Hideyuki Sakai

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Hideyuki Sakai
Full name	Hideyuki Sakai
Kanji	坂井秀至
Date of birth	April 23, 1973 (1973-04-23) (age 35)
Place of birth	Kyoto, Japan
Residence	Osaka, Japan
Turned pro	2000
Rank	7 dan
Affiliation	Kansai Ki-in

Hideyuki Sakai (坂井秀至, Sakai Hideyuki^?, born April 23, 1973) is a professional Go player.

[edit] Biography

Before becoming a professional, Sakai was majoring in medical science at Kyoto University. For a long time, Sakai was the strongest amateur player in Japan, and when he won the World Amateur Go Championship in 2000, the Kansai Ki-in awarded him professional 5 dan (after defeating two 5 dan and two 7 dan). He was also the first player in Japan to be awarded a special 8 dan (amateur) diploma. In 2003, he won the biggest Kansai Ki-in tournament, the Kansai Ki-in Championship. In 2004, he was runner-up for the Shinjin-O title, losing to Mizokami Tomochika two games to one (losing both by half point). He is currently active in various tournament leagues for both the Nihon Ki-in (participation in Meijin league 2005-2008) and Kansai Ki-in.

[edit] Titles & runners-up

Title	Years Held
Current	1
Kansai Ki-in Championship	2003

Title	Years Lost
Current	3
Kansai Ki-in Championship	2004, 2007
Shinjin-O	2004