1815-03-07
Gennan's Masterpiece
Hattori RittetsuKadono JowaResult: Black wins by 4 points
A celebrated game from the 21-game rivalry between the future Inoue patriarch Gennan Inseki and Honinbo Jowa, decades before the Blood-Vomiting proxy war.
Legendary Matches
Edo Period (19th Century)
Hattori RittetsuKadono Jowa
1820-05-21
The Amashi Masterpiece
Honinbo JowaYasui SenchiResult: Black wins by 2 points
Often called one of the finest games of the Edo period. Senchi's amashi strategy as White is praised even though Jowa won by two points on Black.
1835-08-13
The Blood-Vomiting Game (Tōketsu no Ikkyoku)
Akaboshi IntetsuHoninbo JowaResult: White wins by resignation
A tragic climax of the iemoto system. Played between the "Invincible" Meijin Jowa and the Inoue prodigy Akaboshi Intetsu, this match was a proxy war for house supremacy.
1842-05-16
The Impenetrable Barrier
Honinbo ShuwaGennan InsekiResult: Black wins by 6 points
The second of three challenge games between Shuwa and Gennan for Meijin legitimacy. Gennan led by one point until a failed endgame invasion cost five points and ended his ambitions.
1846-09-11
The Ear Reddening Game
Honinbo ShusakuGennan InsekiResult: Black wins by 2 points
The legendary 耳赤の一局 (Mimiaka no Ikkyoku). Seventeen-year-old Shusaku, playing Black against the 8-dan head of the Inoue house, overcame a taisha joseki mistake with move 127, the move that made Gennan's ears flush red.
1846-09-19
Shusaku's Osaka Rout
Yasuda ShusakuGennan InsekiResult: Black wins by resignation
Fourth game of Shusaku's 1846 Osaka series against Gennan. Days after the Ear-Reddening Game, the teenager forced resignation in 197 moves on even terms.
1851-11-15
The Teacher's Test
Honinbo ShusakuHoninbo ShuwaResult: Black wins by 4 points
First game of Shusaku's series with his teacher Shuwa. Adapted in Hikaru no Go as Akira Toya vs Sai's opening match. Features the famous Shusaku diagonal fuseki.
1853-07-10
The Sanjubango Turning Point
Ota YuzoHoninbo ShusakuResult: White wins by 3 points
Game 17 of the historic 30-game match. Shusaku's thick move 88, traditionally glossed as "just this is enough to win," shifted the series toward handicap for Ota.
20th Century
1945-08-06
The Atomic Bomb Game
Iwamoto KaoruHashimoto UtaroResult: White wins by 5 points
Game 2 of the 1945 Honinbo title match, played in suburban Hiroshima. On the third day, the uranium bomb detonated at move 106 as the adjourned position was being replayed. The players reassembled the board and finished the game that same afternoon.
1996-08-03
Lee Chang-ho vs Ma Xiaochun
Lee Chang-ho
Ma XiaochunResult: Black wins by resignation
Final of the 9th Fujitsu Cup at Kudan Kaikan, Tokyo. Defending champion Ma Xiaochun faced Lee Chang-ho, the 21-year-old "Stone Buddha," in a single-game title match Lee won in 165 moves.
21st Century & The AI Revolution
2016-03-13
AlphaGo vs Lee Sedol - Game 4
AlphaGoLee SedolResult: Black resigns (Lee Sedol wins)
Game 4 of the DeepMind Challenge Match. Down 0-3, Lee Sedol played the wedge at move 78 that Gu Li called a "divine move," shocking AlphaGo into a collapse and securing humanity's only win in the series.
2017-05-23
AlphaGo vs Ke Jie (Game 1)
Ke JieAlphaGoResult: White wins by 0.5 points
Opening game of the Future of Go Summit in Wuzhen. Ke Jie, world number one, tested AlphaGo Master with an early 3-3 invasion; AlphaGo answered with a flawless game and won by the smallest possible margin after 289 moves.