I’ve been re-reading Hikaru no Go, and at some point in the manga Hikaru gets referred to as “the strongest shodan.” That got me thinking - is there any real-life 1d or 1p player who could have been considered the strongest shodan of our time while they were ranked as such?
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Well it would be difficult as it changes continously with promotions…
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Sorry, let me edit the initial post to be a little more accurate, I realize how my initial question sounded lol
In general, being one of the strongest players of any particular rank would be only temporary, as it is an indication that they are due for a promotion.
So they typically wouldn’t stay the strongest of that rank for very long (although it may take longer if the ranking system they are in is very conservative).
After the promotion, they will become a player of a higher rank, and probably not the strongest anymore of that new rank.
Li Qincheng was probably the strongest 1p for a while, in fact that was his nickname. He was a top 20 player in the world whilst 1p, and got his 9p a few months after 2p for winning the Asian TV Cup International title (though at it’s blitz some people thought that was a bit of a cheap promotion).
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I can imagine the headline:
“Li Qincheng, from strongest 1p to cheapest 9p”
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