| Honinbo (competition) | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Honinbo |
| Started | 1941 |
| Honorary Winners | Takagawa Kaku Sakata Eio Ishida Yoshio Cho Chikun Iyama Yuta |
| Sponsors | Mainichi Shimbun |
| Prize money | 28 million yen |
| Affiliation | Nihon Ki-in |
The Honinbo (本因坊) is a Go competition and the oldest Go title in Japan. Sponsored by Mainichi Shimbun, the Honinbo pays out ¥28 million to the winner (since the 74th Honinbo in 2019).[1]
Rules
The holder of the title is challenged by whoever wins the round robin league. Players can get into the round robin league by going through many preliminary tournaments. Once there is a challenger to compete against the holder, the winner is decided through a best of seven match. The games are played over two days and each player is given eight hours of thinking time.[2] If a player qualifies for the Honinbo league, they are automatically promoted to 7 dan. If that same player wins the league, a promotion to 8 dan is given. If that same player goes on to win the title, they are promoted to 9 dan, the highest rank.[3]
Past winners
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Riichi Sekiyama | 3–3* | Shin Kato |
| 1943 | Utaro Hashimoto | 2–0 | Riichi Sekiyama |
| 1945 | Kaoru Iwamoto | 3–3 (2–0)** | Utaro Hashimoto |
| 1947 | 3–2 | Minoru Kitani | |
| 1950 | Utaro Hashimoto | 4–0 | Kaoru Iwamoto |
| 1951 | 4–3 | Eio Sakata | |
| 1952 | Kaku Takagawa | 4–1 | Utaro Hashimoto |
| 1953 | 4–2 | Minoru Kitani | |
| 1954 | 4–2 | Masao Sugiuchi | |
| 1955 | 4–0 | Toshihiro Shimamura | |
| 1956 | 4–2 | ||
| 1957 | 4–2 | Hosai Fujisawa | |
| 1958 | 4–2 | Masao Sugiuchi | |
| 1959 | 4–2 | Minoru Kitani | |
| 1960 | 4–2 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | |
| 1961 | Eio Sakata | 4–1 | Kaku Takagawa |
| 1962 | 4–1 | Dogen Handa | |
| 1963 | 4–2 | Kaku Takagawa | |
| 1964 | 4–0 | ||
| 1965 | 4–0 | Toshiro Yamabe | |
| 1966 | 4–0 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | |
| 1967 | 4–1 | Rin Kaiho | |
| 1968 | Rin Kaiho | 4–3 | Eio Sakata |
| 1969 | 4–2 | Masao Kato | |
| 1970 | 4–0 | Eio Sakata | |
| 1971 | Yoshio Ishida | 4–2 | Rin Kaiho |
| 1972 | 4–3 | ||
| 1973 | 4–0 | ||
| 1974 | 4–3 | Masaki Takemiya | |
| 1975 | 4–3 | Eio Sakata | |
| 1976 | Masaki Takemiya | 4–1 | Yoshio Ishida |
| 1977 | Masao Kato | 4–1 | Masaki Takemiya |
| 1978 | 4–3 | Yoshio Ishida | |
| 1979 | 4–1 | Rin Kaiho | |
| 1980 | Masaki Takemiya | 4–1 | Masao Kato |
| 1981 | Cho Chikun | 4–2 | Masaki Takemiya |
| 1982 | 4–2 | Koichi Kobayashi | |
| 1983 | Rin Kaiho | 4–3 | Cho Chikun |
| 1984 | 4–1 | Shuzo Awaji | |
| 1985 | Masaki Takemiya | 4–1 | Rin Kaiho |
| 1986 | 4–1 | Hiroshi Yamashiro | |
| 1987 | 4–0 | ||
| 1988 | 4–3 | Hideo Otake | |
| 1989 | Cho Chikun | 4–0 | Masaki Takemiya |
| 1990 | 4–3 | Koichi Kobayashi | |
| 1991 | 4–2 | ||
| 1992 | 4–3 | ||
| 1993 | 4–1 | Hiroshi Yamashiro | |
| 1994 | 4–3 | Satoshi Kataoka | |
| 1995 | 4–1 | Masao Kato | |
| 1996 | 4–2 | Ryu Shikun | |
| 1997 | 4–0 | Masao Kato | |
| 1998 | 4–2 | O Rissei | |
| 1999 | Cho Sonjin | 4–2 | Cho Chikun |
| 2000 | O Meien | 4–2 | Cho Sonjin |
| 2001 | 4–3 | Cho U | |
| 2002 | Masao Kato | 4–2 | O Meien |
| 2003 | Cho U | 4–2 | Masao Kato |
| 2004 | 4–2 | Norimoto Yoda | |
| 2005 | Shinji Takao | 4–1 | Cho U |
| 2006 | 4–2 | Kimio Yamada | |
| 2007 | 4–1 | Norimoto Yoda | |
| 2008 | Naoki Hane | 4–3 | Shinji Takao |
| 2009 | 4–2 | ||
| 2010 | Keigo Yamashita | 4–1 | Naoki Hane |
| 2011 | 4–3 | ||
| 2012 | Yuta Iyama | 4–3 | Keigo Yamashita |
| 2013 | 4–3 | Shinji Takao | |
| 2014 | 4–1 | Atsushi Ida | |
| 2015 | 4–1 | Keigo Yamashita | |
| 2016 | 4–1 | Shinji Takao | |
| 2017 | 4–0 | Katsuya Motoki | |
| 2018 | 4–1 | Keigo Yamashita | |
| 2019 | 4–2 | Rin Kono | |
| 2020 | 4–1 | Toramaru Shibano | |
| 2021 | 4–3 | ||
| 2022 | 4–0 | Ryo Ichiriki | |
| 2023 | Ryo Ichiriki | 4-3 | Yuta Iyama |
References
- ↑ "第78期 本因坊戦". Nihon Ki-in (in Japanese).
- ↑ "Go Tournament: Honinbo". gogameworld.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ↑ "Abolition of the rating tournament". nihonkiin.or.jp. Retrieved 2 July 2011.