|
IGF News |
| The former president of the International Go Federation: Kato Masao | |||
Following the retirement for health reasons of the president
of the International Go Federation, Toshimitsu Matsuo, Kato Masao was elected
as president for the 2004 to 2006 term at the general meeting held on 5 June
2004.
Kato is one of the top professional go players of recent decades, and in recent years he has become more and more active in go administration while continuing his career as a top-level player. He became a vice chairman of the Nihon Ki-in (the Japan Go Association) on 25 June 2002 (while he was in the middle of a match for the 57th Honinbo title, which, incidentally, he won). In April 2004, he became acting Chairman of the Board of Directors following the resignation of Toshimitsu Matsuo from this post, then on 8 June he was elected as chairman in his own right. Kato has played a key role in the reorganization and financial restructuring of the Nihon Ki-in in the last couple of years. He is only the fifth active player in the 80-year history of the Nihon Ki-in to serve as chairman and he is the first who is still competing as a front-line player.
Kato has displayed a keen interest in the internationalization of go at a professional level and, in his new post at the head of the go world embracing both amateurs and professionals, he is expected to make a major contribution to the further popularization of go around the world and to strengthening its organizational base. Kato is the fourth president of the International Go Federation, following the founding president Asada Shizuo (1982 - 1997), Watanabe Fumio (1997 - 2001) and Toshimitsu Matsuo (2001 - 2004).
Outline of Kato's career Born in Fukuoka City in Kyushu on 15 March 1947. Became a disciple of Kitani Minoru 9-dan in 1959, made 1-dan in 1964 and reached 9-dan in 1978. In his youth, he was a very aggressive player who earned the nickname "Kato the killer" for his proclivity for killing large groups. He earned a place in the Honinbo league in 1967 while still a 4-dan and became the challenger in 1969 as a 5-dan, both of which are records that still stand. He lost the Honinbo title match and his career seemed to be jinxed, as that was the first of eight second places over a period of eight years. He finally broke the jinx by winning the 1st Gosei title in 1976, and that was the start of a very successful career in which he has been one of the most successful players of recent decades. He is fifth in the all-time rankings, having won a total of 47 titles, including the Honinbo title (four times) and the Meijin title (twice). The only notable setback of his career has been his failure to win the top title, the Kisei, for which he has unsuccessfully challenged four times. The peak of his career came in 1979, when he won four of the top seven titles (Honinbo, Judan, Tengen and Oza). He set a record in the Oza title by winning it for eight years in a row (1982-89). Kato enjoyed a remarkable success late in his career when he won the 57th Honinbo title in 2002; he was actually the first player in his 50s ever to win this title. He was also the first player holding a top administrative post ever to win a title. In March 2002 he also became the first Japanese professional to win 1,200 official games. Two of Kato's books have been translated into English: Attack and Kill and The Chinese Opening. Countless commentaries on his games published in the English-language go press have made him one of the best-known Japanese players around the world. Kato plays a unique role in the world of go as the holder of the top posts in two go organizations, one national, one international, who still has the ability to win titles. In retrospect, his terms of office as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nihon Ki-in and President of the International Go Federation may be seen as among the greatest successes of his career. Unfortunately Kato was taken ill and died at the end of 2004. |
