Sumire Nakamura (仲邑菫-14), Japan’s famed “Go prodigy,” will be able to compete with Korean professional knights starting next year.
The Korean Professional Knights Association announced on the 13th that it held a delegate meeting at the Korean Kiwon headquarters in Mazang-ro, Seongdong-gu, and passed Nakamura’s application for a guest knight.
An official who attended the delegate meeting said, “First of all, the professional knights decided to accept Nakamura’s joining at the Mahayana level,” adding, “We will immediately recommend Nakamura as a guest knight to the Korean Origin.”
“It is difficult to disclose the details of the meeting, but some were concerned that the proposal to recommend Nakamura as a guest knight was being pushed too quickly,” he added.
After receiving the recommendation from the professional knight association, the KOGEA will review Nakamura’s application at a steering committee meeting on the 15th.
If it passes the steering committee, the board of directors is expected to make a final decision in October.
Given that the KFB has rarely rejected proposals recommended by the Professional Knights Association in the past, the general consensus in the go world is that Nakamura’s application has been approved.
Born to Shinya Nakamura, a 9th dan, and his mother, Miyuki Nakamura, an amateur powerhouse, Sumire was first introduced to the game at the age of three.
Her father, Nakamura 9th dan, personally searched for a dojo in South Korea before enrolling her in Han Jong-jin Go Dojo in 2017, where he began teaching her the game in earnest.
After Nakamura excelled in domestic children’s go tournaments, Nippon Kiwon enrolled him in a special program for the gifted in April 2019.
Nakamura became a professional at the age of 10, making her the youngest player in the history of the organization, and this February, she became the youngest player ever to win a women’s title.
Nakamura is considered one of the most promising young go players in Japan, but she decided to travel to Korea to improve her skills.
Upon receiving Sumire’s request, the Nippon Go Organization held a deliberative meeting and recommended her to the Korean Go Organization earlier this month.
However, as Nakamura is the reigning Japanese women’s champion, she will move to Korea after defending her title in February next year.
Nakamura, who studied in Korea before turning pro and can now converse in Korean, is also a foreign knight for the Suncheon Bay National Garden team in the NH Bank Korea Women’s Go League this season. 파워볼게임