Masao Kato

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Masao Kato

Nickname	Executioner
Kanji	加藤正夫
Date of birth	March 15, 1947
Place of birth	Asakura, Fukuoka, Japan
Date of death	December 30, 2004
Teacher	Minoru Kitani
Rank	9 dan

Masao Kato (加藤正夫, Katō Masao, March 15, 1947 - December 30, 2004), also known as Kato Kensei (加藤剱正 Katō Kensei), was a famous Japanese professional go player.

Kato is the author of The Chinese Opening: The Sure-Win Strategy (published in English by Kiseido Publishing Company) and Kato's Attack and Kill (published by Ishi Press). His name is ordered in these books and in some Anglophone sources as Masao Kato, while many Go-related sources and websites order his name as Kato Masao, in which Kato is the family name, and should be in front of given name according to the order of Japanese name.

1 Biography
2 Titles & Runner Up's
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Young Life

As a young player he was known as "The Killer" of go, due to his reputation for aggressive, attacking play. During his career, in which he reached the professional rank of 9 dan, he was a regular tournament winner. Kato was the sensei of Yukari Umezawa, who is currently at the rank of 5-dan along with Omori Yasushi, Suzuki Isao and Nishida Terumi. He studied Go in the legendary Minoru Kitani go school. He was one of the more famous players, along with Cho Chikun, Kobayashi Koichi, Takemiya Masaki, and Ishida Yoshio.

[edit] Becoming President

In early 2004, Kato was elected as the Chief Director of the Japanese Nihon Ki-in and President of the International Go Federation. Many reforms were made under his leadership. He eliminated the Oteai and made new ways of dan promotion. The komi was changed from 5.5 points to 6.5 points and he shortened game times limits. He was active in top tournaments at the same time. After his death in 2004, Kudo Norio replaced him as president of the International Go Federation.

[edit] Death

Kato died on December 30^th, 2004. The cause was said to be a cerebral infarction as he spent his last weeks in the hospital. Kato first showed signs of becoming ill on December 7^th. The same day, he had been diagnosed at a hospital because of an injury to a vein in his brain. There was an operation performed on December 10^th that had been said to be successful. Kato was told to stay in the hospital to recover. On December 28^th the condition worsened and he died two days later. He was one of Japan's greatest players, being part of the 1,200 win club, with a 1,253 win and 664 loss record. There have been many dedications, including the Nihon Ki-in releasing a large book containing over 200 of his games. Another is a internet Go tournament dedicated towards him.

[edit] Titles & Runner Up's

Ranks #4 in total amount of titles in Japan.

Title	Years Held
Current	38
Meijin	1986
Honinbo	1977 - 1979, 2002
Judan	1976 - 1979, 1983, 1987, 1997
Tengen	1978 - 1981
Oza	1979, 1980, 1982 - 1989, 1993
Gosei	1977, 1987
NEC Cup	1990, 1991, 1996
Agon Cup	1995, 1996, 2003
NHK Cup	1988
Ryusei	1998, 2001
Defunct	6
Hayago Championship	1988, 1994
Kakusei	1980, 1986, 1995, 1996

Title	Years Held
Current	30
Kisei	1978, 1988, 1991
Meijin	1981, 1988
Honinbo	1969, 1980, 1995, 1997, 2003
Judan	1980, 1984, 1988, 1998
Tengen	1982, 1991
Oza	1981, 1990, 1994
Gosei	1978, 1981, 1984, 1988
NEC Cup	1992, 1999, 2000
Agon Cup	1997
NHK Cup	1974, 1993, 1994
Defunct	15
Kakusei	1993, 1997 - 1999
Hayago Championship	1980, 1984, 1989, 1998, 1999
Shin-Ei	1975
Nihon-Kiin Championship	1974
Asashi Pro Best Ten	1970, 1975
Daiichi-i	1971
Prime Minister Cup	1973