Gu Li (Chinese: 古力; pinyin: Gǔ Lì; born February 3, 1983) is a Chinese professional Go player.

Gu Li
古力
Born (1983-02-03) February 3, 1983 (age 41)
Chongqing, China
ResidenceChina China
TeacherNie Weiping
Turned pro1995
Rank9 dan
AffiliationChinese Weiqi Association
Gu Li
Medal record
Representing  China
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2010 Guangzhou Men's Team
Gu Li
Traditional Chinese古力
Simplified Chinese古力
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGǔ Lì

Biography

edit

Gu Li is a Chinese go player. He became a pro in 1995 when he was only 12. In 2006, he won the 10th LG Cup[1] and became the youngest Chinese player to ever win a major international title; as a result, he was also promoted to 9 dan. In March 2007, he defeated Chang Hao 2-0 to win the Chunlan Cup. In mid-2007, Gu Li experienced a playing slump, even losing many matches against lower dan players. However, he soon came back stronger than ever, winning many major titles both domestic and international, including the 2007 Changqi Cup and the 2008 Fujitsu Cup;[2] the greatest factors in this turnaround was his improvement in the endgame, and territory skills, which many people had previously considered his biggest weaknesses. In 2009 Gu defeated Lee Sedol to win the 13th LG Cup.

In July 2010, Gu Li became the "Meijin of Meijins" by defeating Lee Changho and Iyama Yuta in a special tournament which pitted the domestic title-holders from China, Korea and Japan against each other.[3]

In October 2010, Gu Li defeated Han Sanghoon and Lee Sedol in the round of sixteen and quarter-finals respectively to reach the semi-finals of the 15th Samsung Cup, whilst the defending Champion Kong Jie was knocked out by Kim Jiseok. Gu won the 2010 Samsung Cup, defeating Heo Youngho of Korea, and moves on towards the 2012 Ing Cup to become the second player to win all major international titles (Although Lee Chang-ho is the first and so far only person to win all titles, including the defunct World Oza and Zhonghuan Cup, as well as the Tong Yang Cup).

In 2014, Gu Li was defeated in a jubango against Lee Sedol (+2-6). The games took place on each last Sunday of the month.[4]

Style

edit

His given name Li, literally meaning strength, is also a Go term roughly meaning the ability of reading. Li also encompasses the meaning of the ability to discover strong moves and the ability to fight. Gu has a nickname "Gu Da Li". Da literally means large, big or huge. This refers to Gu's incredible ability at playing really strong moves that require sharp instinct as well as immaculate reading. One of his main weaknesses is his inaccurate endgame.

Promotion record

edit
Rank Year Notes
1 dan 1995 Promoted to professional dan rank for performance in the Chinese professional qualification tournament.
2 dan 1996 Promoted for performance in the Chinese professional promotion tournament.
3 dan 1997 Promoted for performance in the Chinese professional promotion tournament.
4 dan 1998 Promoted for performance in the Chinese professional promotion tournament.
5 dan 2000 Promoted for performance in the Chinese professional promotion tournament.
6 dan 2002 Skipped due to the Chinese Weiqi Association promotion rules.
7 dan 2002 Won the 4th China-Korea New Pro Wang against Cho Hanseung.
8 dan 2006 Skipped due to the Chinese Weiqi Association promotion rules.
9 dan 2006 Won the 10th LG Cup against Chen Yaoye.

Career record

edit
As of 1 July 2018[5][6]
Year Won Lost Win %
1995 1 0 100%
1996 1 1 50.0%
1997 4 3 57.1%
1998 4 5 44.4%
1999 13 11 54.2%
2000 27 15 64.3%
2001 47 16 74.6%
2002 38 22 63.3%
2003 54 15 78.3%
2004 56 21 72.7%
2005 49 29 62.8%
2006 58 25 69.9%
2007 42 26 61.8%
2008 67 22 75.3%
2009 55 30 64.7%
2010 55 41 57.3%
2011 56 30 65.1%
2012 39 29 57.4%
2013 52 30 63.4%
2014 36 23 61.0%
2015 28 27 50.9%
2016 28 25 52.8%
2017 21 25 45.7%
2018 6 14 30.0%
Total 837 485 63.3%
  • Note: 2012 and 2013 also include one game with no result.

Titles and runners-up

edit
As of 1 July 2018

Ranks #2 in total number of titles in China and #5 in total number of international titles.

Domestic
Title Wins Runners-up
Liguang Cup 1 (2001) 1 (2008)
Xinan Wang 1 (2003) 3 (2004, 2009, 2013)
CCTV Cup 1 (2004) 1 (2005)
Xinren Wang 2 (2001, 2005)
Quzhou-Lanke Cup 1 (2008) 1 (2006)
Tianyuan 6 (2003–2008) 2 (2009–2010)
NEC Cup (China) 4 (2004, 2006, 2008–2009) 1 (2005)
Mingren 6 (2004–2009) 1 (2010)
National Sports Mass Meeting 2 (2002, 2010)
Changqi Cup 2 (2007, 2011) 1 (2006)
Ahan Tongshan Cup 4 (2003, 2005, 2008, 2012)
Longxing 1 (2008, 2014)
Total 31 11
Continental
Title Wins Runners-up
China-Korea New Pro Wang 2 (2001, 2005)
China-Korea Tengen 4 (2003–2005, 2007) 2 (2006, 2008)
World Mingren 1 (2010)
China-Japan Longxing 1 (2010)
China-Japan Agon Cup 4 (2004, 2006, 2009, 2013)
Total 12 2
International
Title Wins Runners-up
Fujitsu Cup 1 (2008)
World Oza 1 (2008)
LG Cup 2 (2006, 2009)
BC Card Cup 1 (2009) 1 (2011)
Samsung Cup 1 (2010) 2 (2011, 2012)
Mlily Cup 1 (2013)
Chunlan Cup 2 (2007, 2015)
Total 8 4
Career Total
Total 51 17

Head-to-head record vs selected players

edit
As of 1 July 2018[6]

Players who have won international Go titles in bold.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Young go chess players rise from zero to hero". Chinadaily.com.cn. 2007-03-23. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  2. ^ "CCTV International". Cctv.com. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  3. ^ "GoGameWorld Archived Go News". Gogameworld.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  4. ^ "Lee Sedol vs Gu Li showdown scheduled for 2014 – MLily Gu vs Lee Jubango". Archived from the original on 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  5. ^ "Gu Li | Search by Player | Go4Go".
  6. ^ a b "古力 信息". 弘通围棋网. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
edit