LUDUS: Gu Li

Gu Li (Chinese: 古力; Pinyin: Gǔ Lì; born February 3, 1982) is a Chinese professional Go player.

Biography

Gu Li is currently the #1 Chinese player as ranked by the Zhongguo Qiyuan.^[1] He became a pro in 1994 when he was only 12. In 2006, he won the 10th LG Cup^[2] and became the youngest Chinese player to ever win a major international title; as a result, he was also promoted to 9 dan. In March 2007, he defeated Chang Hao 2-0 to win the Chunlan Cup. In mid 2007, Gu Li experienced a playing slump, even losing many matches against lower dan players. However, he soon came back stronger than ever, winning many major titles both domestic and international, including the 2007 Chang-ki Cup and the 2008 Fujitsu Cup;^[3] the greatest factors in this turnaround was his improvement in the endgame, and territory skills, which many people had previously considered his biggest weaknesses. In 2009 Gu defeated Lee Sedol to win the 13th LG Cup.
In July 2010, Gu Li became the "Meijin of Meijins" by defeating Lee Chang-ho and Iyama Yuta in a special tournament which pitted the domestic title-holders from China, Korea and Japan against each other.^[4]
In October 2010, Gu Li defeated Han Sang-hoon and Lee Sedol in the Round of Sixteen and Quarter-finals respectively to reach the semi-finals of the 15th Samsung Cup, whilst the defending Champion Kong Jie was knocked out by Kim Ji-seok. Gu won the 2010 Samsung Cup, defeating Heo Yeong-ho of Korea, and moves on towards the 2012 Ing Cup to become the second player to win all Major International Titles (Although Lee Chang-ho is the first and so far only person to win all titles, including the defunct World Oza and Zhonghuan Cup, as well as the Tong Yang Cup).

Style

His given name Li, literally meaning strength, is also a Go term roughly meaning the ability of reading. Li also encompasses the meaning of the ability to discover strong moves and the ability to fight. Gu has a nickname "Gu Da Li". Da literally means large, big or huge. This refers to Gu's incredible ability at playing really stro

Titles & runners-up

Tied at second place in the List of top title holders in Go.

Title Wins and Runners-up
Title	Years held	Wins	Years lost	Runners-up
Domestic - Current	-	29	-	10
Mingren	2004-2009	6	2010	1
Tianyuan	2003–2008	6	2009-2010	2
Chang-ki Cup	2007 2011	2	2006	1
NEC Cup (China)	2004, 2006, 2008-2009	4	2005	1
Ahan Tongshan Cup	2003, 2005, 2008, 2012	4	-	-
Liguang Cup	2002	1	2008	1
CCTV Cup	2004	1	2005	1
Lanke Cup	2008	1	2006	1
Xinren Wang	2001, 2005	2	2004	1
Xinan Wang	2003	1	2004, 2009	1
National Sports Mass Meeting	2002	1	-	-
Domestic - Defunct	-	1	-	0
Bawang	2002	1	-	-
Continental	-	8	-	3
China-Korea Tengen	2003-2005	3	2006-2008	3
China-Korea New Pro Wang	2001, 2005	2	-	-
China-Japan Agon Cup	2004, 2006, 2009	3	-	-
International	-	7	-	2
LG Cup	2006, 2009	2	-	-
Chunlan Cup	2007	1	-	-
Fujitsu Cup	2008	1	-	-
World Oza	2008	1	-	-
BC Card Cup	2009	1	2011	1
Samsung Cup	2010	1	2011	1
TOTAL	-	43	-	14