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In the Go world, everyone knows the British name of Lee Chang-ho. The brilliant record of this top chess player from South Korea in the 90s of the last century has shaken the chess world throughout Asia and around the world.
In 1990, at the age of 14, Lee Chang-ho continued to show his power in major chess tournaments in South Korea, setting an eye-popping 41-game winning streak! This battle caused a sensation in the Korean chess world and became an eternal topic.
Just a few months later, the teenage prodigy defeated Japan's super-notch Masaki Takeko at the Fujitsu Cup at the World Go Championships. This glorious victory shocked the world and made the legend of Lee Chang-ho immortal.
On the road to the top, Lee Chang-ho has also experienced numerous challenges. His biggest enemy is his mentor Cho Hoon-hyun. As a leader in the Korean chess scene at that time, Cho Hoon-hyun had an unrivaled high position in the history of modern Go, and Lee Chang-ho was his hand-picked protégé.
At first, despite Lee's talent, he still couldn't win easily against the experienced Cho Hoon-hyun. However, Lee Chang-ho was not discouraged by this, and he devoted himself to studying Cho Hoon-hyun's chess and strategy, trying to find a breakthrough.
After unremitting efforts, in a fierce duel, Lee Chang-ho finally defeated his mentor by a huge margin of 3-2, successfully won the title of "highest position" of Cho Hoon-hyun, and once again showed the world his unparalleled strength.
In the face of the rapid progress of his disciples, although Cao Xunxuan was full of emotion, his heart was full of joy. He looked at Lee Chang-ho with loving eyes, his face full of expectations and praise for the young successor.
On the chessboard, Lee Chang-ho showed a unique style of chess. His layout seems unpretentious and unpretentious, but in fact it contains infinite wisdom. He always waits patiently for his opponent to show his flaws, and then quickly launches a counterattack to seize the lead.
This kind of calm and strategizing temperament is just like the life philosophy he said "chess games are like life". He is convinced that in life, those who make fewer mistakes and do not pursue flashiness are often more likely to succeed.
For Lee Chang-ho, Go is bound to be the love of his life. Since childhood, he has distinguished himself with his talent for the game of Go, far surpassing his peers.
Lee Chang-ho's mentor was none other than his beloved grandfather, Lee Hwa-chun. My grandfather fought all his life, he was a great swordsman who was obsessed with chess, and his life can be described as the world of Go, immersed in it all the time.
Whenever his grandfather used his wisdom to perform wonderful battles on the chessboard, the young Lee Chang-ho always waited silently, keeping his eyes on the chess game and observing his grandfather's every move wholeheartedly.
At first, the grandfather didn't pay much attention to the child's actions, just out of curiosity. However, at a special moment, his grandfather decided to test Lee Chang-ho's depth of understanding of the game, so he asked several esoteric Go questions, only to find that this immature grandson was able to answer them fluently and without mistakes.
At this moment, my grandfather suddenly realized that Lee Chang-ho's comprehension of Go far exceeded ordinary people. From then on, he decided to give everything he had to pass on his Go knowledge and skills to Lee Chang-ho without reservation.
What is jaw-dropping is that Lee Chang-ho's learning speed is unbelievable. In just half a year, he has learned what his grandfather has learned all his life.
What's even more amazing is that Lee Chang-ho, who is only 8 years old, has been able to defeat local amateur masters. After entering primary school, in addition to showing an amazing talent in the field of Go, Lee Chang-ho also excelled in mathematics, with a sharp mind and quick calculations, which undoubtedly indicates that he will become a bright star in the new generation of chess.
There is an anecdote that vividly depicts the unique side of Lee Chang-ho. In the home of his mentor Cho Hoon-hyun, he seems a little clumsy in taking care of himself. Whenever it was time to wear leather shoes to an important event, only the teacher's wife would lean over to tie his shoes.
If her wife goes out temporarily, she will also tie her shoelaces in advance to ensure that Lee Chang-ho can easily put them on.
During Lee's youth, although he had already shown extraordinary talent for chess, he still needed the guidance of an experienced master to reach the top of the game.
Among the many outstanding Go masters, Lee Chang-ho was pleasantly surprised to discover the legendary Cho Hoon-hyun.
Cho Hoon-hyun was the most dazzling jewel in the Korean chess scene at that time, and his superb chess skills deeply shocked Lee Chang-ho's heart, and he sincerely sighed that Cho Hoon-hyun was really the ideal master in the world.
Because of this, the young Lee Chang-ho worked hard day and night for this supreme ideal.
However, becoming Cho Hoon-hyun's protégé is not so easy to achieve. Cho Hoon-hyun has extremely strict standards for the selection of disciples, and only through his personal assessment can he get the opportunity to enter the room.
When Lee Chang-ho challenged Cho Hoon-hyun for the first time, although his chess skills were already outstanding, he could not resist the master's rich practical experience and profound chess skills, and ended in defeat.
However, this setback did not shake his determination to pursue progress, but only strengthened his belief in seeking advice from Cho Hoon-hyun. As a result, Lee Chang-ho devoted himself to studying Cho Hoon-hyun's chess style and strategy, trying to find the key to defeating the enemy.
After some arduous efforts, in the second game, the boy's perseverance was finally rewarded.
Lee Chang-ho lived up to expectations and turned the tide with a surprisingly winning tactic that left Cho Hoon-hyun, a seasoned maestro, helpless. When Lee Chang-ho finally defeated Cho Hoon-hyun, Cho's face was full of surprise, as if he still couldn't believe what was happening in front of him.
However, he soon realized that the young man in front of him was by no means an ordinary person, his strength had already surpassed his own, and he did have the qualifications to become a disciple. Therefore, Cho Hoon-hyun did not hesitate to make the decision to officially accept Lee Chang-ho as a closed disciple and welcome him into his home to teach chess skills in person.
In order to be able to guide Lee Chang-ho anytime and anywhere, Cho Hoon-hyun and his wife even arranged a comfortable and pleasant room for him to take care of his daily life wholeheartedly.
In the face of this selfless dedication to cultivation, the young Lee Chang-ho's heart is filled with endless gratitude.
He looked at his mentor with admiration, determined to continue to make progress on the road of chess, and never disappoint the ardent expectations of his teacher.
If Lee Chang-ho was already eye-catching as a teenager, then in the years that followed, his brilliant record shocked chess fans around the world.
In 1990, at the age of 14, Lee Chang-ho went out as a four-dan player and won an astonishing 41 consecutive chess tournaments in Korea. Such a dazzling result undoubtedly shook the entire Korean chess world.
Although Lee Chang-ho was young at that time, his chess skills were already extraordinary, and no one could match his sharp and sharp chess strength.
Incredibly, just a few months after setting this astonishing record, Lee Chang-ho once again won the Fujitsu Cup World Go Championship. In this world-renowned match, he defeated Japan's top chess player, Masaki Takeko, by a landslide.
This victory that shook the world made Lee Chang-ho emerge in the global chess arena and became the focus of attention. Since then, this young hero from Asia has become a hot topic of discussion among chess fans around the world, and countless people are fascinated by him, looking forward to seeing him in person one day.
The reason why Lee Chang-ho has been able to perform miracles on the chessboard again and again is due to his precise insight into the minds of his opponents. Whenever he sits at the chessboard, he will concentrate on his thoughts, trying to predict the next direction of his opponent's actions.
He seems to have a pair of see-through eyes, and he can see the opponent's chess skills in full view.
As soon as he finds any flaws, Lee Chang-ho will make a decisive move, take the lead, and control the rhythm of the entire chess game. As one of Japan's top chess players, Masao Kato, praised, "Someone else's game can be understood at a glance, but Lee Chang-ho's chess needs to be tasted repeatedly to understand."
It can be seen that Lee Chang-ho's chess style is exquisite, evocative, and as precious as a treasure.
In the face of such excellent chess skills, Lee's opponents often feel at a loss. They could only watch as the talented player gradually suppressed himself until he finally lost the opportunity to counterattack altogether.
Some even felt that they could not win at the last moment of the chess game, and took the initiative to choose to admit defeat so as not to suffer an even more humiliating blow from Lee Chang-ho.
In the 90s of the last century, the rise of Lee Chang-ho was like a frenzy, leading a new chapter that was hailed by later generations as the "Lee Chang-ho era". This young player from Asia, with his extraordinary chess skills and extraordinary achievements, has pushed the ancient game of wisdom to the pinnacle of the world stage.
Prior to this, although Go had long been widely regarded as a traditional cultural treasure of the Chinese nation, the Korean Peninsula and Japan, its influence in the distant West was still somewhat lacking.
However, the birth of Lee Chang-ho changed this situation completely with his outstanding skills, and people around the world began to pay attention to this art form from the East.
Those who love Go deeply seem to be deeply attracted by the unique and shocking charm of Lee Chang-ho. They paid their respects to the young Asian star, imitating his unique style and strategy, and sparked a frenzy of learning and playing.
Soon, as more and more young people devoted themselves to this ancient and mysterious field, the influence of Go grew, and it gradually moved towards the path of globalization.
And on the land of Asia, Lee Chang-ho's contribution to the promotion and prosperity of Go cannot be ignored. Grandmaster Oh Cheong-won once spoke highly of his master-apprentice relationship with Lee Chang-ho: "Mr. Cho Hoon-hyun is undoubtedly the most talented chess player.
And the reason why Mr. Lee Chang-ho was able to achieve such brilliant achievements is precisely because of his otherworldly hard work, and in his life, Go occupies all of it."
Indeed, it was Lee Chang-ho's firm belief and dedication to the cause of Go that enabled him to finally climb to the top of the Go world, injecting a new vitality into this game full of wisdom.
With his practical actions, he has demonstrated the tenacity and unremitting spirit of a top professional chess player.
Even Lee Chang-ho himself has a deep understanding of the mysteries behind his chess achievements. He once said with emotion: "The chess game is like life, in the process of the game, the more gorgeous the layout, the more vulnerable it is to the fierce attack of the opponent; And in real life, those who make fewer mistakes tend to succeed more than those who are flashy."
By observing the chess games played by a chess player, we can often gain insight into the player's attitude and values in life. This is exactly the case with Lee Chang-ho, whose chess style is simple and unpretentious, but contains profound philosophical connotations.
This is the fundamental reason why he was able to become a legend for a generation.