Gu Li (Go player) explained

Gu Li
古力
Birth Date:3 February 1983
Birth Place:Chongqing, China
Residence: China
Teacher:Nie Weiping
Turnedpro:1995
Rank:9 dan
Affiliation:Chinese Weiqi Association
P:Gǔ Lì
S:古力
T:古力

Gu Li (; born February 3, 1983) is a Chinese professional Go player.

Biography

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

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.

Career record

[5] [6]

Year Won Lost Win %
199510100%
19961150.0%
19974357.1%
19984544.4%
1999131154.2%
2000271564.3%
2001471674.6%
2002382263.3%
2003541578.3%
2004562172.7%
2005492962.8%
2006582569.9%
2007422661.8%
2008672275.3%
2009553064.7%
2010554157.3%
2011563065.1%
2012392957.4%
2013523063.4%
2014362361.0%
2015282750.9%
2016282552.8%
2017212545.7%
201861430.0%
Total 837 485 63.3%

Titles and runners-up

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

Domestic
Title Wins Runners-up
Liguang Cup1 (2001) 1 (2008)
Xinan Wang1 (2003) 3 (2004, 2009, 2013)
CCTV Cup1 (2004) 1 (2005)
Xinren Wang2 (2001, 2005)
Quzhou-Lanke Cup1 (2008) 1 (2006)
Tianyuan6 (2003–2008) 2 (2009–2010)
NEC Cup (China)4 (2004, 2006, 2008–2009) 1 (2005)
Mingren6 (2004–2009) 1 (2010)
National Sports Mass Meeting2 (2002, 2010)
Changqi Cup2 (2007, 2011) 1 (2006)
Ahan Tongshan Cup4 (2003, 2005, 2008, 2012)
Longxing1 (2008, 2014)
Total 31 11
Continental
Title Wins Runners-up
2 (2001, 2005)
China-Korea Tengen4 (2003–2005, 2007) 2 (2006, 2008)
World Mingren1 (2010)
China-Japan Longxing1 (2010)
China-Japan Agon Cup4 (2004, 2006, 2009, 2013)
Total 12 2
International
Title Wins Runners-up
Fujitsu Cup1 (2008)
World Oza1 (2008)
LG Cup2 (2006, 2009)
BC Card Cup1 (2009) 1 (2011)
Samsung Cup1 (2010) 2 (2011, 2012)
Mlily Cup1 (2013)
Chunlan Cup2 (2007, 2015)
Total 8 4
Career Total
Total 51 17

Head-to-head record vs selected players

[6] Players who have won international Go titles in bold.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Young go chess players rise from zero to hero . Chinadaily.com.cn . 2007-03-23 . 2011-07-27.
  2. Web site: CCTV International . Cctv.com . 2011-07-27.
  3. Web site: GoGameWorld Archived Go News . Gogameworld.com . 2011-07-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110524173027/http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/pg_allnews.php?termvalue=World%20Meijin%20Rivalry . 2011-05-24 .
  4. Web site: Lee Sedol vs Gu Li showdown scheduled for 2014 – MLily Gu vs Lee Jubango . 2013-11-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141208034312/https://gogameguru.com/lee-sedol-gu-li-jubango-starts-soon/ . 2014-12-08 . dead .
  5. Web site: Gu Li | Search by Player | Go4Go.
  6. Web site: 古力 信息. 弘通围棋网. 1 July 2018.