Photo/Illutration Rina Fujisawa, right, and Makoto Son at the final of the Hiroshima-Aluminum Cup in Hiroshima on Nov. 22 (Nozomi Ozaki)

HIROSHIMA--Rina Fujisawa on Nov. 22 became the first woman to win an official go tournament open to both male and female young professional players.

The 22-year-old top female professional go player defeated Makoto Son, a 24-year-old 7-dan player, in the 15th Hiroshima-Aluminum Cup, which is also known as the Young Carp fight.

Only players up to 7-dan and 30 years old or younger can enter the tournament, in which each competitor has 30 seconds to make a move.

Fujisawa, who won three of women’s six titles, advanced to the final by scoring three straight wins, including one against Tomoya Hirata, a 26-year-old 7-dan player who clinched the Hiroshima-Aluminum Cup last year.

The final between Fujisawa and Son, who won the rookie-of-the-year award last year, turned out to be a nail-biting match with a total of 332 moves, but she narrowly defeated him in the end.

After her victory, she said: “It does not feel real that I won because I was struggling in the match. I am so happy and honored to win.”

Fujisawa is a granddaughter of the late Honorary Kisei Hideyuki Fujisawa. She became a professional go player at the age of 11 in 2010. In 2014, when she was 15, she became the youngest to win a woman’s title.

In the traditionally male-dominated world of go, Asami Ueno, 19, took second place in the Ryusei Tournament last year, the highest finish for a female go player in a mixed-sex tournament open to players regardless of age. 

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