Photo/Illutration Sumire Nakamura became the youngest player to record 100 victories in official go tournaments in Tokyo’s Ichigaya district on June 6. (Koji Ode)

Even after breaking a record that has stood for 50 years, 13-year-old go prodigy Sumire Nakamura was about the only one not aware of the history she made.

She broke the record for the youngest player to notch 100 victories in official tournaments on June 6 with a victory in the women’s Honinbo championship. 

“I don’t think of how many times I’ve won, so I just felt like, ‘I see,’” Nakamura said after the game, when asked how she felt about breaking the mark.

She added, “I don’t know it well, but it seems fast” to achieve 100 victories in three years and two months after becoming a professional.

Cho Chikun, 65, an honorary Meijin, held the record of 15 years and 11 months set in 1972.

Nakamura, who is 13 years and 3 months old, now has 100 wins and 52 losses since she entered the professional ranks. 

Nakamura, a 2-dan player, defeated Keiko Kato, 43, a 6-dan player by chuoshi (making the opponent concede halfway) in the second round of the Honinbo championship. It secured her a place in the final eight.

Nakamura, a junior high school student, turned pro in April 2019 less than a month after turning 10, the youngest on record in Japan.

Last year, she achieved a breakthrough with 43 wins, ranking third among all male and female professionals.

This year, she became the youngest player to qualify to challenge for a title in a women’s Meijin tournament. She was defeated by Rina Fujisawa in the title match, who holds four titles, but her bid made headlines across the nation.

Nakamura also placed in the top eight in the international Senko Cup, one of the five women’s title tournaments.

She stated that her goal this year, “is to win more games than last year. It’s a lot of work.”

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