Lee Se-dol (born 2 March 1983) is a South Korean professional Go player of 9-dan rank.[1] As of February 2016, he ranks second in international titles (18), behind only Lee Chang-ho (21).
Biography
Lee was born in South Korea in 1983 and studied at the Hanguk Kiwon. He ranks second in international titles (18), behind only Lee Chang-ho (21). Despite this, he describes his opening play as "very weak".[2]
Lee is married and has one daughter.[3]
In February 2013, Lee announced that he planned to retire within three years and move to the USA to promote Go.[4]
He plays on Tygem as "gjopok".[5]
Much more information is listed on Sensei's Library: , including a discussion of his playing style and particular strengths and weaknesses.
Match against AlphaGo
Starting March 9 2016, Sedol is due to play a five-game match, broadcast live, against the computer program called AlphaGo, developed by a London-based Artificial Intelligence firm Google DeepMind, for a $1 million match prize.[6][7][8] He said “I have heard that Google DeepMind’s AI is surprisingly strong and getting stronger, but I am confident that I can win at least this time”.[9]
Lee's Broken Ladder Game
This was a match between Lee Se-dol and Hong Chang-sik during the 2003 KAT cup. This game is notable for Lee's use of a broken ladder formation.
Normally playing out a broken ladder is a bad mistake, a pitfall associated with bad beginner play; the chasing stones are left appallingly weak. Between experts it should be decisive, leading to a lost game. Lee, playing black, defied the conventional wisdom, pushing development of the ladder to capture a large group of Hong's stones in the lower-right side of the board. Although Black could not capture the stones in the ladder, White ultimately resigned.
[10]
|
|
| Moves 67 to 74 (Black: Lee Se-dol; White: Hong Chang-sik) |
|
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| Moves 89 to 97 (Black wins when White resigns at move 211) |
Promotion record
| Rank |
Year |
Notes |
|---|
| 1 dan
|
1995 |
Promoted to professional dan rank after passing qualifying test. |
| 2 dan
|
1998 |
|
| 3 dan
|
1999 |
|
| 4 dan
|
2003 |
|
| 5 dan
|
2003 |
|
| 6 dan
|
2003 |
Won the LG Cup against Lee Chang-ho. |
| 7 dan
|
2003 |
Runner up in the KT Cup against Yoo Changhyuk. |
| 8 dan
|
2003 |
Skipped over because of the Hanguk Kiwon promotion rules. |
| 9 dan
|
2003 |
Won Fujitsu Cup against Song Tae Kon. |
Career record
- 1997–98: 0 wins, 1 loss, 0 jigos
- 1998–00: 0 wins, 6 losses, 0 jigos
- 2000–02: 55 wins, 29 losses, 0 jigos
|
- 2002–04: 67 wins, 32 losses, 0 jigos
- 2004–06: 64 wins, 23 losses, 0 jigos
- 2006–08: 122 wins, 52 losses, 0 jigos
|
- 2008–09: 72 wins, 23 losses, 0 jigos
- 2009–10: 74 wins, 14 losses, 0 jigos
- 2010–11: 18 wins, 5 losses, 0 jigos
|
- Total: 472 wins, 185 losses, 0 jigos (71.8% winning percentage)[1]
Titles and runners-up
Ranks #3 in total amount of titles in Korea and #2 in international titles.
| Domestic |
| Title | Wins | Runners-up |
| Guksu | 2 (2007, 2009) | 1 (2014) |
| Myungin | 3 (2007, 2008, 2012) | 1(2013) |
| Siptan | 1 (2011) | |
| GS Caltex Cup | 3 (2002, 2006, 2012) | 2 (2007, 2013) |
| Prices Information Cup | 3 (2006, 2007, 2010) | 1 (2008) |
| Chunwon | 1 (2000) | 2 (2006, 2008) |
| KBS Cup | 2 (2006, 2014) | 3 (2001, 2004, 2009) |
| Maxim Cup | 4 (2005–07, 2014) | 1 (2013) |
| Wangwi | | 2 (2002, 2004) |
| Baedalwang | 1 (2000) | |
| BC Card Cup | 1 (2002) | |
| KTF Cup | 1 (2002) | |
| KT Cup | | 1 (2003) |
| SK Gas Cup | 1 (2002) | 1 (2000) |
| New Pro King | 1 (2002) | |
| Paedal Cup | 1 (2000) | |
| Olleh KT Cup | 2 (2010, 2011) | |
| Total | 27 | 15 |
| Continental |
| China-Korea New Pro Wang | 1 (2002) | |
| China-Korea Tengen | | 1 (2001) |
| Total | 1 | 1 |
| International |
| Asian TV Cup | 4 (2007, 2008, 2014, 2015) | 1 (2009) |
| LG Cup | 2 (2003, 2008) | 2 (2001, 2009) |
| BC Card Cup | 2 (2010, 2011) | |
| Samsung Cup | 4 (2004, 2007, 2008, 2012) | 1 (2013) |
| Chunlan Cup | 1 (2011) | 1 (2013) |
| Fujitsu Cup | 3 (2002, 2003, 2005) | 1 (2010) |
| World Oza | 2 (2004, 2006) | |
| Zhonghuan Cup | | 1 (2005) |
| Mlily Cup (梦百合杯) | | 1 (2015/16) |
| Total | 18 | 8 |
| Career total |
| Total | 46 | 24[11] |
Korean Baduk League
Chinese A League
| Season | Team | Place | Record |
|---|
| 2007 | Team Guizhou (Captain) | 2nd place | 9–3[16] |
| 2008 | Team Guizhou (Captain) | 2nd place | 8–0[17] |
| 2009 | Team Guizhou (Captain) | 8th place | 6–4[18] |
References
South Korea
