has held the title for five consecutive years, or won the title a total of ten times or more, has qualified themselves to become "Honorary Kisei" after retiring or after the age of 60.