Gu Zihao

Gu Zihao (Chinese: 辜梓豪; pinyin: Gū Zǐháo; born 13 March 1998^[1]) is a Chinese professional go player. He is the winner of two major international championships: the Samsung Cup in 2017 and the Quzhou Lanke Cup in 2023.

Gu Zihao
Born	(1998-03-13) March 13, 1998 (age 27) Xiantao, Hubei, China
Turned pro	2010
Rank	9 dan
Affiliation	Chinese Weiqi Association

Gu Zihao was born in Xiantao, Hubei in 1998. He began to play go when he was 6 years old. To further study go, he moved to Wuhan at age 9,^[1] and then to Beijing at age 11.^[2] He earned professional 1 dan rank in 2010, when he was 12.^[2][3] He began participating in the Chinese A League in 2012.^[4] In 2015, he won China's National Go Individual tournament, and the Limin Cup, an under-20 international tournament.^[5][4]

He won an international title at the Samsung Cup in 2017, defeating Tang Weixing in the finals. Gu, who was 5 dan at the time, was promoted to 9 dan for the victory.^[6]

He won two domestic competitions in 2018, the Weifu Fangkai Cup and the Ahan Tongshan Cup, as well as the China-Japan Agon Cup playoff. In January 2020, while visiting family in his hometown Xiantao, he fell under the COVID-19 lockdown in Hubei; he continued to compete remotely while staying there until April.^[7] He won the CCTV Cup later that year, followed by several championships in 2021: the Tianyuan, the Ahan Tongshan Cup and China–Japan playoff, and the Longxing.

He claimed his second major international title in the Quzhou Lanke Cup in June 2023, beating Shin Jin-seo.^[8] In August 2023, he overtook Ke Jie to become the number one ranked Chinese player in the Chinese Weiqi Association's official rankings.^[9]

Gu is sometimes nicknamed èbà 'evil tyrant' (Chinese: "恶霸"), derived from a username which he used for playing go online, Yìnchéng zhī bà 'Indianapolis tyrant' (Chinese: "印城之霸").^[2] He originally chose the username because he was a fan of the Indiana Pacers in the NBA.^[1]

Titles

International:

• Limin Cup 2015 (under-20 tournament)^[5]
• Samsung Cup 2017^[6]
• China-Japan Agon Cup 2018^[10] and 2021^[11][12]
• Quzhou Lanke Cup 2023^[8]

Chinese:

• National Go Individual 2015
• Weifu Fangkai Cup 2018^[13]
• Ahan Tongshan Cup 2018 and 2021^[14]
• CCTV Cup 2020^[15]
• Tianyuan 2021^[16][17]
• Longxing 2021^[18]
• South-West Qiwang 2025^[19]