Hideyuki Fujisawa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hideyuki Fujisawa | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Full name | Hideyuki Fujisawa | |
| Nickname | The Monster[1] | |
| Kanji | 藤沢秀行 | |
| Date of birth | June 14, 1925 (age 81) | |
| Place of birth |  Yokohama, Japan |
|
| Residence | Kawasaki City, Japan |
|
| Pupil | Kazunari Fujisawa, Shinji Takao, Michihiro Morita, Tomoyasu Mimura, Masayuki Kurahashi |
|
| Turned pro | 1940 | |
| Retired | 1998 | |
| Rank | 9 dan | |
Hideyuki Fujisawa (藤沢秀行 Fujisawa Hideyuki?, born June 14, 1925), also known as Shuko Fujisawa, is a retired Japanese professional Go player.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Hideyuki Fujisawa was born in Yokohama, Japan. He was one of the best players during his era. One of the "Three crows" along with Yamabe Toshiro and Keizo Suzuki (and later Takeo Kajiwara). Even though he was known more for his controversial acts, such as having a bad drinking habit, the most important thing that shone through about Fujisawa was his Go skill. Besides Go, he is known to gamble and is a successful real estate dealer. He's also known for his calligraphy and has had several exhibits of his works. He has also stated in his autobiography, although he doesn't mind being called Shuko, he'd prefer to be called Hideyuki.
[edit] Early go life
Fujisawa turned pro in 1940 and it took him a while to get on top. Although he struggled at first, taking 23 years just to reach 9 dan, he would start a title run in the early 60's, 70's, and 80's. He would win his first major title in 1962, the Meijin. He then won two Asahi Pro Best Ten titles in 1965 and 1968. He won his second major title, the Oza, of which he would hold for three consecutive years from 1967 to 1969. The same year that he lost the Oza, he would win the NHK Cup. He didn't win the NHK Cup again until 1981. The Meijin title was Fujisawa's again when he won it in 1970. He then went on a dry streak of titles. By 1976, he won his first title since the Meijin in 1970. The Tengen was that title.
[edit] The top of Japanese go
Fujisawa would go on to surprise critics as he amazingly won the Kisei for 6 straight years from 1976 to 1982. By 1980, nobody thought anyone else but Fujisawa would win the Kisei, but that was silenced when he finally lost it to Cho Chikun in 1982. He won the first 3 games, controlling each and every move Cho made. It looked like Fujisawa would hold the Kisei for the 7th year in a row, but Cho fought back and won 4 games, Fujisawa making a blunder in a winning position in the seventh game. After his run of consecutive Kisei titles, the Japanese Nihon-Kiin awarded him Honorary Kisei. He is known to play a very flexible fuseki but infamous in making errors later in the game. The saying is that Fujisawa Shuko plays the best first 50 moves. Of course that might not apply to today's standards because professional go talent has risen greatly decade after decade due to popularization of the game in South Korea and elsewhere.
[edit] Later on down the road
Fujisawa was getting old now, and wouldn't win another title until ten years later. Again he won the Oza and held it for two years at the age of 67. He had set a record for the oldest player to defend a title, a record which stills holds to this day. In October of 1998, he decided to retire from the Go world at the age of 74. The following year Fujisawa was expelled from the Nihon Ki-in for selling unsanctioned rank diplomas to amateurs in protest against what he considered improper Ki-in policies. In June, 2003, the dispute was resolved and Fujisawa was reinstated in the Ki-in.
He currently resides in Kawasaki City.
[edit] Titles and runners-up
Ranks #9 in total amount of titles in Japan.
| Title | Years Held |
|---|---|
| Current | 14 |
| Kisei |
1977 - 1982 |
| Oza |
1967 - 1969, 1991, 1992 |
| Tengen |
1976 |
| NHK Cup |
1969, 1981 |
| Defunct | 6 |
| Old Meijin |
1962, 1970 |
| Hayago Championship |
1968 |
| Asahi Top Position |
1960 |
| Asahi Pro Best Ten |
1965, 1968 |
| Title | Years Lost |
|---|---|
| Current | 10 |
| Kisei |
1983 |
| Honinbo |
1960, 1966 |
| Judan |
1968 |
| Tengen |
1978 |
| Oza |
1970, 1993 |
| NHK Cup |
1963, 1964, 1966 |
| Defunct | 10 |
| Old Meijin |
1963, 1964, 1971, 1972 |
| Hayago Championship |
1978 |
| Nihon-Kiin Championship |
1961 |
| Asahi Top Position |
1961 |
| Asahi Top Eight Players |
1976 |
| Dai-ichi |
1970, 1974 |
[edit] Trivia
- It's been said that during his Kisei run in the 70's and 80's, Fujisawa would drink for 9 months straight, then sober up for his title defense late in the year.[1]
