View source for Cho U

{{Short description|Taiwanese Go player}}
{{Infobox go player
| name=Cho U
| fullname=U Chō
| chinese=[[Traditional Chinese character|Trad.]] 張栩 [[Simplified Chinese character|Simp.]] 张栩 
| pinyin=Zhāng Xǔ
| birth_date={{birth date and age|1980|1|20|df=yes}}
| birth_place= [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]]
| residence=[[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]
| teacher=[[Rin Kaiho]]
| turnedpro=1994
| rank=9 dan
| affiliation=[[Nihon Ki-in]]; Tokyo branch
}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Zhang (surname)|Chō]]|lang=Japanese}}
{{Chinese
|p= Zhāng Xǔ
|t= 張栩
|s= 张栩
|w= Chàng Hsŭ
|bpmf= ㄓㄤ ㄒㄩ
|romaji= Chō U
|kanji= 張栩
|kana= ちょう う
}}
'''Cho U''' ({{zh|t=張栩|s=张栩|p=Zhāng Xǔ|w=Chang Hsu}}; born on 20 January 1980) is a Taiwanese professional [[Go (board game)|Go]] player. He currently ranks 6th in the most titles won by a Japanese professional; his [[NEC Cup]] win in 2011 put him past his teacher [[Rin Kaiho]] and [[Norimoto Yoda]]. Cho is the first player in history to have held five of the top seven major titles simultaneously with [[Iyama Yuta]] being the second. Cho U, [[Naoki Hane]], [[Keigo Yamashita]] and [[Shinji Takao]] make up the group of players in Japan called the "[[Four Heavenly Kings]]". His wife is one of Japan's best female go professionals, [[Izumi Kobayashi]], the [[Minoru Kitani|great Kitani]]'s granddaughter and daughter of [[Kobayashi Koichi]].<ref name=quintuple>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/09/topics2009_05.htm | title=Cho U takes Judan title, is first to achieve quintuple crown | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>

==Biography==
Cho U was born in [[Taipei]], Taiwan. He began playing [[poker]] and [[Contract bridge|bridge]] as a young child. Cho's father Chang Yuen-hsi taught him to play Go, and he began beating family members by the age of three.<ref name=profile>{{cite web | url=http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1833&Itemid=157 | title=First Taiwanese player to win top 7 Go titles in Japan keeps a cool look | publisher=culture.tw | date=13 August 2010 | author=Yali Chen | accessdate=29 June 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301232644/http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1833&Itemid=157 | archive-date=1 March 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref> He credits [[Shen Chun-shan]] as one of his early Go teachers; he first played against Shen at age seven. Shen was impressed by the young Cho's skill and introduced his family to [[Rin Kaiho]].<ref name="ChoU">{{citation|periodical=United Daily News|url=http://mag.udn.com/mag/people/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=32679|date=2006-05-02|accessdate=2009-11-04|title=張栩拜師 沈君山只敢當乾爹/Cho U pays his respects to his teacher; Shen Chun-shan only dares to call himself "godfather"|last1=Lin|first1=Ying-che|last2=Chen|first2=Wan-chien|last3=Liang|first3=Yu-fang}}</ref>

He earned a spot in the 13th [[Fujitsu Cup]] in 2000 through the qualifying tournament. In his first game, Cho defeated Dutch amateur 7 dan Rob van Zeijst. In the second round, Cho defeated former number one Chinese representative [[Ma Xiaochun]]. Cho lost to [[Mok Jin-seok]] in the quarter-finals.<ref name=fujicup>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/00/topics2000_06.htm | title=Fujitsu Quarterfinals | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> In May 2000, Cho won a place in the [[25th Kisei]], the first edition to feature a league system. Cho was the youngest player in the league at 20 years.<ref name=kisei>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/00/topics2000_05.htm | title=Members of Kisei leagues decided | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> He finished the league with a record of three wins and three losses.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/00/topics2000_10.htm | title=Cho Sonjin wins B league | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> Later in the year, Cho qualified for the 56th [[Honinbo Tournament|Honinbo]] league. He missed out on qualifying for the 26th [[Meijin (go)|Meijin]] league when he lost to [[Hideki Komatsu]] in the last qualifying round.<ref name=meijin>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/00/topics2000_11.htm | title=Komatsu wins Meijin league place | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> Cho finished the year with the second best record behind [[Keigo Yamashita]] with 53 wins, 12 losses and one jigo.<ref name=record2000>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/00/topics2000_12.htm | title=Most wins in 2000 | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> He also won the Kido award for the best winning percentage (81.1%).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/01/topics2001_01.htm | title=Kido Prizes | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> Cho was promoted to 7 dan on 16 April 2001.<ref name=sevendan>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/01/topics2001_04.htm | title=Cho U makes 7-dan | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>

Cho finished the 56th Honinbo league with a record of five wins and two losses. In an interview after his last match, Cho said "It feels strange to become the challenger after losing my game. I was really happy when I won five games in a row, but losing successive games leaves me with regrets. I'm very fortunate to be able to appear on the important stage of a best-of-seven title match."<ref name=honinbo>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/01/topics2001_04.htm | title=Taiwanese players to vie for Honinbo title | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> Cho won the first match, but title holder [[O Meien]] won the seventh and final game of the series.<ref name=honinbo2>{{cite web | url=http://gobase.org/games/jp/honinbo/56/?sgfmode=details | title=honinbo title, 56th edition, 2001 | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> Cho collected ¥26,985,000 in prize money in 2001.<ref name=prizemoney01>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/02/topics2002_01.htm | title=Most prize money won in 2001 | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> In February 2002, Cho won one of Japan's seven non-seeded spots in the 1st [[World Oza]].<ref name=worldoza>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/02/topics2002_02.htm | title=Japanese Toyota & Denso Cup places decided | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> His first title came the following month when he won the 49th [[NHK Cup (Go)|NHK Cup]]. Cho broke the record for youngest winner of the title. After winning the title, Go journalist John Power commented, "Cho U is surely going to develop into one of the dominant players on the Japanese go scene. He is calm, has excellent concentration and reads very well -- in fact, he seems to relish reading out difficult fights. Perhaps his greatest weapon may be his outstanding positional judgement: he is already reputed to be one of the fastest and most accurate players at summing up a position."<ref name=nhkcup>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/02/topics2002_03.htm | title=Cho U wins NHK Cup | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>

Cho was a member of the Japanese team in the 4th [[Nongshim Cup]].<ref name=nongshim>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/02/topics2002_09.htm | title=Japan to field strongest team yet in Nong Shim Cup | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> In October 2002, Cho qualified for his first Meijin league.<ref name=meijin2>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/02/topics2002_10.htm | title=Cho U earns Meijin-league seat | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> At the close of the 2002 season, Cho set a record with 70 wins in a year.<ref name=recordwins>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/03/topics2003_01.htm | title=2002 records | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> He was awarded the Shusai Prize for his record-breaking year.<ref name=shusai>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/03/topics2003_02.htm | title=Cho U wins Shusai Prize | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> After unsuccessfully challenging for the Honinbo title the previous year, Cho won his first major title on 11 July 2003 by defeating [[Kato Masao]] in six games for the 58th Honinbo. Cho set three records with his win: third youngest major title winner, second youngest Honinbo and youngest Japanese 9 dan.<ref name=honinbo3>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/03/topics2003_07.htm | title=Cho U wins 58th Honinbo | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> Cho met [[Masao Kato]], the player he defeated for the Honinbo, twice more in 2003 when they faced off in the [[Agon Cup]] final and the [[Oza (go)|Oza]] challenger final. Cho lost the Agon Cup final, but earned the right to face [[O Meien]] in the Oza final.<ref name=agoncup>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/03/topics2003_10.htm | title=Kato wins Agon Kiriyama Cup, takes revenge on Cho U | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref><ref name=oza>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/03/topics2003_09.htm | title=Cho to challenge for Oza title | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> Cho won the title in four games, making the Oza his second major title.<ref name=oza2>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/03/topics2003_12.htm | title=Cho U takes Oza title | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>

Cho would go on to win each major at least once: the [[Meijin (go)|Meijin]] in 2004, the [[Gosei (competition)|Gosei]] in 2006, the [[Tengen (Go)|Tengen]] in 2008, the [[Judan (Go)|Judan]] in 2009 and the [[Kisei (go)|Kisei]] in 2010.<ref name=gogameworld>{{cite web | url=http://www.gogameworld.com/gophp/playerinfo.php?name=Cho%20U | title=Cho U 9p | publisher=gogameworld.com | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> In 2004, Cho became the third player in history to earn over ¥100 million in a year, after [[Cho Chikun]] and [[Koichi Kobayashi]].<ref name=mostmoney>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/05/topics2005_01.htm | title=Cho U earns a million dollars | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> After defeating [[Yu Bin (Go player)|Yu Bin]] in the final of the [[9th LG Cup]], Cho U won his first international title and the first Japanese international win since Cho Chikun's [[Samsung Fire Cup|Samsung Cup]] title in 2003.<ref name=lgcup>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/05/topics2005_04.htm | title=Cho U wins 9th LG Cup | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> Cho lead the top prize winners list in 2010 with ¥90,499,000 ($1,120,250.25 as of 28 June 2011).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/11/topics2011_01.htm | title=Top prize-money winners | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref> In May 2011, Cho donated ¥15,000,000 from his Kisei prize money to victims of the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]].<ref name=donation>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/11/topics2011_05.htm#110524d | title=Cho U donates 15 million Japanese Yen for the earthquake-stricken area! | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>

==Promotion record==
{{Promotion record
| 1 dan
| 1994
|
| 2 dan
| 1994
|
| 3 dan
| 1995
|
| 4 dan
| 1996
|
| 5 dan
| 1997
|
| 6 dan
| 1999
|
| 7 dan
| 2001
| Defeated [[So Yokoku]] in an [[Oteai]] game.<ref name=sevendan />
| 8 dan
| 2003
| Promoted from 7 dan to 8 dan for reaching the [[Honinbo Tournament|Honinbo]] finals.<ref name=eightdan>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/03/topics2003_03.htm | title=First promotions under new system | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
| 9 dan
| 2003
| Promoted from 8 dan to 9 dan for winning the 58th Honinbo.<ref name=honinbo3 />
}}

==Career record==
*'''1999''': 51–13<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/00/topics2000_01.htm | title=Takao Shinji sets new record for most wins | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*'''2000''': 53–12–1<ref name=record2000 />
*'''2001''': 52–24<ref name=record2001>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/02/topics2002_01.htm | title=2001 statistics | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*'''2002''': 70–14<ref name=recordwins />
*'''2004''': 38–25<ref name=record04>{{cite web | url=http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/english/topics/04/topics2004_12.htm | title=Most wins | publisher=nihonkiin.or.jp/english | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*'''2006''': 49–17<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/jp/japan06.html | title=Japanese win–loss 2006 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*'''2007''': 51–22<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/jp/japan07.html | title=Japanese win–loss 2007 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*'''2008''': 51–16<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/jp/japan08.html | title=Japanese win–loss 2008 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*'''2009''': 35–19<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/jp/japan09.html | title=Japanese win–loss 2009 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*'''2010''': 32–16<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/jp/japan10.html | title=Japanese win–loss 2010 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*'''2011''': 30–18<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/jp/japan11.html | title=Japanese win–loss 2011 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=12 January 2012}}</ref>
*'''2012''': 29–23<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/jp/japan12.html | title=Japanese win–loss 2012 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=22 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193400/http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/jp/japan12.html | archive-date=4 March 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
*'''2013''': 28–25<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/ranking.html?country=jp&year=2013 | title=Japanese win–loss 2013 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=22 March 2016}}</ref>
*'''2014''': 26–17<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/ranking.html?country=jp&year=2014 | title=Japanese win–loss 2014 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=22 March 2016}}</ref>
*'''2015''': 24–17<ref>{{cite web | url=http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/ranking.html?country=jp&year=2015 | title=Japanese win–loss 2015 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=22 March 2016}}</ref>
*'''2016''': 30–18<ref>{{cite web | url=https://k2ss.info/igo/ranking/?country=jp&year=2016 | title=Japanese win–loss 2016 | publisher=igokisen.web.fc2.com | accessdate=16 May 2017}}</ref>

==Titles and runners-up==
Ranks 7th in [[List of top title holders in Go#Japan|total number of titles won in Japan]].

{|  class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan=3|Domestic
|-
!Title || Wins || Runners-up
|-
| [[Kisei (go)|Kisei]] || 3 (2010–2012) || 1 (2013)
|-
| [[Meijin (go)|Meijin]] || 5 (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2018) || 3 (2006, 2009, 2019)
|-
| [[Honinbo Tournament|Honinbo]] || 2 (2003, 2004) || 2 (2001, 2005)
|-
| [[Tengen (Go)|Tengen]] || 1 (2008) || 1 (2009)
|-
| [[Oza (go)|Oza]] || 7 (2003–2005, 2008–2011) || 3 (2006, 2012, 2013)
|-
| [[Judan (Go)|Judan]] || 2 (2009, 2010) || 3 (2004, 2011, 2012)
|-
| [[Gosei (competition)|Gosei]] || 4 (2006–2009) || 1 (2010)
|-
| [[Agon Cup]] || 4 (2006–2008, 2012, 2019) || 3 (2002, 2003, 2009)
|-
| [[Ryusei (competition)|Ryusei]] || 2 (2006, 2007) || 4 (2001, 2005, 2008, 2009)
|-
| [[NHK Cup (Go)|NHK Cup]] || 4 (2002, 2005, 2008, 2016) ||
|-
| [[Shinjin-O]] || 1 (2002) || 
|-
| [[NEC Cup]] || 3 (2005, 2007, 2011) || 1 (2009)
|-
| [[Daiwa Cup]] || || 2 (2006, 2010)
|-
| [[Daiwa Cup Grand Champion]] || || 2 (2008, 2011)
|-
| [[JAL Super Hayago Championship]] || || 1 (2003)
|- align="center" 
| '''Total''' || '''38''' || '''27'''
|-
!colspan=3|Continental
|-
| [[China-Japan Agon Cup]] || 1 (2019) || 4 (2006–2008, 2012)
|- align="center" 
| '''Total''' || '''1''' || '''4'''
|-
!colspan=3|International
|-
| [[Asian TV Cup]] || 1 (2005) ||
|-
| [[LG Cup (Go)|LG Cup]] || 1 (2005) ||
|-
| [[World Oza]] || || 1 (2006)
|- align="center" 
| '''Total''' || '''2''' || '''1'''
|-
!colspan=3|Career total
|- align="center" 
| '''Total''' || '''41''' || '''32'''
|}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Gosei}}
{{Oza}}
{{Judan}}
{{Tengen}}
{{Kisei}}
{{Honinbo}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, U}}
[[Category:Taiwanese expatriates in Japan]]
[[Category:Taiwanese Go players]]
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Taipei]]
[[Category:Go players at the 2010 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Asian Games competitors for Chinese Taipei]]