A classic article. Your Shusaku number is how many games you are away from Shusaku.
I used to compute my Shusaku number through xhu, but I’ve forgotten what xhu’s number was. In any case, I’ve played many more strong players since I had that first go, so I wouldn’t be surprised if my path has shrunk a step.
If I can count my 13x13 against Yoonyoung then I’m sure it’s been reduced, but small-board games feel like cheating… I’ve played many games against GoDave, though, who has in turn played several 19x19 handicap games against Yoonyoung; so I have a maximum 19x19 Shusaku path that is Yoonyoung + 2.
A good way for to find at least a Shusaku path for yourself is to first check Professional accounts and games on OGS and see whether you’ve played against any of the accounts on the list, especially spicydragon. Then poke around Waltheri using their real name.
According to this article, btw, Michael Redmond has a Shusaku number of four, with the path
Shusaku (0) → Shuho (1) → Kita Fumiko (2) → Shiratori Sumiko (3) → Michael Redmond (4)
Since I’ve played GoDave, who’s played against Redmond, that makes my maximum number six.
As a side note, though, it’s my opinion that a “pure” Shusaku path has its links in consecutive order. That seems to be the case for the Redmond path, but not for all paths.