Is this the first time a woman has entered the world’s top 50 go players?
In any case, this is a tremendous achievement!
Her closest female rival is Yu Zhiying who currently sits at world #170 and more than 150 rating points below Choi Jeong.
Yu Zhiying was the strongest female player from 2013-2015 until she was overtaken by Choi Jeong who has reigned since.
Notable scalps Choi Jeong has claimed this year include Shi Yue and Gu Zihao who are currently rated world #16 and world #4 respectively!
Rui Naiwei has been (one of) the strongest female players for the last 40 years and according to goratings, during her peak in 1999, she reached about the same rating (3300) as the budding Gu Li (3314). Still ways away from Lee Changho (3500+) but she was probably up there.
I believe she is only the second woman to do this, after Rui Naiwei, who was in the top 25 from 1993 to 2000 with a peak of #15 in 1995.
Another fun fact: Rui is Choi’s idol! Shortly after Choi began her Go career in 2010, they played together in a Korean national title match in October 2011. Rui was 9p and had already won many prestigious international titles, and won the match against the new 1p. But it left a big impression on Choi, who was happy for the opportunity. Rui went on to win the title, and 14-year-old Choi apparently thought Rui was really cool. Since that time, their record is 3-2 in Choi’s favor.
