I thought this might be a handy resource for anyone wanting to write a quick historical article, or with an interest in the comparison of historical Go in different countries.
"National champions" of different countries
Empty space implies the last stated champion continuing their reign.
This is a wikipost, so that you can add your own country if you’d like.
By the way, whilst compiling this table I found the only time that a woman has challenged for the British Championship, which was Vanessa Wong’s unsuccessful match (1–3) against Macfadyen in 2010–11. At the time she was ranked 6d.
Vanessa went on to win the European Women’s Championship in 2012.
Wow, according to her profile she was 16 in 2012 so probably only 14 at the time of the match! What a Polgarian figure!
A cursory internet search indicates that she moved to Australia and became an agricultural scientist, but that might be a different person.
Also, don’t miss Rui Naiwei’s landmark victory in the 1999 Kuksu.
There’s an interesting discussion in AGA E-Journal 27 June 2005 of what is the most valid criterion of being the “Japanese #1”.
“There is a minor error in today’s E-Journal,” writes Keith Arnold. “While Cho U is widely considered the strongest player in Japan right now, he is not ‘currently number one’ in Japan. That is reserved for the winner of the Kisei title, which Cho has yet to win. Hane Naoki is ‘number one’.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: While there is no “official” designation of “number one” in Japan (unlike in China), most commentators refer to the player who holds the largest number of major titles as the “number one” player and the EJ follows that usage. Hane is current Kisei, which is the most prestigious title and has the biggest purse, but no one thinks him to have Cho’s dominance.
There are two other claims to legitimacy that I can think of, which are most prize money in that year and highest rating (GoRatings).
Iyama has held the Kisei since 2013 and has had the most titles and presumably most prize money since 2012. However, Ichiriki Ryo currently outrates him (although note I consider that the weakest of the four foundations).
empty space = same as last person stated in the (left) column
← = same as on the corresponding row of the left column
" " = same as last person stated in the (right) column