Izumi Kobayashi

Izumi Kobayashi (小林 泉美, Kobayashi Izumi; born June 20, 1977) is a professional Go player.^[1]

Izumi Kobayashi
Full name	Izumi Kobayashi
Kanji	小林泉美
Born	(1977-06-20) June 20, 1977 (age 48) Tokyo, Japan
Residence	Tokyo, Japan
Teacher	Koichi Kobayashi
Turned pro	1995
Rank	7 dan
Affiliation	Nihon Ki-in

Biography

Izumi Kobayashi grew up in a family of accomplished Go players. She has joked that she first played Go in her mother's womb. Her father is Koichi Kobayashi, the man who ranks third in number of titles held in Japan. Her maternal grandfather was Kitani Minoru, one of the leading players and probably the greatest Go teacher. Her mother was Reiko Kobayashi née Kitani (1939–1996), 6 dan, who won the All-Japan Women's Championship several times. She became a professional go player in 1995, and was promoted to her current rank, 6 dan, in 2004. She is married to Cho U, one of the top players in Japan.

Promotion record

Rank	Year	Notes
1 dan	1995
2 dan	1997
3 dan	1998
4 dan	1999
5 dan	2001
6 dan	2004
7 dan	2021
8 dan
9 dan

Titles & runners-up

Title	Years Held
Current	9
Women's Honinbo	2001–2003
Women's Meijin	2001, 2003, 2004
Women's Kisei	1998, 1999
Women's Saikyo	2005
Defunct	1
Women's JAL Super Hayago	2004

Title	Years Lost
Current	6
Women's Honinbo	1999, 2004
Women's Meijin	2000, 2002, 2005
Women's Kisei	2000
Defunct	3
Women's Kakusei	1996, 1999, 2001