Masaki Takemiya

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Masaki Takemiya


Full name	Masaki Takemiya
Kanji	武宮正樹
Date of birth	January 1, 1951 (age 56)
Place of birth	Tokyo, Japan
Residence	Tokyo, Japan
Teacher	Minoru Kitani
Turned pro	1965
Rank	9 dan
Affiliation	Nihon Ki-in

Masaki Takemiya (武宮正樹, Takemiya Masaki^?, born January 1, 1951) is a professional Go player.

1 Biography
2 His style
3 Titles & runners-up
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Masaki Takemiya was born in Japan. He became one of the many disciples of the Minoru Kitani school. His rise to fame began when he was only 15 years old. By the time he was 15, he was already 5 dan, and challenged many 9 dans. He would earn the nickname "9 dan killer" because he won several games againsts 9 dans. His famous "cosmic style" of Go would become popular among fans. It focused on large moyos in the center of the board. He's known as keeping a consistent record of winning titles. The longest drought between two titles of his has only been 4 years. His form lately has been terrific. He closed off 2005 with an impressive win of 16 straight games, which was stopped by Omori Yasushi in the qualifiers for the 3rd World Oza. Not only that, he went on to winning the biggest backgammon tournament. Along with Go, Takemiya has also enjoyed backgammon. At the end of 2005, he won the 12th Saint of the Board title by beating the former holder, Abe Akiko.

[edit] His style

Takemiya is known for his "Double 4" fuseki when he uses white, where he usually starts the game like so:

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"Double 4" fuseki (White).

Takemiya is a favorite among amateur go players because of his very thick playing style as black. His sanreisei (three star) openings involve plenty of fights.

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Takemiya's famous moyo (right side)

The sequence of moves from 1-8 in the lower right corner involves a common joseki that creates a moyo in conjunction with the q10 stone. Takemiya often plays a variation of this joseki but has made a few innovations of his own such as the kosumi in response to the same corner approach in the upper right corner. The resulting sequence could result in moves 1-6.

[edit] Titles & runners-up

Ranks #8 in total amount of titles in Japan.

Title	Years Held
Current	13
Meijin	1995
Honinbo	1976, 1980, 1985 - 1988
Judan	1990 - 1992
NEC Cup	1981, 1985
NHK Cup	1989
Defunct	5
Kakusei	1991
Hayago Championship	1978, 1989
Prime Minister Cup	1971, 1973
Continental	4
Asian TV Cup	1989 - 1992
International	2
Fujitsu Cup	1988, 1989

Title	Years Lost
Current	15
Kisei	1985, 1987, 1989
Meijin	1996
Honinbo	1974, 1977, 1981, 1989
Judan	1986, 1993, 2002
Oza	1988
Gosei	1977
NHK Cup	1975, 1977, 1984, 1986
Defunct	3
Hayago Championship	1988
Nihon-Kiin Championship	1971
Asahi Pro Best Ten	1974